Barista Friend is an independent barista training service in Austin, TX. Owned and operated by industry veteran Miranda Haney, we’re on a mission to bring the craft, science, and pure joy of specialty coffee to the masses. We believe making coffee should be fun and super EASY! Sometimes you just need a friendly barista friend to come over and show you the ropes :)
We teach public coffee classes for all skill levels, private espresso lessons, industry-level barista training, and corporate events. We have strong relationships with the best roasters in town, 11 years of experience in the biz, and a really cool workshop space at Rising Tide Roast Collaborative in South Austin.
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Meet Your Instructor.
Miranda Haney’s coffee journey began in 2015 as a barista at a family-owned bakery in Salisbury, Maryland. In the years since, she's worked at notable coffee companies including Rise Up Coffee Roasters, Greater Goods Coffee (where she led the training program), and has hopped behind the bar at acclaimed Austin cafes Proud Mary, Fleet Coffee, Creature Coffee, and Sightseer.
Hailing from a long line of teachers, Miranda is especially passionate about delivering information in a way that’s engaging and easy to understand. She’s a permanent fixture at the local latte art competitions, a two-time U.S. Barista Championships national competitor, runner-up in the 2024 Barista League, Denver, and currently serves as vice president of the Austin Coffee Collective. Most recently, she was a 2025 Coffee Sustainability Fellow with The Chain Collaborative.
Outside of coffee, Miranda is a multi-talented creative and marathon runner. She’s the front-person for alt-pop band Other Vessels, the fearless leader of Austin Coffee Run Club, and drives an old Japanese kei truck around town.
