Falling in love with coffee might happen when you see the cool latte art of the barista at the street coffee shop, or when you're drawn to the gentle demeanor of female baristas making hand drip coffee.

Or perhaps, you're simply fascinated by the taste of coffee itself. Everyone who loves coffee might dream of opening a café, and if you're reading this article, chances are you're no exception.

Regardless of the industry, achieving success requires not only passion but also significant time and effort, even mundane daily practice, to become someone who effortlessly impresses others. It's often said, 'You have to work very hard to make it look easy.'

Baristas are no exception. While starting in the culinary world as a barista is relatively easy, achieving success in this field requires continuous learning, diligence, and perhaps a bit of luck.

Barista Certification

If you're only looking for a basic barista job, a professional certificate is not necessary. You can choose to start by working in a coffee shop (chain or independent) without a certificate, akin to being an apprentice.

Some coffee shops offer comprehensive on-the-job training that can turn a novice into a relatively skilled barista within a few months. However, apprentices not only learn about coffee and its operations but also engage in various other tasks such as cashiering, cleaning, inventory management, customer service, etc., and generally earn lower wages.

If you want to quickly get started in a short period, you should be aware of the most authoritative way to enter the barista profession: obtaining certification from the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), an international organization.

The SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) is formed by the merger of two major specialty coffee associations in the world (SCAA - Specialty Coffee Association of America and SCAE - Specialty Coffee Association of Europe). The SCA barista certificate is a globally recognized certification for baristas.

The SCA course is a barista certification course where all learning and examination contents are accredited by this authoritative organization. Upon completion of the course and passing the assessment, you will receive an official certificate from the SCA.

There are many schools on the market where you can learn and obtain certification, almost every major city has many such learning institutions. From learning to certification, you can do it all at once. When searching for schools online, you can check if the school can issue SCA certificates, whether there are plenty of coffee-related courses to choose from and compare the qualifications of the instructors.

Generally, you can find a lot of information related to courses by searching "SCA course". In the initial stage, you can gather more information and consult on each platform.

Because SCA courses are standardized, the prices are relatively transparent, and the teaching contents of each institution are generally similar. The main difference lies in the qualifications of each instructor and their authority in the industry. As a small reference, institutions that offer advanced courses tend to be more professional.

The duration of the basic course is usually 1 day, the intermediate course is 3 days, and the combined basic and intermediate course is also usually 3 days. The combined basic and intermediate classes are relatively simpler, so it's possible to learn them together. After completing the course, there will be an exam the following day. For coffee novices, obtaining a basic and intermediate certificate is relatively easy and can be considered an entry-level foundation for baristas.

To obtain an advanced certificate, you need to wait at least 3 months after receiving the intermediate certificate. In addition to basic theoretical knowledge, accumulating sufficient experience and professional skills in coffee-related fields is more important for obtaining an advanced certificate.