Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ryan Palmer on August 10, 2008 at 10:26pm

I generally start with (the company you work for) coffee belief system, i.e. some companies believe that nitrogen flushing bags is the way to go, some don't. Some people believe that a coffee is old after 10 days, to others 21 days is old. I generally start people out with a 'world view of coffee' according to your companies philosophy. (p.s. then I familiarize them with the layout of the space they will be working in, then move on to cleaning.... everything else after that is up for grabs.)

Ryan

Permalink Reply by Banks Thomas on August 28, 2008 at 4:24pm

Bean Education!!!! With out coffee then it's just milk and syrup.

Permalink Reply by mike cubbage on September 18, 2008 at 9:54pm

I like to start with coffee. what it is? where it grows? pictures of a coffee tree/bush with ripe cherries and then the unroasted beans / the roasted beans. ideally a cupping after that along with a story of the journey the coffee has made and how important it is being the roaster and barista to do justice for all the time, effort and people invested in the coffee up to this point. i have been a barista for a long time, but not until recently have i started to delve into the story behind every cup. It is a great way to build up moral and pride as well as edjucate. of course that is ideal. in the practice you usually don't have much time and you need that person on the bar last week. but the story of coffee and cupping I think are something not to be neglected and when you have time you should build it into the training.

Permalink Reply by Dirk Maritz on August 10, 2010 at 1:45am

Im also having this problem. Where to start. My problem is that my introduction course is only three days long. Id love to teach my baristas everything I know, but there just isnt enough time. I have desided to Keep the course very practical and minimize the theory to about an hour a day. Most of the theory is based on espresso and Station management. Farming, Processing and roasting is only touched on in small detail. My idea is to get the baristas confident in their espresso machine skills Before flooding their minds with other knowledge. In the three days I need to make sure the baristas are up to a certain standard in terms of espresso and cappucino making.

Permalink Reply by Justin on August 10, 2010 at 6:19pm

Getting the immediate basics in is the most important I believe. Being able to throw in theory and background (farming, processing etc.) is important but like you say, getting to know and be comfortable with the machine in front of them is important. Throwing in theory and background during training to help peak interest is important and those who pursue questions when you throw in those tidbits are the ones you know are probably the most passionate about what they are doing. The ones who rolls their eyes at you when you get excited about it are probably the ones you don't want behind the counter - unless like in my case they are rolling their eyes at my lame jokes >./body>

Permalink Reply by Joe Smith on June 4, 2011 at 10:51am

definitely start with bean education. Then roasting, shot pulling, milk steaming, manual brew methods and then finally latte art. Don't teach them latte art first, you need to stress that it's the last thing they should worry about

Permalink Reply by Joe Smith on June 4, 2011 at 10:55am

well put : )

Ryan Palmer said:

I generally start with (the company you work for) coffee belief system, i.e. some companies believe that nitrogen flushing bags is the way to go, some don't. Some people believe that a coffee is old after 10 days, to others 21 days is old. I generally start people out with a 'world view of coffee' according to your companies philosophy. (p.s. then I familiarize them with the layout of the space they will be working in, then move on to cleaning.... everything else after that is up for grabs.)

Ryan

Permalink Reply by Peter Tam on January 26, 2013 at 4:36am

For me, everything is for the shot, and the drip coffee.