Barista profession is becoming a new favorite in China. China's emerging coffee industry

China is the hometown of tea. For many years, Chinese people have been used to drinking tea and delving into the world of tea culture. However, with the cultural exchange between the East and the West, more and more people began to drink "cappuccino", "latte" and other kinds of coffee, and began to pay attention to coffee culture. In just a few years, cafes have sprung up all over the country, opening the floodgates of China's coffee market. In order to meet the needs of the market, people have to learn the skills of making coffee, and people who master the technology are in short supply.

[career status]

There is a shortage of 20,000 baristas

It is understood that at present, in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and other large and medium-sized cities, the annual talent shortage of baristas is about 20,000.

At present, there are basically three sources of baristas in the coffee market: personnel trained by coffee or coffee machine sellers; people who are engaged in self-study in coffee making in stores; and personnel trained by existing coffee training institutions in China. From the point of view of the market demand, baristas are in a state of shortage in the coffee market.

Qian Jiaying, director of the China Coffee and Coffee Beverage Professional Committee in Beijing, said that there are few real baristas in Beijing hotel cafes, and the current market gap is about 5000 people. Coffee is currently the second largest trade in the world after oil. If every Chinese drinks half a cup of coffee every day, then the Chinese will influence the price of coffee in the world. Coffee has a broad market, which makes the demand of baristas increase steadily.

Kafa Coffee is the technology development and promotion organization of CaffeMolinari, an established Italian coffee company, in Beijing. The reporter interviewed Mr. Tan Songning, general manager of Kafa Coffee, who told the reporter: "as far as the foreign coffee market is concerned, baristas are also in short supply of talents, especially those with good coffee skills. As far as the quality of existing baristas is concerned, it is difficult to have talents with good skills. This is not only a domestic problem, but also a serious one internationally. This is determined by the development of the international coffee industry. In terms of the needs of the market, talents with good skills are urgently needed by the market. This is also a necessary condition to change the very low level of the coffee market. Few existing baristas can meet the needs of the market. "

"since the beginning of this year, there has been a strong demand for baristas. Many coffee shops and our dignitaries are unable to provide. All the existing personnel have arrangements, which is simply not enough. Especially in places where professional coffee machines are not yet used, our students will not consider applying at all. It is believed that in the last year or two, the market demand for baristas will rise sharply, even to the extent that no one can be found. "

According to the reporter's interview with some coffee shops in the capital, the existing baristas are generally in their early twenties, and their academic qualifications are relatively low. Most people think that making coffee is very simple, or even do not need to learn at all, so people with higher academic qualifications are not interested in learning to make coffee at all. This has also led to the fact that most baristas now have a very shallow understanding of coffee, including mastery of production techniques. These many reasons also make it difficult for Chinese people to drink authentic coffee. According to the reporter's understanding, many coffee shops in Beijing do not have very professional utensils for grinding coffee, and the technical level of baristas is not very professional, which cannot be compared with coffee in the international industry in terms of aroma, acidity and purity. Many coffee shops give priority to dinner, in addition to coffee, but also provide ice drinks and other drinks, the dining environment is very good, but the coffee is not pure, nor can it satisfy the taste of coffee enthusiasts.

[explore the reasons]

Gold prospectors know little about it.

So, what is the reason for the serious shortage of baristas in China? The reporter found from several larger coffee network forums in China that many people are looking for a better location to open a shop and asking about the secrets of opening a coffee shop, while few people discuss the training of talents. A person in the industry told the reporter that now the domestic coffee market wants to open more shops, but less knowledgeable ones. Many people do not understand the production technology and cultural connotation of coffee. They think that they are in a hurry to open a shop in order to attract customers, and the training of employees is far from being able to meet the needs of the market.

Mr. Tan Songning, general manager of Kafa Coffee, told reporters, "it is true that baristas are in short supply in the coffee market, but more importantly, there is an urgent need for talents with good skills." In addition to the limitation of the development of the international coffee industry, another reason is that the managers of coffee shops know little about coffee, or only know a thing or two about coffee. Of course, even if they want to hire a good barista, it's hard to find. This is also one of the reasons. "

In Europe, coffee culture is a very mature cultural form, and people have high requirements for the quality of coffee. In Vienna, Austria, coffee, music and waltz dance are also known as the "three treasures of Vienna", which shows the far-reaching significance of coffee culture. There is a famous saying in Italy: "Men should be like good coffee, strong and enthusiastic." In France, without coffee is as inconceivable as without wine. It can be said that the world is coming to an end. In China, due to the non-standard domestic coffee industry, pure European coffee shops are squeezed by the market so that there is little room for operation. In order to win the favor of the Chinese people, many coffee shops still need to have integrated services. Many coffee shops are bundled with tea restaurants to provide a variety of services, and coffee is only one of them. This is also one of the reasons why coffee shop operators do not pay attention to the training of baristas in our shop.

[treatment prospects]

There is a lot of room for increase in salary and treatment.

There is a shortage of domestic baristas, and many people think that the salary should be higher. Not long ago, there were media reports that the monthly salary of an ordinary barista is about 2000 yuan, while that of a skilled barista is more than 10,000 yuan. However, according to the reporter's understanding, from the current coffee market, the salary of domestic baristas is very low.

Mr. Chen, who currently works as a barista in a coffee shop, told reporters that many cafes or other catering organizations that provide coffee services in China now treat baristas and service staff equally. There is even no difference between baristas and waiters in some stores. "in other words, even a waiter who has not been trained or trained can make coffee in a coffee shop. You can imagine what the coffee will taste like. You know, coffee is like food in a restaurant, and its quality depends largely on the barista's skill. There can be no good coffee without a good barista. Therefore, the treatment of baristas should be similar to, or even higher than that of chefs. In the current situation of shortage of talents, it is entirely possible that it will be higher. "

The reporter learned from some coffee shop operators that the technical level of existing baristas is indeed very low, so it is difficult to see their role in the process of operation, which is also one of the main reasons why their treatment is very low. Come to think of it, if a barista can make very good coffee, but no one can do it, then the owner of this coffee shop is certainly not willing to give up on him and will pay him a handsome salary.

As far as the situation abroad is concerned, the salary of Italian baristas is between 1000 and 3000 euros, which is equivalent to that of middle managers in Italian banks. Italian baristas also have a high social status in society and are respected by people. Because as we all know, not everyone can make coffee well. As far as the Italian domestic market is concerned, good baristas are not enough, so there are no Italian baristas going to work abroad.

Mr. Tan Songning, general manager of Kafa Coffee, analyzed, "with the gradual maturity of the coffee market, with the continuous improvement of baristas' technology, their salaries will gradually improve." And when there are very few high-level baristas, their wages are likely to rise sharply, even to an unimaginable degree. "

[chain reaction]

Barista training market is becoming more and more popular.

Starting from this year, baristas have been identified as a new profession by the state, and their professional qualification certification work will also begin, and some training institutions have also set up training courses for baristas one after another. The training fees for primary, middle and senior baristas range from 600 to 700 yuan to 1,000 yuan, and the training market has attracted more and more attention and is becoming more and more popular.

Mr. Tan Songning, general manager of Kafa Coffee, told reporters: "whether they are working as baristas or those who want to join this team, the most important thing is to improve their understanding and understanding of coffee, as well as more important coffee-making skills. Without good knowledge and production skills, you may not only be unable to find a job, but may even be eliminated from the industry, not to mention how to improve your salary. Some bosses and baristas themselves think that most customers don't understand coffee and there is no need to spend more to make it better. I don't know how many people here can cook, but I'm sure they won't make do when they go to the restaurant. They still don't like bad food. The same is true of coffee. On the contrary, if you can learn coffee-making skills as soon as possible, you may become the first batch of Chinese baristas to get a high salary. "

In order to do this, it is very important to find a good training institution and teacher. According to the reporter's understanding, the number of students enrolled by some more professional coffee training institutions is increasing, which shows that more people have begun to pay attention to this market. "if there are no good teachers, it is very difficult to learn how to make coffee well. You know, there are a lot of people and institutions in the world who are working hard in this area, and very few of them can really do this. Because the coffee production knowledge is very deep, want to be able to achieve a very high level through their own simple efforts, that is unrealistic. This is also the reason why the barista training market is becoming more and more popular. "

[news link]

On April 29 this year, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security officially announced 14 new occupations, including perfumers, baristas, safety design evaluators and sports agents. This is the sixth batch of new occupations published since the Ministry of Labor and Social Security established a regular issuance system for new occupations in August 2004. So far, 64 new occupations have been identified. A career, a life, a landscape. The identification of these 64 new occupations has undoubtedly injected a fresh vitality into the current highly competitive job market, but also reflects the dynamic and colorful social changes in contemporary China.

Beijing Times (page 045, 2006-11-27)