Every few months, someone declares the “death of the coffee expert.”

But expertise isn’t the problem.
Performance is.

Customers still want to know their coffee is made by people who care, who understand process, who can read a roast profile like a weather pattern.

What they don’t want is the side-order of judgement.

The old era rewarded baristas who displayed knowledge:

• the anaerobic lecture,

• the tasting wheel recitation,

• the silent eyebrow raise when a customer orders a flat white “extra hot.”

The new era rewards baristas who translate knowledge:

• “If you like peach iced tea, this one’s for you,”

• “This is the smooth, chocolatey one.”

• “Tell me what flavours you enjoy and I’ll guide you.”

One approach elevates ego.
The other elevates the customer.

Our job as professionals is not to make coffee harder, it’s to make great coffee feel possible for more people.

Expertise isn’t disappearing; it’s simply moving backstage.
Quiet. Precise. Confident.

Craft is still serious. The experience must be joyful.

The expert survives.
The performance does not.