Although Baristas are mainly responsible for making and serving beverages to customers, they may have other duties. These may include: Greeting customers in a friendly manner and taking food and drink orders.
Preparing and serving beverages such as drip coffee, espresso-based drinks, tea and other specialty drinks.
Preparing and serving food items such as soups, sandwiches and pastries.
Answering customers questions about menu choices.
Promoting and recommending menu options to customers.
Taking payment from customers
Tracking and ordering inventory for cafe and beverage supplies, such as coffee beans, milk, napkins and cups.
Maintaining espresso machines, grinders, coffee machines and other equipment by cleaning, troubleshooting and scheduling repairs.
Keeping the work environment and cafe seating area clean, sanitary and organized.
Responding to and resolving customer concerns or complaints.
Evaluating and modifying processes to improve efficiency and quality of service.
Attracting new customers and refining the menu.

Baristas need a variety of skills to memorize drink recipes, learn how to operate equipment and provide efficient customer service. A successful Barista should possess the following skills:
Excellent listening and communication skills to effectively interact with coworkers and customers.
Basic coffee knowledge, such as how to prepare common coffee beverages, although advanced knowledge, such as roasting and grinding processes, coffee bean sourcing and flavor differences, can be helpful.
Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills to interact in a positive manner and prevent or resolve conflicts.
Strong teamwork abilities to work efficiently in a fast-paced and high-volume environment with other Baristas.
Attention to detail to manage specific customer requests as well as a high-volume beverage assembly line with minimal errors.
Time management and organizational skills to work efficiently and effectively in a high-volume workplace.