SCA Barista Skills: Professional

Grinder calibration and burr assessment
Espresso recipe development and dialling in
Refractometry, extraction yield and TDS
Water chemistry and its effect on extraction
Advanced milk texturing and free-pour latte art
Machine maintenance and troubleshooting
Bar workflow, efficiency and staff training
Costing, waste and bar management

Professional is for baristas who already work behind a bar and want to run it. It suits experienced baristas moving into head barista or trainer roles, and café owners who want to set a standard across a team. It is the final level of Barista Skills and assumes the fundamentals are already in hand.

Instruction at Professional level
Hands-on time on commercial equipment
Written and practical exams
SCA certification on passing
25 points toward the SCA Coffee Skills Diploma
Coffee and milk for practice throughout

An SCA Learner Number, free to set up before the course
SCA Barista Skills Intermediate certification
Working experience behind a bar, as the pace assumes it
Enough physical comfort to stand and work at the bar through the practicals
Written exams are sat in English