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Permalink Reply by Joe Marrocco on August 25, 2009 at 8:01am

You can always increase your coffee brewing ability. There are a lot of books you can read about espresso. Learn as much as you can about coffee itself. A barista is traditional a person who opporates and espresso machine. But, that does not mean that this person is limited to espresso. You can always hang out at a quality shop and ask questions about espresso brewing. Ability follows knowledge. So just learn learn learn.

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Permalink Reply by jonathan on August 25, 2009 at 3:22pm

Hello!Thanks! Joe,thanks for the reply, I will,Encouraging,thanks again Godbless!:)

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Permalink Reply by Benza Lance on August 25, 2009 at 3:24pm

I thought a very informable book was Scott Rao's "The professional barista's handbook", although there is somethings in there that I find not applicable for my applications.
As long as you have access to a grinder, hot water, a french press, and a timer, than start going to town, homey.

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Permalink Reply by jonathan on August 25, 2009 at 3:28pm

Thanks Dude!It Helps a Lot, I Will find and buy that book, GodBless!:)

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Permalink Reply by Benza Lance on August 25, 2009 at 3:32pm

and no offense, but you might get more results if the topic wasn't your name.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on August 25, 2009 at 4:01pm

Oh, most definitely.

When we train at our shop we spend almost 20 hours of training time with our baristas before we even show them an espresso grinder, then it's about another 5 hours before we show them the machine.

A barista isn't just a person that plops a shot of espresso down in front of you after you order it, a barista should have a deep understanding of all things coffee. No matter how "simple" a brewing method is, there is always something new to learn because coffee is always changing. When one person learns something new and shares it with the industry, it might spark an idea for something else new from another person. 3 years later, that first "new" idea is now so far gone that you look back and can't believe you used to make coffee that way.

It's all about experimentation and digging into every aspect that you can as far as you can. If you can't go through the espresso route yet, that's fine, just focus as much as you can on the parts of the coffee world that you can get your hands on. Play with grind size, temperature, the degree of roast, the same coffee brewed different ways, fluctuate how much coffee you use up and down to see how much it effects the flavor, change the amount of water you use. Taste as many coffees as you possibly can and develop your palette as far as you think humanly possible, and then just keep on going. There's never an end to what you can learn in coffee, my friend. You are certain to have fun with this.

-bry

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Permalink Reply by jonathan on August 26, 2009 at 10:14pm

Thanks Much Bro!:)

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