Professional Barista Techniques
Like Duolingo, but for Professional Barista Techniques. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
24 levels across 4 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Precision and Texture, The Science of Extraction, Sensory and Workflow, and The Raw Material. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Key ideas in Professional Barista Techniques
- Adapting recipes to bean age
- Environmental impact on extraction
- Recipes as baselines
- Early extraction flavors
- Middle extraction flavors
- Late extraction flavors
- Salami Shot flavor progression
- Increasing yield allows more water to wash out balancing bitters and sugars
- Short yields (Ristretto) emphasize acidity by cutting the shot before bitters develop
- Identifying the flavor progression in a Salami Shot
- Yield is the primary lever for moving the flavor profile along the acid-bitter axis
- A larger coffee puck creates more physical resistance for the pump to push against
- Understanding that recipes must be adapted to specific bean age and environment
- Higher doses increase the concentration of undissolved solids for a creamier body
- Dose changes affect the gap between the shower screen and the coffee surface
- Using yield to correct flavor imbalances
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Professional Barista Techniques the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If your cafe gets much more humid during a rainstorm, why might your espresso shots start flowing differently?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where Professional Barista Techniques takes you
Move beyond the basics of espresso and milk. Learn to manipulate extraction variables, master water chemistry, and refine your sensory palate for professional-grade coffee service.
- 1
Precision and Texture
- Dialing in by Taste
- Microfoam Mastery
- 2
The Science of Extraction
- Puck Prep and Channeling
- Managing the Extraction Curve
- 3
Sensory and Workflow
- Identifying Extraction Defects
- High-Volume Efficiency
- 4
The Raw Material
- Processing and Solubility
- Water Chemistry for Coffee
4 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Professional Barista Techniques is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
The Professional Barista's Craft
Move beyond basic brewing to master the precision, chemistry, and workflow of a professional espresso bar. Learn to manipulate extraction variables and perfect your microfoam for world-class drinks.
The Professional Barista
Move beyond basic brewing to master the precision, chemistry, and workflow of a high-end specialty coffee bar.
Espresso: Dialing in the Perfect Shot
Move beyond the basic 'push-button' espresso and learn to manipulate variables like a professional barista. Master the physics of the puck, the chemistry of water, and the sensory skills required to diagnose any shot.
Barista: The Art of Extraction
Move beyond basic brewing to master the variables that define a perfect espresso. Learn to manipulate grind, temperature, and milk chemistry to create cafe-quality drinks with precision.
Espresso Barista Techniques
Move beyond basic brewing and master the precision required for professional-grade espresso. Learn to dial in complex roasts, steam perfect microfoam for every drink size, and manage a high-speed bar workflow.
The Science and Craft of Coffee
Go beyond the basics of brewing to master the thermodynamics of roasting, the chemistry of extraction, and the complex microbiology of post-harvest processing.
Start Professional Barista Techniques today.
Download Tomo, search Professional Barista Techniques, and play your first lesson in under a minute.