Your fast track route to a fun and rewarding career in coffee
Course Duration: 2.5 Days

Getting ahead in the world of coffee requires hard work, dedication, a willingness to learn and no small measure of skill when it comes to serving that elusive perfect cup. There are no short cuts, but there are some fast tracks. For café owners and hospitality business managers, you will be viewed as a highly attractive proposition if you possess the skills and knowledge demanded of a modern-day Barista. That’s where Coffee Direct’s Barista Boot camp comes in. We give would-be Baristas a distinct advantage in a hugely competitive job market place by preparing them to hit the ground running in the busiest of coffee-serving environments. That means you can often start working on a higher wage and in a more responsible position rather than having to waste time working your way up.

Our Barista Boot Camp course is designed to be fast track, therefore it’s intensive, hands-on and demands a high level of focus from each student. However, the rewards in terms of your employability make it all worthwhile. Top line Baristas are highly skilled and highly sought after. There’s a huge amount to learn and it’s no exaggeration to say that in the coffee business you never stop learning. What we do is give you the core, essential skills that will allow you to impress potential employers and get your coffee career started, or to give it a caffeine-charged boost.

Our Barista Boot Camp course is structured in a logical, progressive and supportive manner that’s designed to bring out the best in you and inspire confidence in your own abilities. We employ a “try, test and apply” approach to developing your skills in a course that’s based on decades of professional experience in the coffee industry. Here’s a “cortado” version of the running order:

Barista Boot Camp Day 1 – 9.30am to 5pm

Naturally the days begins with a top-notch cup of coffee. Not only does this ensure everyone is alert and energised but it gets us all thinking about where this magical beverage comes from and why it tastes the way it does. And that’s the first topic we dive into: the history of coffee, how the fruit is cultivated, how the beans are processed and how these factors affect the final product.

We then move onto our first piece of equipment. The on-demand coffee grinder plays a major role in delivering consistently great coffee in a retail environment. We show you how to achieve the correct grind to make the perfect espresso coffee and explain how and why particle size is such a critical factor in this process.

After lunch we move onto the subject of milk. We look at its composition and learn how to create the different milk textures that help deliver the perfect latte, cappuccino or flat white. Naturally we’ll touch on latte art and by the end of the day you will be proficient in creating a variety of coffees from the standard Barista menu.

Barista Boot Camp Day 2 – 9.30am to 4.30pm

We begin the day by learning how to prepare a cup of filter coffee to the Speciality Coffee Association’s gold cup standard. Next, we learn how to prepare and deliver single coffee orders using a variety of brew methods including V60 and Chemex.

Now that we’re well into our stride we delve into what for many is the heart and soul of the Barista’s craft – espresso extraction. This element of the course teaches you how to prepare and serve various coffees, including single origin varieties, and how to analyse those offerings using a refractometer as well as a strength and extraction map.

Being a Barista, however, requires more than technical abilities and after lunch we’ll move onto your people and leadership skills. The importance of these “softer” skills should not be underestimated as employers will be looking for a certain mindset and a strong work ethic as well as an ability to interact positively with colleagues and customers alike. Based on many years of working with the owners and managers of coffee establishments, we know what personal characteristics they look for in a Barista and can help ensure that you fit the bill.

We next return to the core skills and tools of the trade, further developing your latte art abilities before taking a closer look at an espresso machine to discover its inner workings and to learn which parts can be cleaned and maintained in-house. Having identified the major components of the machine we learn how to diagnose and fix common problems in order to keep these magnificent machines up and running. Such practical skills will add value to you as a potential employee in the eyes of any coffee catering employer. We have a variety of equipment which you will typically encounter in a coffee environment, helping ensure you are fully prepared to enter the workplace.

We are proud to state that all of the training we provide is delivered to industry best practice standards. Our Barista Boot Camp will work equally well for those seeking first time employment as a Barista and those already employed in this capacity who want to sharpen or increase their knowledge and skill levels.

Class sizes never go beyond six students, ensuring each course participant gets the maximum possible amount of attention, guidance and hands-on practice in a supportive environment.

A key benefit of the Barista Boot Camp course is that every student who completes it will, if they wish, have their names forwarded on to our sister company Coffee Direct (Scotland) Ltd and in turn on to their network of coffee establishments.

Barista Boot Camp Day 3 – 9.30am to 1pm

This is a shorter day starting at 9.30am and finishing at 12.30pm for a course discussion and the day ending at 1pm.
End the end of day 2, you have a choice of your further training which will be carried out on day 3. The choice options are:
Choice 1
Advanced espresso brew formula(EBF) and brew formulas for filter, trouble shooting along the way(grind and temperature)
Choice 2
Latte art ( including steaming milk alternatives)
Choice 3
Introduction to roasting using the latest IKAWA Pro or Deidrich 2.5 kg roasters.