Green coffee buyer to coffee taster
A green coffee buyer already meets 58% of what the coffee taster role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
44.2/ 100
1 How much of what a coffee taster is expected to do is already part of a green coffee buyer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the coffee taster role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A coffee taster role treats 10 of its required skills as things a green coffee buyer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply GMP
- apply HACCP
- apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
- coffee characteristics
- educate customers on coffee varieties
- evaluate coffee characteristics
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A coffee taster role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a green coffee buyer background worth leading with.
- already held coffee characteristics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held evaluate coffee characteristics information skills
- already held grade coffee beans information skills
- already held perform coffee tastings information skills
- already held types of coffee beans engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held educate customers on coffee varieties communication, collaboration and creativity
All 16 carried skills, including the 10 the coffee taster role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn prepare specialised coffee required
- still to learn boil water required
- still to learn tolerate strong smells required
- still to learn check processing parameters required
- still to learn perform sensory evaluation of food products required
- optional, not held analyse trends in the food and beverage industries optional
- optional, not held maintain food specifications optional
- still to learn temperature scales required
- still to learn create coffee flavour profiles required
- optional, not held find new types of food and beverages optional
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a coffee taster role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create coffee flavour profiles practise this
- 02 check processing parameters practise this
- 03 prepare specialised coffee practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held apply GMP skill
- already held apply HACCP skill
- already held apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages skill
- already held coffee characteristics knowledge
- already held educate customers on coffee varieties skill
- already held evaluate coffee characteristics skill
- already held food and beverage industry knowledge
- already held grade coffee beans skill
- already held perform coffee tastings skill
- already held types of coffee beans knowledge
- already held analyse characteristics of food products at reception skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held label samples skill
- already held liaise with colleagues skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held perform public relations skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse trends in the food and beverage industries optional
- optional, not held find new types of food and beverages optional
- optional, not held maintain food specifications optional
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
17 held skills the coffee taster role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply foreign language for international trade skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
- not needed by the target role coffee grinding levels knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct extensive international travel skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role effects of pesticides in food raw materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine green coffee beans skill
- not needed by the target role give humanitarian support to local economies skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role match coffee grind to coffee type skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate price skill
- not needed by the target role work in a food processing team skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn temperature scales required
Common questions about this move
Can a green coffee buyer become a coffee taster?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A green coffee buyer already covers 58% of what a coffee taster is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 10 of which the coffee taster role treats as required.
What skills does a green coffee buyer need to become a coffee taster?
7 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is create coffee flavour profiles.
How hard is the move from green coffee buyer to coffee taster?
Its learning distance is 44.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.