A Journey to Become a Five-star Barista

張貼日期：Jan 22, 2018 4:35:26 AM

Christine Yan

This August, my manager asked me to take an exam to become a barista trainer in McDonald's. I passed the exam successfully and became a four-star barista. After that I am qualified to participate in the five-star barista competition in September. And that was the beginning of a journey to become a five-star barista. It would definitely be a fulfilling experience in my life.

I was recommended by my manager to represent our restaurant to join the five-star barista competition in our company. It was an annual competition in McDonald's. Only eight people will be selected from all the baristas in McDonald's. And the acceptance rate is only 6%. I started to practice latte art, which was my weakness. The only pattern that I could make was a simple heart. One of my colleagues was good at latte art. So he offered to teach me how to make a beautiful heart so that I can advance to the next stage. I used up at least two bottles of milk every time when I practiced.

I was very nervous in the preliminary, which was my first time making coffee in front of so many people. The competition had time limit. We had to finish two cups of cappuccino, one cup of latte and a creative drink. We also had to introduce the drinks to the judges and interact with them, which was very important to get high points in this section. It was my first time to face so many people watching me while making coffee. There were two technical judges standing beside me. They stared at me for every detail. I was so nervous that my body was shaking. When I was making a cappuccino, my hands shook ridiculously, which made my store manager and the supervisor of my district laughed loudly. I told them, "Don't laugh at me. I can't control my hands." But they were still laughing in a low voice, which also made me want to laugh. At that moment I suddenly felt less nervous and was able to finish the process. Before my turn I was so nervous that I didn't even say a word. But I managed to get into the rematch finally.

I didn't feel very nervous at the preliminary. On the contrary, I felt excited. The rematch was magnificent. We even had to walk through the red carpet and the host asked us questions as if we were super stars. In order to enter the final, all the refueling regiment from different districts made an all-out effort for every contestant. This time I started to feel nervous when I was ready to start. I was the loudest contestant when making a self-introduction to the judges. I was so nervous that I could not control my voice. During the competition, there were so many memories bursting into my head. I spent a lot of time practicing and made a lot of effort to get here. I told myself, "Be brave, I know you are the best and you can do it." I finally made it and I felt so proud of myself!

When the host was announcing the name who got into the finals, I was thinking that it was already amazing that I could be here. I told myself “Whether I can get into the finals or not, I already exceeded myself.” And then I heard my name. I immediately burst into tears and could not stop crying. I never thought I could make my way to the finals. I thought I was dreaming. It was so unbelievable and I would never forget the moment.