Feedback on my training material?

Hi everybody,

 

I've recently started putting together presentations and handouts for my training offerings. Starting small, I've just done some stuff for "Fundamentals" and "Cleaning and Maintenance Basics" so far - the handout for the former and the slideshow for the latter. Anyway... these are up on my website as PDFs here.

 

The slideshow is meant to be just a visual aid, to accompany my detailed talk.  The handout is meant to be a reference that can be used during the class and then afterward. A key part of the handout is a single page quick-reference sheet - in the case of the fundamentals class, one shows the steps for pulling a shot and another shows steaming a pitcher of milk.

 

This stuff has been created on an as-needed basis so far. I will eventually create a handout for the cleaning talk and a slideshow for the fundamentals class, as well as both slideshow and handouts for a brewing fundamentals class later this year... but before I do that I'd like to collect a little more feedback on what I've done so far. I've gotten positive feedback from students and audiences so far, which is nice, but I'm interested in feedback from you guys that already know this stuff. So if you happen to have a few minutes to look over this, please let me know what you think.

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have.

Views: 413

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by luke hudek on February 26, 2011 at 4:34pm
I have not read but already know im gonna love this, after a read ill toss you some Feedback on it!
Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on February 26, 2011 at 9:27pm
The only thing I could think of, is when your talking about routine cleaning of the group maybe have some images of old abused groups. I used to have pic up on my profile of a totally trashed group head, just recently took it down. I think it would help drive home what could happen if you dont take care of your machine. Same think gos for water filtering and softening, show a pic of a totally scaled over boiler. Scale look nasty and is kind of hard to describe if you have never seen it.
Permalink Reply by Troy J Mallett on February 26, 2011 at 10:07pm

I will look at it a little closer, but looks good so far.

 

One thing I learnt about water and scale build up is that water hardness is not the only thing that should be monitored, pH is crucial too.  Even if water is soft, if the pH is high it will create scale problems in the same way hard water will.

 

Good job on the manual.

Permalink Reply by Brady on February 27, 2011 at 4:58am

Thanks guys.

 

Dustin, I'm working on collecting pics to the presentation - that would make a huge improvement. Gonna work with a photographer friend to get some.

 

Troy, that's definitely an area where I'd love to learn more. Kinda looking for good reading material on this topic, anything you recommend?

Permalink Reply by Brady on February 27, 2011 at 5:12am
...just remembered that I'd meant to revisit Jim Schulman's piece.  Lots of good info there, including references to the pH effects you just referenced. Thanks for the reminder.
Permalink Reply by Brady on February 27, 2011 at 7:04am
Oops, forgot to link: Jim Schulman's piece on water hardness and scaling.
Permalink Reply by Troy J Mallett on February 27, 2011 at 8:24am
Jim Schulman's piece is fantastic. I learnt an amazing amount of information from the guy who installed my reverse osmosis and desalination equipment. Plumbers and electricians have an extraordinary amount of knowledge that can applied to all sorts of aspects of a coffee shop. 
Permalink Reply by Jacob Casella on February 28, 2011 at 7:07am
Brady, nice work, I particularly like how concise they are.  I'm always fighting my tendency to get over-elaborate in these things.  I'll shoot some constructive criticism if I have any after reading over it again.
Permalink Reply by Steffen Müller on December 9, 2011 at 3:17am

Hi Brady,

slides look very nice. The first slide is actually what the INAI tells you about "italian espresso". Basically one can't go too wrong with these parameters. Thankfully the SCAA as well as the SCAE and others are no longer bound to these parameters as exceptional shots can be served well outside these ranges. It's actually more about the extraction rate. But that may already a bit too much for the "espresso basics".

So yes, I like it ! :-)

Permalink Reply by Brady on December 10, 2011 at 5:20am

Thanks for the great feedback, and for reminding me that I haven't uploaded my most recent updates to the site.

Your comments are right on the mark. As I'm talking about this slide, I do bring up the importance of tasting your shots at different times, doses, and volumes to find where it tastes "best" and then sticking closer to that. In many cases, this slide is the first time people realize that dose, time, and volume are even things to pay attention to.

Thanks!



Steffen Müller said:

Hi Brady,

slides look very nice. The first slide is actually what the INAI tells you about "italian espresso". Basically one can't go too wrong with these parameters. Thankfully the SCAA as well as the SCAE and others are no longer bound to these parameters as exceptional shots can be served well outside these ranges. It's actually more about the extraction rate. But that may already a bit too much for the "espresso basics".

So yes, I like it ! :-)

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Barista Exchange Partners

Partner Discount Series Offers

Barista Exchange Friends

Keep Barista Exchange Free

Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!

Clicky Web Analytics

© 2024   Created by Matt Milletto.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service