Coffee Education

for Baristas Who Want More

Practical skills. Real growth. No fluff.

Join baristas and world-class coffee mentors for community and learning in person at LEVEL UP II (or online on our Patreon!) — all with a focus on industry retention and equity. It’s about building real skills and growing together!

JOIN US AT LEVEL UP

Toolkits for baristas

Color-coded list of three sections with icons: Bar Craft with a blue icon, People & Service with a red icon, and Cafe Leadership & Growth Development with a green icon, each with descriptions of their focus areas.

There are toolkits, each accompanied by focused skill groups. Within each skill group, Raise the Bar aims to offer a diverse range of classes, hands-on workshops, and learnings.

Scroll below to see the the skill groups & classes in each toolkit.

In future years, we’ll be adding within these skill groups and toolkits, so you can continue to build and grow every year!

Infographic about bar craft skills, techniques, and behind-the-bar essentials, including skill groups like cafe systems, beverage proficiency, equipment operations, and various brewing methods.

Skill Groups

& CLASSES

A graphic titled 'People & Service' illustrating tools for connection, communication, and care. It includes sections on workplace wellbeing, beyond the bar, service & communication, crisis navigation & de-escalation, financial health & stability, storytelling & promotion, inclusive communication, and workplace communication, with brief descriptions in each section.
A colorful infographic titled "Cafe Leadership & Growth Development" with various sections about skills for managing a coffee shop, including business thinking, growth and development, leadership, team management, understanding cafe metrics, coffee competitions and professional development, presentation preparation, and HR basics. It contains text and graphics, including a stylized coffee pot.
Infographic titled 'Deep Coffee Knowledge' with sections on coffee origin, roasting, evaluation, cupping, green coffee fundamentals, and quality control practices. It features icons, headings, and brief descriptions about coffee processes and standards.

LEARN FROM Incredible Mentors, Educators, & Coffee Industry veterans WITH RAISE THE BAR

join & learn online

join & learn online

Raise the Bar brings our accessible learning framework and toolkits for baristas ~online~! Join the community to engage with quarterly and monthly themes that follow along with the framework outlined above — all skills and tools to help you grow in coffee!

JOIN TODAY

  • Connect with other Coffee Friends looking to learn

  • Stay up to speed on the latest news in the Coffee Industry

  • Access our Resource library for barista and coffee learning

  • Discuss topics on virtual meetings with the community

  • Deep dive on coffee topics with experts in the field

  • Participate in extra career mentorship

Students learning with Raise the Bar

2025 LEVEL UP Classes & Educators

  • INTRO TO ROASTING FOR BARISTAS

    INTRO TO ROASTING FOR BARISTAS

  • Human Resources 101 with Eric Grimm

    Human Resources 101

  • Sensory 101 & intro to cupping with carly green

    Sensory 101 & intro to cupping

  • Brew that batch with John Dixon

    Brew that batch

  • A woman with short hair wearing sunglasses holds an ice cream cone. The background is a gradient pink-purple with graphic stars, a cartoon ice cream character holding a spoon, and text about Bailey Arnold's work with coffee and her interests.

    Workplace Community & Collective care

  • Signature Beverages, creativity and practicality by Laila Ghambari and Morgan Eckroth

    Signature Beverages: Creativity & Practicality

  • Business of the Cafe and What Baristas Should Know by Erica Escalante

    Business of the Cafe: What baristas should know

  • Manual Brewing for Impact with Kristina Jackson

    Manual Brewing for Impact

  • Language and Power in Coffee Workplaces by Ever Meister

    Language and Power in Coffee Workplaces

  • Hospitality & Guest Experience with Jaymie Lao

    Hospitality & Guest Experience

  • A woman with curly blonde hair and sunglasses standing behind a coffee machine, wearing a black leather jacket and jewelry, at a barista event called 'Level Up' by SLAYER espresso machines, with a red and white graphic design background.

    Espresso Tech for Baristas

  • A woman preparing latte art with three different examples of latte art, a dog lying on a pink cushion, and text that reads 'Latte Art Fundamentals w/ Seidy Selivanow'.

    latte art fundamentals

  • A promotional poster featuring Laila Ghambari and Nathanel May for a resume and interview prep session, with background images of baristas and coffee shop items.

    Resume and interview prep

  • Promotional graphic for a show titled 'Here's the Tea with Navdeep Kaur'. The background features various cups of tea with tea bags visible and a smiling woman, Navdeep Kaur, in the foreground. Text on the graphic mentions 'Level Up' and 'Ongoing', along with a graphic of a kettle.

    HERE'S THE TEA

  • A corkboard with photos of a panel and text inviting viewers to meet the panel. The panel includes Ezri Herrera, Bartholomew Jones, Nico Herr, Zakiya Mason, and Seidy Selivanow. A sticky note advertises an event at Mill City Roasters from September 27-29.

    PANEL: ORIGINS

  • Promotional poster for a show titled 'Demystifying Decaf with Ezri Herrera'. The poster features two photos of Ezri Herrera: on the left, he is outside among coffee plants, and on the right, he is inside, tasting coffee. The poster includes logos for 'Level Up' presented by 'Raise The Bar' and a circular logo indicating Swiss Water supported by Swiss Water, with a crumpled paper background and star decorations.

    DEMYSTIFYING DECAF

  • A person drinking from a white cup in front of a water body with reflections of sunlight, with colorful text overlay promoting a segment called 'Water Explainer' with Christopher Hendon, and a logo for 'Level Up' by Raise the Bar.

    WATER, EXPLAINED

  • A corkboard poster featuring headshots and names of six panelists for an event called "Career Paths: What No One Tells You". The panelists include Kristina Jackson, Nathanael May, Gerra Harrigan, Josh Edens, AL, and John Dixon. An event details note at the bottom indicates it is only for level up at Mill City Roasters from September 27 to 29.

    PANEL: Career paths in coffee

Everyone deserves to know how to make delicious coffee and what it takes to get to that final cup.