Confidence Is An Add-Value
Being a barista is one of the only trades where some amount of excuse-making seems normal.
How many times has this happened to us? Our espresso is served to us with a sheepish hesitation and a line like:
“It was giving me a hard time on the dial-in.”
“It’s a couple days past its prime—last week it was so good!”
“They’ve been tweaking the roast, and I don’t quite have a handle on it yet.”
Imagine going to a restaurant and being served with the same energy.
“The steak’s been giving us a little trouble this week.”
"It’s a new dish, the kitchen’s still learning how to prepare it perfectly.”
“The farm we get our vegetables from is having a rough year, so the flavors are a little less vibrant than usual.”
There’s no way you’d come back. You likely wouldn’t even pay for your meal.
The kicker is, even if the food was decent, you would still perceive it as subpar because you’ve already been told something isn’t right with it.
Of course, feelings of is this good enough? are hardly unique to serving espresso. In most of my creative endeavors, the closer I get to finishing a project, the faster the doubt floods in.
“Will everyone see the imperfections I see?”
“Is it even worth sharing?”
“Will people think I’m stupid?”
These questions, while natural, don’t serve the art I’m creating or the people I’m hoping to serve.
Making excuses in an attempt to justify lower quality doesn’t garner you sympathy and understanding—it makes your work less valuable. Confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) and carrying yourself like a professional increase the value of your work.
If you’re second-guessing yourself, the only question worth asking is Did I do my best? which is worlds apart from Is this perfect? Whether it’s building a business, publishing a book, or making coffee: proudly serve it. No drama. No excuses.
Re-pulling Espresso: A Practical Aside For Working Baristas
Before you go down the espresso re-pulling rabbit hole, you need to ask yourself an honest question: “Am I confident I can make a significant quality increase in a timely manner?” (The answer is probably no, or you wouldn’t be where you are in the first place)
If the answer is indeed no, serve the espresso with a confident smile, lock eyes with the guest, and tell them to enjoy. Rip the band-aid off and keep dialing in as you go.
If you’re in the ballpark and feeling confident, you can shuffle things around a little bit. Throw the not-quite-perfect shot in a mocha, make a quick grind adjustment, and bump the espresso back one spot in line. But you only get one shot at a repull—once the guest sees you struggling or notices it’s taking way longer than normal, you’re right back where you started—no matter how good the shot you serve is, the perception of low quality has already tainted the experience.
I see baristas burning 5 minutes, re-pulling a shot 4 times while sweating bullets, all to make a shot that’s marginally better than the first one they pulled.
So back to my original point: unless you’re certain you can part the heavens and create a life-changing espresso experience, just serve what you've got with a smile. If you’re new and struggling, I get it. Being a green Barista in a busy cafe can feel heavy. But someone trusted you enough to put you on bar, so you might as well trust yourself.