Ellie Senior Member Joined: 3 Jul 2003 Posts: 53 Location: Chicago Expertise: Professional
Posted Wed Jul 28, 2004, 10:56am Subject: Re: The Challenges of Professional Barista Training, Professionally Speaking
Hello, friends!
First of all, I have to extend a colossal thank you to each of you for the compliments to Intelligentsia and to the content of my article. Enthusiasm like all of yours is at the very heart of why we are in this business. I am seriously amped that the concerns I tried to raise in the article seem to have hit home with all of you. Your positive feedback does means so much to those of us on this side of the counter! It is no secret that the espresso enthusiast/CG community is a vital part of this industry for those of us who strive for quality in the cup and in customer service.
Please allow me to take a moment or two to answer some of the questions and comments raised in this thread.
Thanks! In my experience, this is the only method of training that really works.
tonx Said:
I was surprised to see all the barista using a 30lb tamp........................I am curious how you arrived at this style and also how you handle fine adjustments of grind with multiple cooks in the kitchen.
Thanks for noticing! We do train and require a 30-lb. tamp at our retail stores. You are right that part of the driving force behind this is to create consistency from person to person. You must have noticed that we actually keep a scale on the counter at both stores, right next to the Robur. We strive for skill and education among all of our staff members to the highest possible standards, and so it is necessary that all of us tamp with the same pressure. The high volume of both of our stores necessitates that the barista duties be shared in order to ensure that the barista- whomever it is- is always sharp. When the inevitable burnout begins, the barista can always pass the proverbial baton to any other bar certifed employee, who can step in seamlessly to avoid any interruption in service.
tonx Said:
I'm also curious about your experiences implementing higher quality standards to your wholesale accounts. Do you feel that other shops using your beans are maintaining a good standard and what have been the challenges in that area?
This is a tricky subject, and one that I do not believe quality-driven roasters should take lightly. You may be interested to know that the original intent of my article was to outline the differences in staff training and customer training, and the different challenges they present, but as you can tell, the staff element alone was more than enough material (perhaps this is a sneaky preview?!?!?!?!?- insert evil laugh here). In training wholesale customers, believe it or not, we still tie everything to the taste of the espresso and drip coffee. The trainer's number one priority is to make the cafe owner and her/his staff to see the value (ie what it does to the bottom line) in preparing espresso drinks properly.
I smiled the first time I read this post, and every time since! To know for sure, I guess I would have to ask all of them (our store staff), but what I can say is that they either have a lot of fun or are very good actors. I should add that it doesn't hurt that "going to work" for us means "going to the land of eternal coffee." We also, in general, have very low turnover and try to promote from within, which usually makes and/or indicates happy employees. I, for one, have a lot of fun with the awesome people in this company.
Learning latte art (specifically the Rosetta) is part of our barista certification and probably the most difficut part at that. So yes, it is required for all employees that serve drinks in the stores to pour with latte art.
malachi Said:
My only comment would be that it seems like it is very valuable to have training be an ongoing activity, rather than a one-time deal. We've worked on identifying "advanced" techniques to frame this with veteran employees, as well as having senior employees teach some "technique specific" seminar style training sessions. It seems to make it more "palatable."
I could not agree more. We try to pound the point home that certification really is the beginning, and essentially represents the bare minimum of preparation standards. We have found that our veteran baristas are very protective of the standards and skills that they have worked so hard to master. We've had good results of our veteran staff helping the newest baristas get better, and it's always important to keep the veterans challenged with learning new skills and knowledge. malachi, I would love to hear more about your seminar-style training devices.
bxntrk Said:
How long does the training take? Do you let outsiders in? Maybe it could be a new profit center for Intelligensia.
Thank you for your interest. We are in the R&D phase of how to develop our certification program for the public. I think there is definitely a demand for something like what we offer our staff and we hope to create a program that fills this need. I'll keep you updated!
spinnaker007 Senior Member Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Posts: 1,783 Location: Chicago! Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Thu Jul 29, 2004, 8:28am Subject: Re: The Challenges of Professional Barista Training, Professionally Speaking
Hello Matt,
It has been awhile to see a post from you! Hope all is well...The new cup sure looks nice, can’t wait to get my hands on one of those bad boys...I heard you guys will have a new and refreshing look for your website. When will it be up and running?
Cheers,
Steve
BTW, I kept forgetting to say that I totally disagree what Ellie said about "Latte art technically doesn't improve the taste of a cappuccino, but it completes the sensory experience" in her article. A cappa with a beautiful art tastes a lot sweeter, really! : )
BTW, I kept forgetting to say that I totally disagree what Ellie said about "Latte art technically doesn't improve the taste of a cappuccino, but it completes the sensory experience" in her article. A cappa with a beautiful art tastes a lot sweeter, really! : )
I think what was meant was that the "art" part of it doesn't improve the taste. I think there is no question that the process that is required to achieve latte art improves the quality of the drink tremendously. I've made drinks side-by-side steaming the same, and the latte art drink is far better. If all the steps in the process are followed with the end result being latte art, then the drink will taste better.
MarkPrince Moderator Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 5,462 Location: Vancouver, BC Expertise: Professional
Espresso: KvdW Speedster Grinder: Compak K10 WBC Vac Pot: A bit too many Drip: Clive Coffee Drip Stand Roaster: Hario Glass Retro Roaster
Posted Thu Jul 29, 2004, 6:39pm Subject: Re: The Challenges of Professional Barista Training, Professionally Speaking
spinnaker007 Said:
BTW, I kept forgetting to say that I totally disagree what Ellie said about "Latte art technically doesn't improve the taste of a cappuccino, but it completes the sensory experience" in her article. A cappa with a beautiful art tastes a lot sweeter, really! : )
Oops, that was your Editor's perogative... er. my tagline added to the photo's comment. Mainly comes from my discussions with shops that will gripe about latte art and say "it adds nothing to the cup!!!" and I would say "yeah, sure. Coffee doesn't include sensory in its list of influences on your taste experience? what do you call sight?"
ant Senior Member Joined: 7 May 2003 Posts: 1,046 Location: Brisbane Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: sunbeam em6910 Grinder: sunbeam em0480 Vac Pot: hario syphon Roaster: 1kg sample roaster at work
Posted Thu Jul 29, 2004, 11:11pm Subject: Re: The Challenges of Professional Barista Training, Professionally Speaking
Thanks a lot for the article, it couldn't have been in a more timely fashion for me! The level of detail far surpasses what I was going to use when explaining my thoughts on coffee to my new co-workers, but at the same time it marks it out quite clearly with respect to what makes a good drink good etc.
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