Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Key takeaways
- Baristas now face higher expectations from employers and customers.
- Staffing shortages and rising labour costs continue to pressure cafés globally.
- Automation threatens the barista role, while low pay and long hours are systemic issues.
- Industry investment in baristas directly improves customer experience and long-term retention.
Baristas enjoy working in specialty coffee for many reasons. A passion for quality, an interest in flavour, and a sense of community draw people in. The work itself combines both science and craft, appealing to those constantly seeking to improve their skills and technical knowledge.
But the barista role has never been more demanding. Specialty coffee shops now operate in a saturated market, serving customers who are better informed than ever before.
Business operators and café managers have raised their expectations too. Customer service, product knowledge, and technical precision all need to happen at once, even during a morning rush.
“Where barista roles were once often considered entry-level positions, many cafés now expect applicants to arrive with experience and a strong skill set,” says Jack Simpson, the 2025 World Barista Champion and Sales Representative at Axil Coffee Roasters.
These higher expectations, from employers and customers alike, reflect a broader change in how the industry values the people behind the bar. As a result, what baristas love and dislike about their work is shifting.
You may also like our article on why baristas need to find an edge at competitions.
Coffee is an ever-changing industry
Specialty coffee’s formative years were shaped by people who cared deeply about the product. Roasters, baristas, traders, and producers worked with a shared sense of purpose, driven less by commercial ambition than by a belief that coffee deserved better.
These values still stand today, but the coffee industry is facing one of the most turbulent periods in its recent history, and priorities have shifted.
Rising costs and hiring were ranked the top concerns for hospitality businesses, according to the James Beard Foundation and Deloitte 2025 Independent Restaurant Industry Report. Hiring skilled, reliable baristas often means investing in higher wages and better benefits, which pushes up operating costs at a time when margins are already tight.
The numbers reflect the difficulty. In March 2026, the US hospitality sector’s quit rate reached 4.3% – nearly double the private-sector average. For 75% of US coffee shop owners, finding and keeping staff is their single biggest concern.
Baristas sit at the centre of this challenge. They directly interact with customers, and in a competitive market, their ability to deliver a positive experience can determine whether someone returns. For many working in hospitality, providing exceptional service is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
“Customers need to have an experience worth remembering for a café to excel,” Jack says. “It’s about creating an environment that people genuinely enjoy being in and showing them why specialty coffee is so special. This starts with the greeting at the front door and finishes with the farewell as they leave.”
It’s harder than ever to be a barista
The barista role has grown more demanding as specialty coffee has matured. Technical precision and genuine hospitality are needed on every shift, often simultaneously and under pressure.
Kévin David, co-founder and head roaster at Moklair and the 2025 French Barista Champion, sees a great barista as someone who raises standards across the board.
“Technical skills matter, of course, but consistency, energy, hospitality and attention to detail are what truly shape the experience,” he says. “The best baristas understand that every small action counts: cleanliness, workflow, calibration, communication with the team, the way they explain coffees, even the atmosphere they create behind the bar. Customers immediately feel when a team genuinely cares.”
But this standard is becoming harder to meet. Customers arrive with higher expectations and less patience, shaped in part by social media and in part by the speed of service they receive elsewhere.
“Expectations are much higher than before,” Kévin says. “Social media creates unrealistic standards sometimes. People constantly compare themselves to competition-level service or highly aesthetic cafés without seeing the financial reality or the amount of work that goes into them.
“Meanwhile, customers are increasingly used to ultra-fast service. In coffee, it creates a strange situation where teams are expected to deliver very high quality, hospitality, and speed all at once.”
Systemic issues are still at play
Beyond the pressures of speed, other factors wear baristas down. Low pay, long hours, and limited investment remain common and warranted complaints. Jack admits the early mornings were hard at the start of his career, and that critical customers tested him.
“When you’re working hard to make the best coffee possible, it can be challenging when someone doesn’t enjoy the result,” he says. “Over time, though, I’ve come to understand that coffee is highly subjective. Not every coffee will suit every person’s preferences, and that’s part of what makes it so interesting.”
Automation is among the most pressing concerns for baristas. Research by the National Institute of Educational Research suggests that up to three million jobs in the UK could be displaced by AI and automation by 2035, with coffee shop roles among those at risk.
Yet the evidence suggests that successful coffee shops can’t simply swap people for machines. Earlier this year, Andon Labs ran a café in Stockholm using an AI agent, and the results were telling. The system made repeated errors in both setup and day-to-day decisions, pointing to the limits of what automation can currently manage in a customer-facing environment.
Passion is still the driver for many baristas
Despite the pressures, many baristas stay in the industry because they genuinely love both coffee and the people they serve. Sustaining that commitment, though, requires the industry to invest in the people behind the bar.
“The industry should invest more in education, travel opportunities, and real involvement in projects,” Kévin says. “When baristas get access to origin trips, roasting discussions, cuppings or competitions, they understand coffee in a much deeper way and feel more connected to the work they do every day.”
Jack points to a similar principle inside the café itself. “I like the idea of involving staff more in the day-to-day operation. When team members understand the nuances of running a business and feel connected to its success, they become more engaged and invested in the café’s future.”
With this level of engagement, the relationship between barista and customer also shifts.
“Coffee is a product that passes through many hands before reaching the customer, and the barista is the final link in that chain,” Jack says. “Building genuine connections with the people you’re serving helps bring the entire value chain to life and creates a more meaningful experience for everyone involved.”
Connection remains critical
For both Jack and Kévin, this sense of connection is what keeps them in the coffee industry. “It’s a rewarding profession filled with passionate people, continuous learning, and opportunities to make a positive impact on someone’s day,” Jack says.
Kévin adds: “What I love most is that coffee connects worlds together. You can serve someone a cup in France that started its journey on a volcano in Panama or in a small village in Ethiopia. I also love that coffee combines precision and emotion.
“You constantly chase details and consistency, but the final goal is still to create pleasure and connection. This balance is what keeps coffee endlessly fascinating to me,” he says. “I dislike when coffee becomes too elitist or disconnected from people. Coffee should inspire people and circulate, not become a small closed club accessible only to insiders. Excellence is important, but it should elevate the whole culture, not isolate it.”
The barista role is becoming more complex, more skilled, and more consequential. As a result, how baristas feel about their jobs will continue to change.
For café operators, investing in baristas, whether through better pay, education, or genuine involvement in the business, is the most direct route to a better customer experience.
If you’re interested in increasing your sales & acquiring more leads, check out PDG Media, our sister marketing agency dedicated to specialty coffee.
Barista job role FAQs
- What makes the barista role more demanding today?
Customers are better informed, expectations are higher, and cafés now require technical precision, speed, and genuine hospitality all at once. While the role was once considered entry-level, employers increasingly expect applicants to have real experience.
- Why are coffee shops struggling to hire and retain good baristas?
Low pay, long hours, and limited investment make retention difficult. In the US, the hospitality quit rate reached 4.3% in early 2026, nearly double the private-sector average, reflecting how hard it is to keep skilled staff in a demanding environment.
- Can automation replace baristas in specialty coffee?
Automation can support consistency and efficiency, but it can’t replicate the human judgement, hospitality, and connection that define a great café experience. An AI-operated café in Stockholm demonstrated these limits clearly, making repeated errors that a skilled barista would have avoided.
Photo credits: Specialty Coffee Association
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