Everyday Barista Skills
Learn the core techniques behind café-quality drinks. Pull balanced espresso shots, steam glossy microfoam, and assemble classic drinks with confidence.
Like Duolingo, but for Everyday Barista Skills. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Pulling the Espresso Shot and Milk and the Finished Cup. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Everyday Barista Skills
- A standard espresso brew ratio is 1:2 (one part dry ground coffee to two parts liquid espresso)
- Dosing 18 grams of dry coffee yields 36 grams of brewed espresso
- Weighing the liquid output on a scale tells you exactly when to stop the shot
- Pressurized water always seeks the path of least resistance through the coffee puck
- A crooked tamp or uneven coffee distribution creates weak spots called channels
- Channeling results in a shot that tastes simultaneously sour and harsh
- Shot time serves as an indicator of how much resistance the puck offers to the water
- A shot running too fast means grounds are too coarse to slow the water down
- A shot that chokes or drips too slowly means grounds are packed too tightly and ground too fine
- Espresso extracts heavy, dark, viscous syrups containing sour acids and concentrated oils first
- The stream shifts into a rich, golden-brown flow carrying balanced sweetness
- Toward the end of extraction, the stream thins and turns pale yellow (blonding), adding bitter, watery notes
- Acidic and sour components wash out of the grounds first
- Sugars and body dissolve during the middle of the brew
- Bitter, harsh notes only dissolve at the very end of extraction
- A sour, puckering taste indicates under-extraction
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 Everyday Barista Skills 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.
What is the standard brew ratio most baristas aim for when making espresso?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where Everyday Barista Skills takes you
- 1
Pulling the Espresso Shot
- Pulling Your First Clean Shot
- Diagnosing Flavor and Dialing In
- 2
Milk and the Finished Cup
- Steaming Silky Microfoam
- Assembling the Café Menu
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Everyday Barista Skills 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 Barista's Espresso Craft
Learn the essential skills of a café barista. Dial in espresso shots by taste, steam silky microfoam, and assemble classic drinks with confidence.
The Home Barista's First Shot
Transform your kitchen into a cafe by mastering the fundamental mechanics of espresso and milk. Learn to pull a balanced shot and steam silky microfoam from day one.
Making Classic Café Coffee
Learn to pull rich, balanced espresso, steam glossy microfoam, and recreate your favorite café drinks with authentic barista technique.
Espresso and Milk: The Barista's Craft
Unlock the secrets behind the cafe counter. Learn how to pull sweet, balanced espresso shots, steam silky microfoam, and assemble coffee shop classics with confidence.
Espresso and Milk Craft
Learn the essential mechanics of pulled espresso and silky steamed milk. Dial in balanced shots, texture microfoam properly, and pour classic cafe drinks with confidence.
Espresso and Milk at Home
Stop settling for watery coffee and learn to craft cafe-quality lattes and cappuccinos in your own kitchen. Master the balance of the perfect espresso shot and the silky texture of professional microfoam.
Start Everyday Barista Skills today.
Download Tomo, search Everyday Barista Skills, and play your first lesson in under a minute.