Why a Team Building Barista Course in Melbourne Will Work Wonders

It’s not an overstatement to say that when you think of Melbourne, your first thought is their great coffee. World renowned for their quality beans, barista courses in Melbourne have easily become one of the most popular things to do in your local city. Whether you’re looking for end-of-year team building activities or workplace wellbeing events, think outside the box and book your team in for a fun hands-on activity! Instead of buying expensive coffees before work, learn how to make a delicious cup of joe that warms your soul. 

Common ground is crucial for team building!

Virtually everybody drinks coffee. The morning coffee ritual is synonymous with, well, living. So already, you have common ground amongst employees. But few people know what goes into their morning cup of joe. Barista workshops enable your team to bond over something they already all participate in. Not only does it teach them new skills and promotes collaboration in an alternative environment, but next time that morning coffee run comes up, the staff will be raring to discuss what went into making their first cuppa. 

Finally, your office coffee snob will have a collection of worthy challengers, and with the combined knowledge, your staff can all be coffee snobs. That’s not a negative thing, however! With the coffee market expanding and the variations on beans and styles only increasing, not knowing what coffee you’re drinking will soon be a faux pa, akin to accidentally calling the boss “mum” or mistaking a small dog for a cat. 

If you really want to get the competition heating up, throw a coffee machine into the staff room after the barista workshop and see who gets brewing the quickest. 

Barista workshops promote cooperation and success

Coffee making can be a meditative solo exercise or a fun collaborative experience. If you visit a popular cafe during peak times, you’ll likely notice there’s more than one barista manning the espresso machine. One set of hands manages the coffee beans, and the other takes care of the milk. In particularly busy establishments, there may even be a third barista whose sole responsibility is to focus on presentation and latte art, but all three are working together like a beautiful, organic, caffeine conveyor belt. 

This kind of collaboration is what barista courses in Melbourne strive for. Before you can produce the sum of all the parts, you must learn how each individual part works. From the bean grind to the tamping pressure, the pulling of the shot and the texturing of the milk, each individual element must be mastered before a good coffee is made. This creates a lot of flexibility for people to work as a team, whilst also learning at their own pace. While one is grinding the beans, the other is preparing the milk. They can churn out a coffee each whilst working together; the work is quick and the reward is delicious. 

Teams that play together stay together, so it’s important to get them out of the office and working together so they can effectively build trust and become a more productive team. One of the benefits of learning to make coffee together is that the casual environment pairs perfectly with the level of concentration and attention required to make a good cuppa. Once they start working together out of the office as well, you can be sure they’ll be working effectively once they get back in. 

Plus, a recent study has shown that coffee consumption actually improves individual confidence. Imagine what teaching your team to make coffee can do for their overall self-esteem? You’re practically showing them how to work in a confidence factory! Hi-fives all-round, great idea, you. 

Create a healthy team competition

Using a barista workshop for your team building activity also adds a dash of competition without it being overt or crucial. Team building events that rely on individual brilliance can, more often than not, be highly ineffective and actually divide your staff. Barista courses perfectly blend cooperation with competitiveness in a way where there’s no real winner because if you make the best coffee everyone else gets to drink it. There’s no doubt your office will have a stand-out coffee maker, but as it’s a shared learning experience and not an outright competition, barista workshops promote a sense of community and shared desired outcomes.

Coffee making is a surprising alternative

But lastly, who is expecting a barista course as their team building activity? It’s a truly out of the box idea that still effectively hits every KPI for a team building event! Let’s be honest, many people shudder at the thought of an upcoming team building event. The horror stories are plentiful, and memories of poorly organised bowling competitions, sub-par pub crawls and improv workshops are sure to reappear in an employee's mind. 

Instead of working with a well-worn staff party trope, try something out of the box. Barista courses promote collaboration and teamwork whilst also offering an individual new skills they can take away with them. It’s a shared experience with a collective achievement, and certainly one that’s worth talking about for weeks after the actual coffee workshop. The only major difference between a barista workshop and a cooking class is that you can start the morning with a barista workshop, and the dietary requirement dilemma that can accompany work events has been greatly minimised, if not eliminated altogether. 

To achieve a successful outcome from your team building exercise, it’s important that the team achieves a sense of collective achievement through shared experience. Barista workshops combine every facet crucial to a team building event being successful, whilst offering up a unique alternative to the team building cliches. There are several barista courses in Melbourne to choose from, so get your team bonding better than ever over the best coffee they’re yet to make!

Looking for recommendations? 

If you’ve been convinced that barista courses should be your next team building exercise, head to Barista Course Melbourne and learn coffee making for beginners. Guided by the best Melbourne baristas, you will learn how to make different types of coffee, from grinding coffee beans to textured milk to finally presenting your coffee like a pro. 

If you want a more in-depth class, visit Coffee School for a full-day barista course. You will get the chance to gain hands-on practice with making coffee and even learn how to pour latte art designs. No matter what course you choose, your team is bound to be talking about these fun team building activities in years to come!