The Key Steps For Brewing Coffee, According To Starbucks' Training Manual

However you feel about Starbucks, the people who work there end up learning a lot about brewing coffee. People who apply to be baristas at Starbucks go through a pretty extensive training programs, which expects them to not just know how to make the company's products, but about the nuances of different coffee growing regions, and how coffee is produced and roasted. And that detail-orientated training continues all the way through the brewing process. Each step has key points and measurements Starbucks baristas are expected to follow, and the entire process is separated into four key steps: grinding, brewing, tasting, and storing.

This comes from the Starbucks' company training manual (via Scribd). Starbucks demands that coffee is ground fresh, because ground beans quickly start losing flavor as soon as they are exposed to oxygen. In fact, coffee can lose most of its aroma in just 15 minutes after grinding. Also essential to the grinding process at Starbucks is getting the correct amount of coffee to start, and using the proper grind size. The company follows the standard recommendations of using a fine grind for pour over, a medium fine for drip, and coarse grinds for French press and cold brew.

Grind size for each is chosen based on how long the coffee is exposed to water. A finer grind allows flavor to be extracted faster, making it the standard for low exposure pour overs. If the wrong grind is used, coffee can end up over, or under, extracted. Under-extracted coffee is thin and acidic, while over-extracted coffee is bitter.

In the brewing portion, the correct proportions must be used, as too little coffee can lead to the same problems of over-extraction, while too much will create under-extracted coffee. Starbucks' training manual is particularly keen on water quality as well, saying "with coffee being comprised of 98% water, the quality of the water can directly affect the taste of the coffee." Starbucks even uses special filtration systems to purify its water to remove elements that can change the flavor, like chlorine. Another water filter is also used again while actually brewing, which is done at the standard recommended temperature of 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit.

Interestingly, tasting the coffee is also listed as a critical step, which makes sense when trying to train people to understand quality coffee. The training manual advises employees to smell the coffee first to take in the aroma, slurp of the coffee so it coats the entire palate, and assess where on their tongue they are experiencing each taste. It breaks down the quality assessment into aroma, acidity, body, and flavor.

Finally Starbucks lists the last essential step as storage. It recommends coffee be stored in an airtight container away from heat, light, and moisture. Once brewed, its standard is to use hot coffee no more than two hours after brewing, while iced coffee is only given up to eight hours in the refrigerator. Espresso? That better be going into the drink in only 10 seconds. That may be strict, but it's the standard Starbucks holds employees to for the highest quality results.