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Whenever inconsistencies arise, such as the way that drinks are prepared or how deliveries get put away, it's best to make an action plan, using clear, constructive—and consistent, of course— communication from the top down. Training and cooperation, Rich adds, is key. Baristas need to be given the tools and information necessary to complete the task expected of them: If the staff isn't properly instructed on the science of coffee making, or the nuances of a particular set of recipes, then they can't very well be held accountable when things don't always go according to plan. "I'll go into the shop and ask the barista how he's doing, and he'll say, 'Everything's great except I'm not sure what's up with this machine. Every time I pull a shot, the weight comes out different,'" Rich says, chuckling over the common barista complaint. "I go, 'Well, there's good news—it's not the machine. We're going to work with your consistency. You need to be a machine.'" "My tip is to not be afraid to push people into the depths of repetition," Scott says about his training philosophy. "In the live café environment, we might pull 100 shots in a shift, and this isn't boring or repetitious because it comes with the dynamic nature of the café. The training environment is different…[and] it's not likely that you're going to want to literally stand there and pull 100 shots just for the sake of seeing how many are consistent." He advocates for encouraging self-driven experimentation and study, with follow-up from the trainers. "We spend a lot of time explaining the 'why's of what we teach, but find it very important to make everything easy enough to practice on one's own." Consistency, Not Conformity How do you create and maintain systems of consistency without making baristas feel like they're being turned into corporate robots? By talking to them about it and, perhaps more importantly, listening to them, too. "To me, consistency means hitting the same objectives every time, which can be tough because sometimes you have to take different approaches for different people," says Scott. "I'll claim title to keeper of the standards throne, [but] anyone who wants to question a standard isn't shunned. We created the majority of our Training for all Segments of the Coffee Industry Grow your passion by building your skills: from sourcing to preparation. Sign up for a class today www.cofeesolutions.net Training Partner for Probat Burns North America www.baristamagazine.com 75