Chef to Barista
March 31, 2008
My trip to Brisbane this week was a great success.I am now a qualified Barista. After a 3 and 2 hour course and lots of coffee making I finally received my certificate.
A small room with 5 coffee machines greeted us with the smell of coffee everywhere. Ten coffee addicts took part in the Barista Basics course.
The first hour was spent learning about coffee, the characteristics, roast, colour size and type, origin etc. We perfected the setting of the grinder, highly important as this sets the flow of water through the coffee, it should be between 25 & 30 seconds. The pour of the espresso is the first thing to master. The rich thick creme is a must for all coffee.
We then learnt how to prepare the milk. At what temperature to stop the stretching and texturing, to achieve thick glossy milk at the right temperature every time. Not all types of coffee begin the same with different temperature points for the milk.
Then came the making of coffee.(the fun began) we each had our own side of a machine, where we made a selection of all the coffees. At first it was a little strange trying to make my milk properly(different from how I had been) but I soon mastered the process.
The pouring into the cup or glass was my biggest challenge. You can easily spoil a good creme by pouring to fast or too slow and off centre etc.
The afternoon course was spent preparing many types of coffee with decoration, some with the use of chocolate fudge. This is where the Barista can really let the imagination flow. The majority are done with the aid of the thermometer end but the peace de resistance is the free pour.
The Barista shows true skill in pouring patterns directly onto the coffee. I can not take credit for the last photo, the other’s yes.
Hi John - I’m popping over here from Monika’s blog today to say hello! Wow, those look GREAT!
I certainly have a lot to learn…
you are the master!
Thanks for a great blog post - Brett
They look excellent. I have been mastering the art at home myself. Up here in Townsville there are not to many places you can go to learn. Last year I bought one of those fabulous Sunbeam E6190 and the Sunbeam burr grinder and I am loving it. Looks like you had a great time. Wonderful looking blog by the way.
Cheers
Amelita
Hey John, Jess here. Hope all is well at the Bay. I am certainly looking forward to a good coffee when I come back for a visit.
@ Amelita, Thank you for commenting Squishy, I had to go to the big smoke of Brisbane for this course, like you in Townsville, Yeppoon is a bit small for this type of course, and yes I did have some fun. I don’t get to make as many coffees as I would like but hey I still love to drink em.
@ Jessica, You’re on, Things are ticking along, would like a few extra pairs of hands though, good staff are hard to find…..as you well know. Thanks for commenting
Wow…Beautiful creations as a barista!
Fabulous food blog!!! Kudos!
I came by today to let you know about my Foodie Blog Carnival!
You can get some PR or just have fun entering a blog post in the Foodie Blog Carnival!
Entries are being accepted until Feb. 23rd! You can enter anything that has to do with food!
I’ll provide a link and a mention to your post! So easy…So fun!
I look forward to your entry: http://CookingWithKimberly.com/?page_id=1580
Kimberly Edwards
P.S. Also, I just added you as a friends on MyBlogLog!