Job Description

Variety Coffee Roasters is looking for a Coffee Educator to lead and evolve our coffee education program for both our retail cafes and wholesale partners. Founded in 2008 as a single shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Variety has grown into nine (and counting) NYC cafes and a dynamic community of wholesale accounts. At Variety, we believe coffee should be fun. While we take our coffee seriously, we try not to take ourselves too seriously. Seriously.

This role is for someone who’s jazzed about coffee all around — from espresso extraction and milk texture to sensory development and deep coffee knowledge. You understand how specialty coffee has evolved over the past 20 years, but you’re grounded in timeless fundamentals rather than chasing trends. You thrive in a structured yet creative role, and you’re energized by teaching others and elevating the collective skill level of our teams and partners. You value both tradition and innovation — appreciating the arc of specialty coffee’s growth while staying rooted in classic, enduring standards of quality and hospitality.

Based primarily at our HQ and training lab, you’ll spend most of your time leading hands-on trainings, hosting cuppings, building curriculum, and mentoring baristas and partners to raise the bar across our cafes and partners in NYC. If you’re a self-starter who believes in excellence, cares deeply about people, and gets fired up by building something impactful, this is your chance to shape the future of coffee at Variety — one perfectly pulled shot at a time.

This is a full-time, salaried position reporting to both Retail and Wholesale leadership.

THE COFFEE EDUCATOR WILL:

Cultivate a training program that is engaging, accessible, and foundational to Variety’s excellence in coffee quality
Raise the overall level of barista proficiency, particularly in espresso preparation, milk handling, and latte art
Establish parity across all Variety cafes and wholesale partners with consistently high-quality espresso and drip coffee
Develop rotating educational modules that balance evergreen foundations with evolving topics
Innovate new methods and materials that maintain staff investment in Variety’s coffee program
Serve as a resource and mentor for both retail teams and wholesale partners

RESPONSIBILITIES

Training (75%)
Foster an inclusive, welcoming, and engaging learning environment
Offer a standard curriculum of evergreen, regular trainings from Variety’s HQ, focused on espresso skills, milk texture, latte art, dialing in, brewing methods, cupping, and coffee knowledge.
Create a transparent tracking system to ensure that new Variety baristas receive a standardized set of training modules preparing them to serve excellent coffee and espresso
Offer specialized additional trainings for existing staff and wholesale partners when requested by Cafe leadership
Schedule and lead cuppings to compliment skill and knowledge-based trainings
Provide clear, actionable feedback to trainees at all skill levels
Work with Variety’s coffee team to stay expert-level informed on current menus and recipes at all times

Curriculum Development (15%)
With input from company leadership, design and maintain a consolidated, trackable training program that is transparent and scalable
Develop evergreen curriculum modules that establish foundational skills
Create rotating or advanced modules that evolve with barista interest and industry developments
Monitor barista progression and skill benchmarks, tweaking trainings based on implementation
Innovate supplemental training materials to deepen engagement
Assist with recipe assessment and quality standards as needed

Field Engagement (10%)
Periodically visit cafes and wholesale partner locations to observe and coach
Work with company leadership to coffee standards are upheld across all accounts and Variety cafes
Occasionally cover shifts when not in conflict with primary responsibilities
Provide in-context training and troubleshooting support
Identify opportunities for additional skill development
Administrative & General
Work with store managers and leadership to schedule trainings
Maintain organization and documentation of training progress
Keep the training lab clean, stocked, and operational at all times
Exemplify Variety’s standards of warmth, consistency, speed, efficiency, and cleanliness
Understand and training
Attend and assist with work-related events such as throwdowns, events etc, as needed

QUALIFICATIONS
3+ years of specialty coffee experience required
Demonstrated technical proficiency in espresso extraction and milk texturing
Experience training, mentoring, or leading teams
Curriculum design experience preferred
NYC Food Handler’s license required (within 30 days of hire)
Strong organizational skills and ability to work independently
Experience with Google workspace
Coffee equipment fluency, including programming and calibration
Ability to stand while working for long periods, commute on foot and lift up to 50lbs on the job

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Annual Salary of $75,000
80 hours paid time off per year plus 7 paid company holidays
Medical, vision and dental care coverage offered with 50% company contribution

How to Apply

Job Categories: Trainer. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 60,000 - 80,000.

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