How to Spot a Good Barista

The skilled and professional maker of coffee in a speciality coffee house is correctly known as a barista.

The term originates from Italy where it is a coveted title and requires significant apprenticeship. No one can assume the title of barista unless he or she can profess to have dedicated much time and practice to this art. The title barista has been somewhat diminished outside Italy where the term barista seems to apply to any coffee machine operator regardless of their skill - however unskilled - is usually referred to as a barista.

There are a few simple ways to discover if the maker of your coffee is a true barista or not. The first thing is to ask him or her about the coffee they are serving. Where does it come from? What bean is it? How is it roasted? If he or she answers, "Our suppliers, "dark roast", "in a roaster" - or simply "dunno", I think you can safely determine that he or she is not a true barista.

If, on the other hand, the response to your queries is met with much enthusiasm and detail about the country of origin, type of bean and roasting technique, you will almost certainly be in the presence of a professional barista.

If you don't want to converse or perhaps if the operator doesn't speak good English, you can simply observe how they go about the job of preparing your drink.

A dedicated barista will grind the coffee freshly each time, will ensure the china cups are preheated, will ensure the group handles (the part where the ground coffee is put in), are kept in the machine and not left lying around, will only use fresh milk from the fridge and froth it at the machine, and will tamp (flatten) the coffee in the group handle using a fair amount of pressure (not lightly pressed).

The result of this attention to detail is a lovely cup of coffee, which will be worth every penny.

You wont be surprised to know that the National Barista World Championship is held annually in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, but what you might well be surprised to know is that the current world champion is not from the States nor from Italy, but from Yorkshire.

The Best Barista on the planet in 2009 comes from London, he is Mr G Davies a market trader working in the East End. He is a somewhat eccentric character and lives on a canal boat and sells coffee from his stalls in Whitecross Street and Colombia Road markets.

Barista courses are now available in the UK. A simple search in your favourite search engine should tell you where to go.