16 Barista Interview Questions That Test Barista Skills
If you are a frequent visitor to a local Starbucks, you may wonder how to become a barista. However, it’s essential to recognize that being a barista is more than just pouring coffee! Baristas are highly skilled individuals who know how to create a variety of delicious beverages such as espresso, affogato, macchiato, and other specialty drinks.
16 Common Barista Interview Questions to Prepare For
Whether you’re looking for part-time work at a coffee shop or a full job as a barista, the interview questions and answers listed below will help you prepare for your interview!
Often called “coffee artists,” baristas are excellent at their craft and know how to make the most delicious beverages for their customers. Gaining experience as a barista can teach you skills in creativity, adaptability, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication. If you ever decide to leave the barista scene, the accrued job skills can be transferred to several other careers.
If you’re interested in landing a job as a barista, you’ll need some basic background knowledge to ace the barista job interview. Below, we’ll give you our top 16 barista interview questions and guide you through the most suitable answers.
6 Barista Interview Questions that Test Barista Skills
When it comes to barista interviews, they’ll want to ask you about your basic barista skills. After all, you need some background knowledge about various drinks and skills to be a good barista! Use these example questions to help you prep for the interview.
Interview Question: “What do you think makes a good barista?” | Example Answer: A good barista is always looking to please their customers and improve their skills in the process. Serving coffee can bring just as much joy as making it, and making the customer happy with your work is a barista’s greatest goal. |
Interview Question: “If a customer asked for a new drink recommendation, what would you say to them?” | Example Answer: If I had to recommend a new drink to a customer, I would ask them if they had flavor preferences. This would help me determine which drinks may work best for them. For example, if a customer wants something with chocolate, I may make them a mocha latte for a simple drink or a Barbajada for those wanting a more luxurious drink. |
Interview Question: “What is your favorite beverage to create?” | Example Answer: I enjoy making frozen drinks such as frappes. They’re fun to decorate and make great flavor combos. Plus, they’re sure to delight the person ordering them! |
Interview Question: “What type of drink do you find the most challenging to make?” | Example Answer: The most challenging drinks I make are luxurious espresso-based drinks such as Barbajadas or cortados. These beverages require very specific ratios of espresso to milk (and other ingredients) to produce a delicious drink that isn’t too acidic. While I am skilled at making them, they take careful focus to ensure they’re created properly and to a high standard for my customers. |
Interview Question: “Tell me about a time when you had to be creative.” | Example Answer: I had to be creative recently while practicing latte art for my family. They challenged me to make something that would be special to each of them. I had to not only be creative and pick a subject, but then be able to recreate it in their drink! |
Interview Question: “Please name the different coffee beans you are familiar with. “ | Example Answer: There are four different types of coffee beans. Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa, and Liberica are the different types of beans, and each one has its own unique flavor! |
3 Barista Interview Questions About Customer Experience
Working as a barista means working with customers. Ultimately, your job is to serve the customer according to their wishes with a smile on your face. So, potential employers want to know what experiences you have in customer-facing roles.
Highlight your customer service experience, whether it was in a volunteer or professional role, to show a potential employer that they could feel confident having you represent their business. During your interview, keep an ear out for barista interview questions like the ones below and model your responses after the example answers to highlight your relevant experience.
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Interview Question: “What experiences do you have that could help you as a barista?” |
Example Answer: I have X years of experience working in customer service. My experiences working as an X will help me in my role as a barista as I know how to engage with customers and give them high-quality service at all times. |
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Interview Question: “Have you ever worked in a position like this before?” |
Example Answer 1: Yes, I worked as a barista at my previous job for X years. In my role, I had to engage with my customers to ensure their beverage needs were met. Example Answer 2: While I have not worked as a barista yet, I do have prior customer experience in my role as an X. In this role, I worked directly with customers to ensure they X. By listening intently and understanding the needs of my customers, I can ensure that they are pleased with my work and the product(s) provided to them. |
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Interview Question: “Have you ever had to deal with a demanding customer? If so, tell me about it.” |
Example Answer: We’ve all experienced a demanding customer or two. In my prior position, I had a customer who was displeased with the time it took to make his beverage. After a complaint, I explained that we had many customers before him and were unfortunately understaffed as a coworker had called in sick. When his drink was ready, I offered him a complimentary coupon for his next order because of the long wait. |
3 Situational Barista Interview Questions
Baristas often have to work quickly and think on their feet to fulfill customer orders on demand. At times, you may run into issues that impact your customers, such as mixing up drink orders during a rush, missing a key ingredient for their favorite order, out-of-order equipment, and other potential snafus.
Consider the situational barista interview questions below, which your interviewer might ask to see how you handle working with customers in a fast-paced environment.
Interview Question: “Tell me about a time you had to deal with an unhappy customer.” | Example Answer: While nobody likes dealing with unhappy customers, sometimes mistakes do happen. I once had a customer who ordered a beverage and did not like the flavor combination. To make it right, I remade it with more mild flavors. They were much happier and remained loyal to the shop. |
Interview Question: “You’re training a new barista and they accidentally bump into the counter, knocking over a beverage you were working on. How do you react?” | Example Answer: Accidents happen. Rather than getting upset with the trainee, I would simply ask them to help me clean it while I get started on a new drink. Or, as a training experience, I may ask them to make the drink while I clean the spill. |
Interview Question: “A customer comes in just at closing time asking if they can order a drink. What do you do?” | Example Answer: My response depends on the specific situation. If we are just closing and the machines are not yet cleaned, I may try to squeeze in one last drink for them. If the machines are already being cleaned or out of operation, then I would have to apologize and ask that they return once we are open. |
4 Barista Interview Questions About You
Not everyone is cut out to be a great barista! The interviewer will want to get to know you to some extent to see if you’re a good fit not only for the role but also for their coffee shop, team dynamic, and work culture. Consider the questions and responses below when answering personal questions about yourself.
Interview Question: “Why do you want to be a barista?” | Example Answer: I want to be a barista to sharpen my creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. I also want to use these skills to please customers and bring them joy through their favorite beverages. |
Interview Question: “What makes you want to work at this particular coffee shop?” | Example Answer: Although there are many coffee shops in the city, this one is the best. I love how… [insert traits specific to the shop you’re interviewing at]. |
Interview Question “Do you see yourself being a barista long-term?” | Example Answer: For the time being, yes, I can see this as being a long-term job. I truly enjoy crafting new beverages and making my customers’ days just a little better, so I don’t see myself doing anything else anytime soon. I do plan on being a barista for a long time. Still, my ultimate goal is to use the skills I develop and my experiences as a barista to help me in a future role as an X someday [insert your goals, i.e., coffee shop owner, bartender, etc.]. |
Interview Question “What is your favorite part about being a barista?” | Example Answer: I love being a barista for the customers. Applying my skills to making something delicious for them to enjoy fulfills me. Something as small as a coffee can turn someone’s day around. |
Apply to Barista Jobs & Land Your Next Interview with GrabJobs
With all of these barista job interview questions, you should be prepared for your next barista interview! When in doubt, always be truthful and remember that the priority is customer needs and satisfaction. After all, that is who’s drinking your caffeinated creations!
If you’re looking for a new job as a barista, check out the local job listings in your city on GrabJobs! Our AI-powered job search platform provides smart job recommendations, making it easier for you to find, apply to, and land your next role. Whether you’re just beginning to look for work or want to find a new role, we’ve got millions of job listings from over 20,000 employers and plenty of career resources to support your job search.
