Reddit reviews The Professional Barista's Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea

What's your machine like? If you've got a small boiler, maybe they just don't want you steaming and pulling shots at the same time, to hold up enough pressure for the espresso? Still, that would speak to a machine that really belongs in a kitchen, not on a shop counter.

I wouldn't go stepping on toes at a new job either, but maybe if you share some resources like coffeegeek and home-barista (.com) with your trainers, they might (hopefully) revise their training regimens. You could also check out Schomer's book or Rao's.

Good luck!

In general Coffee's shelf life at room temp for optimal flavor is around 11-14 days. In the fridge the moisture is too high and will cause the oils to go rancid faster, but if you put the coffee into an airtight container in the fridge for storing it's fine - and only thaw beans when you're just about to brew them. It won't be as good as fresh coffee, but it may be up to 90-95% as good, so the improved shelf life may be worth it.

Source: The Professional Barista's Handbook by Scott Rao.

Start with this. Do not skip it. Read it all.

This book has a whole picture guide to the move. Start with elbows out, and twist your distribution hand as you bring your elbows toward your body- this is a crappy description, but I hope it helps.

Scott Rao has two or three introductory books such as: The Professional Barista’s Handbook and Everything But Espresso. I would also look around Barista Hustle. I’m currently taking their Advanced Coffee Making course in order to put together a wholesale training program, and it’s been super solid so far.

Not really unfortunately. But if you're up for reading there are two books I'd recommend. The more readable of the two is God in a Cup. The more technical is The Professional Barista's Handbook.

They are both from 2008, and are somewhat dated as the coffee world has moved pretty quickly in the last decade or so. But they are still good books to understanding coffee. On a professional level (the Rao book) and on a global scale (the Weissman book).

This is a very technical book that has a lot of science and depth behind coffee. The Professional Barista's Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea

http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-Baristas-Handbook-Preparing/dp/1605300985

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Baristas-Handbook-Preparing-Espresso/dp/1605300985

Get this book, you will learn a lot and then you will be the one who “knows what their doing”

There are ton of factors that need to be considered, but what's happening at your shop is unfortunate. It really sounds like it's one of those situations you should probably remove yourself from because it will take a lot of time and effort on your part to change the system and you'll likely see no reward for it.

Claiming you can pull a delicious shot in 5 seconds is like saying you can cook a full turkey in 30 minutes. Please don't get caught up in "It should be within 25-30 seconds" or whatever you may hear. Just your dose alone will change that a ton. So will roast profiles, ratios (ristretto is a ratio, not a time btw), grind size, roast date, etc.

You asked for resources though and I think to get a relatively unbiased opinion you should get the Scott Rao books The Professional Barista's Handbook and Everything but Espresso. Scott Rao isn't a cafe owner like Schomer or the Blue Bottle crew so the theory and methods aren't based on his own company's coffee. A lot of resources out there that say how a shot should be pulled are more specific to their coffee and the machines they use. I recommend these two books to everyone who wants to really learn coffee theory objectively aside from any one company's methods. Plus, this information will help you when moving from one shop to another since the theory stays the same.

Hope that helps!

Check out this book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-Baristas-Handbook-Preparing/dp/1605300985/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=IVHVR7NS95DYL&colid=CEF3GXQPLK7T

Twas recommended to me as a godbook of sorts for baristas. Donno from personal experience though.

The Professional Barista's Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea