A strong barista CV should show more than an ability to make coffee. Employers also need evidence that you can work quickly during busy service, communicate naturally with customers, handle payments accurately, maintain food hygiene standards and help keep the café organised throughout the shift.
This Barista CV example shows how to present coffee preparation, customer service, till work, stock handling and café experience in a clear professional format. You can also download the editable Word template and adapt it to your own experience.
Barista CV Example
The completed example below is written for a barista with several years of café and customer service experience. It combines drink preparation with the practical responsibilities that keep a busy coffee bar running smoothly.
The Word document is fully editable. Replace the example details with your own café experience, coffee knowledge, customer service skills and training.
Completed Barista CV Sample
Mia Carter
Barista
London, United Kingdom
+44 7700 900 482 | mia.carter@example.com
linkedin.com/in/miacarter
Professional Profile
Customer-focused Barista with three years of experience working in busy café and hospitality environments. Skilled in espresso preparation, milk steaming, till operation, food service and maintaining clean, well-organised coffee stations. Confident recommending drinks and seasonal products, building rapport with regular customers and delivering friendly, efficient service during high-volume periods.
Core Barista Skills
- Espresso preparation and milk steaming
- Hot and cold beverage preparation
- Customer service and product recommendations
- POS and cash/card transactions
- Food handling and hygiene
- Stock replenishment and rotation
- Opening and closing routines
- Cleaning and equipment care
- Working efficiently during busy service
- Teamwork and communication
Work Experience
Barista
Harbour Coffee House | London
April 2024 – Present
- Prepare espresso-based drinks, speciality beverages and food orders to consistent presentation and quality standards.
- Serve customers efficiently during busy morning and lunchtime periods while maintaining a friendly and welcoming approach.
- Recommend coffee, food and seasonal products based on customer preferences and current promotions.
- Process cash and card payments accurately using the POS system and follow cash-handling procedures.
- Maintain a clean and organised coffee bar, including cups, utensils, counters and service equipment.
- Check stock levels, rotate products and support deliveries and waste-control procedures.
- Monitor coffee equipment during service and report maintenance issues when required.
Café Assistant
City Square Café | London
June 2022 – March 2024
- Supported drink preparation, counter service and food presentation in a fast-paced café environment.
- Processed customer orders and payments while answering menu and allergen-related queries appropriately.
- Replenished display items, cups, plates and takeaway supplies throughout service.
- Followed food hygiene, cleaning and health and safety procedures.
- Worked closely with baristas and supervisors to keep service moving smoothly during peak periods.
Education & Training
- Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene for Catering
- Barista Skills Training – Espresso, Milk Steaming & Equipment Care
- Customer Service Training
What Should a Barista CV Show?
A café may serve excellent coffee, but the customer experience depends on much more than the drink itself. Baristas often move between preparing orders, handling payments, answering questions, restocking supplies and keeping the service area clean — sometimes within the same few minutes.
Your CV should therefore show a combination of coffee knowledge, practical service skills and reliability.
Useful evidence can include:
- the types of drinks you prepare;
- your experience with espresso machines or other brewing equipment;
- how you handle busy periods;
- customer service and product recommendations;
- cash, card and POS transactions;
- food hygiene and cleaning routines;
- stock rotation and replenishment;
- opening or closing responsibilities; and
- teamwork during service.
Speciality coffee experience can strengthen some applications, but it is not the only evidence employers value. Customer service, reliability, attention to detail and the ability to stay calm during a busy service can also be highly relevant.
How to Write a Barista CV
1. Start with a Clear Barista Profile
Your opening profile should quickly explain your level of experience, the kind of environment you have worked in and the main strengths you bring to the role.
Experienced Barista profile example:
Barista with three years of experience in busy coffee shops and hospitality environments. Confident preparing espresso-based drinks, serving customers, handling payments and maintaining high standards of cleanliness and food safety. Known for friendly service, reliable timekeeping and staying organised during peak periods.
Junior Barista profile example:
Enthusiastic junior barista with customer service experience and practical training in espresso preparation, milk steaming and food hygiene. Comfortable working in fast-paced environments and keen to develop further coffee knowledge within a supportive café team.
2. Describe Your Coffee Skills Properly
Writing only “coffee making” gives very little information. Where relevant, be more specific about the preparation methods or responsibilities you actually know.
| General wording | More useful CV wording |
|---|---|
| Coffee making | Prepare espresso-based drinks including flat whites, cappuccinos, lattes and americanos. |
| Customer service | Recommend drinks and food products based on customer preferences and seasonal offers. |
| Cash handling | Process cash and card transactions accurately using the café POS system. |
| Cleaning | Maintain clean coffee stations, service counters, utensils and equipment throughout the shift. |
| Stock work | Monitor milk, coffee, food and takeaway supplies and replenish items before peak service periods. |
Do not include preparation methods or equipment you have never used simply because they appear in a vacancy.
3. Show How You Work During Busy Service
Working under pressure is commonly requested in hospitality jobs, but writing the phrase alone is weak evidence. Explain the environment instead.
Prepare and serve drinks efficiently during high-volume morning service while maintaining order accuracy, cleanliness and friendly customer communication.
This tells the employer what “working under pressure” actually looked like in practice.
4. Include Customer Recommendations and Sales
Baristas often help customers choose drinks, food and seasonal products. This can be useful CV evidence because it demonstrates product knowledge, confidence and customer awareness.
Examples include:
- recommended coffee and food pairings;
- explained seasonal drinks or new products;
- suggested alternatives based on customer preferences;
- promoted relevant offers without creating pressure; and
- remembered the preferences of regular customers.
If the role involved genuine sales targets or upselling, you can mention them. If it did not, do not turn ordinary customer service into an exaggerated sales claim.
5. Include Food Hygiene and Safety Responsibilities
Café work involves food, drinks, cleaning chemicals, hot equipment and busy service areas. Food hygiene and health and safety are therefore practical parts of the job, not decorative CV keywords.
Relevant experience may include:
- following cleaning schedules;
- safe handling and storage of food;
- stock rotation;
- allergen procedures;
- safe operation of coffee equipment;
- reporting equipment faults; and
- maintaining clean service areas.
Barista Responsibilities to Include on a CV
A barista’s responsibilities vary between independent cafés, hotels, workplace catering, restaurants and large coffee chains. Five common areas are:
- Preparing drinks and food to the expected quality and presentation standards.
- Serving customers in a friendly, professional and efficient manner.
- Processing payments accurately through cash, card or POS systems.
- Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene across coffee, food and service areas.
- Supporting café operations through stocking, teamwork, equipment checks and opening or closing routines.
Your CV does not need to reproduce your full job description. Choose the responsibilities that best demonstrate your suitability for the position you want next.
Barista Skills for a CV
The strongest barista CVs normally combine practical coffee skills with customer-facing and operational abilities.
| Skill area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Coffee preparation | Espresso extraction, milk steaming, drink consistency, beverage presentation |
| Customer service | Welcoming customers, recommendations, handling questions, relationship building |
| Operations | POS operation, cash handling, stock replenishment, opening and closing |
| Food & safety | Food hygiene, cleaning routines, allergen awareness, equipment safety |
| Working style | Reliability, timekeeping, teamwork, attention to detail, working under pressure |
Avoid listing twenty generic qualities simply to fill the page. Choose skills you can support through your work experience.
How to Describe Barista Experience on a CV
A useful bullet normally explains what you did and the context in which you did it.
For example:
- Prepared espresso-based drinks and speciality beverages to consistent recipes during high-volume service.
- Built rapport with regular customers and recommended food and drink products based on individual preferences.
- Processed customer transactions accurately using cash, card and POS systems.
- Maintained coffee, milk, food and takeaway stock levels and supported stock rotation.
- Kept service counters, coffee equipment and customer areas clean throughout the shift.
- Reported equipment faults promptly and followed safe operating procedures.
These examples are useful because they describe real café work rather than relying on phrases such as “excellent communication skills” without evidence.
Barista CV With No Experience
You do not necessarily need previous barista employment to apply for an entry-level café role. Some employers value customer service experience, enthusiasm, reliability and willingness to learn alongside formal coffee experience.
If you have no previous barista job, useful evidence may come from:
- retail or customer service work;
- restaurant or catering experience;
- school, university or community events;
- cash handling;
- food preparation;
- volunteering;
- team-based part-time work; or
- barista or food hygiene training.
For example, a retail assistant may already have experience serving customers, processing transactions, maintaining displays and working during busy periods. Those skills can transfer naturally to a café environment.
Our No Experience CV Template shows how to structure an application when you do not yet have formal work history in the target role.Students looking for part-time café work can also use the Student CV Template for Word to give education and transferable skills greater prominence.
Junior Barista CV Example
A junior barista CV should not try to imitate the experience of someone who has worked behind a coffee bar for several years. Instead, show the skills you already have and the areas in which you have received practical training. A junior application might highlight:
- basic espresso and milk-steaming training;
- customer service experience;
- cash and card handling;
- food hygiene training;
- reliability and availability;
- teamwork in busy environments; and
- willingness to learn different brewing methods and products.
Be precise about your level of experience. Writing “trained in espresso preparation” is more credible than presenting yourself as an expert coffee specialist after a short introductory course.
Coffee Knowledge: How Much Should Go on Your CV?
The answer depends on the café. Some roles focus on high-volume customer service, while others place greater emphasis on speciality coffee, brewing methods and detailed product knowledge. If relevant to your experience, you might mention:
- espresso extraction;
- milk texture and steaming;
- dialling in coffee;
- grinder adjustment;
- filter brewing methods;
- coffee origins and flavour profiles;
- equipment cleaning and maintenance routines; or
- seasonal beverage preparation.
But do not fill the CV with specialist terminology simply to sound knowledgeable. Include the detail that matches the type of café and role you are applying for.
Barista CV Format
A clear barista CV usually works well with the following order:
- Name and contact details
- Professional profile
- Core barista and customer service skills
- Work experience
- Education
- Food hygiene or barista training
- Additional information such as availability where genuinely useful
Keep the design easy to scan. Café managers and hospitality recruiters need to find your relevant experience quickly rather than interpret a complicated visual layout.
Should You Include Availability?
Availability can be useful for hospitality roles when the vacancy involves early mornings, evenings, weekends or specific shift patterns. You can include it briefly if it strengthens your application. For example:
Availability: Full-time, including early mornings and weekends.
Do not add availability if the employer has not asked for it and it uses space that would be better spent on relevant experience.
Common Barista CV Mistakes
- Writing only “customer service”: explain how you interact with customers and solve everyday service needs.
- Overstating coffee expertise: distinguish professional experience from basic training.
- Ignoring cleanliness and hygiene: these are important operational responsibilities in café work.
- Listing generic personality traits: show reliability and teamwork through actual responsibilities.
- Forgetting till and payment experience: transaction accuracy is relevant in many café roles.
- Using the same CV for every hospitality role: prioritise coffee, café and customer-facing evidence for barista applications.
- Including unsupported sales claims: describe genuine product recommendations and promotions instead.
Barista CV FAQs
What are five responsibilities of a barista?
Five common responsibilities are preparing drinks and food, serving customers, processing payments, maintaining hygiene and cleanliness, and supporting café operations through stock control, teamwork and equipment care.
How do I introduce myself as a barista on my CV?
Use a short professional profile that states your level of experience, the type of café or hospitality environment you know and your strongest relevant skills. Mention coffee preparation, customer service and busy-service experience where appropriate.
What skills should I put on a barista CV?
Relevant skills can include espresso preparation, milk steaming, customer service, POS operation, cash handling, food hygiene, stock rotation, cleanliness, teamwork, timekeeping and the ability to work efficiently during busy periods.
Do I need previous coffee experience to become a barista?
Not always. Some employers provide training and may consider applicants with customer service, hospitality, retail or catering experience. Requirements vary, so check the individual vacancy and present transferable experience honestly.
Should I include speciality coffee skills?
Yes, if you genuinely have them and they are relevant to the role. For a speciality coffee position, brewing knowledge and equipment skills may deserve more space. For a high-volume hospitality role, customer service, speed and consistency may be equally important.
Download the Barista CV Template for Word
Download the editable Word example and replace the sample information with your own café experience, coffee skills, training and customer service background.
For related examples, see our Customer Service CV Example and Retail CV Example, or browse all CV Examples.