Tag: barista

A Barista Vacation to the USA

Posted on by Sara Walker

Are you one of the millions who absolutely love coffee? Do you wake up for the sake of smelling the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans? Do you order your own green coffee beans so you can toast them to perfection? Do you experiment to make different patterns with the foam of the coffee, or coffee art as it is known as? Maybe, just maybe it’s time for a barista vacation? In other words – it’s time to take a vacation to indulge in your passion for the little bean known as coffee.

There are many different barista schools worldwide that offers day, week and month long courses and in this article we will look at some in the States and in the next article some barista schools in other countries.

Portland and Seattle are known as the coffee capitals of America, so not surprisingly you find one of the best schools in Portland. It’s the American Barista & Coffee School The school boasts of having had clients from over 40 countries. Portland might not be your city of call if you want sunshine, but if you want a very eco-friendly town, with tons of hipsters and incredible cafes, you will be very pleased.

If, on the other hand, it is the beaches you want, what better than sunny California? They may have earthquakes, but on the upside you can drive to the desert (and even Vegas if you go out of state), mountains (for skiing), nature reserves for hiking, wine farms for well, wine and the big city, usually within an hour or two of where you are, if you are in Southern California. SoCal is also where the Ivy League Barista Academy is. It’s actually in picturesque San Diego, which offers a nice small town vibe. They offer consulting as well as hands-on barista training…and 247 days of sunshine a year.

If you want lakes instead of beaches Holland in Michigan is another alternative, as it is home of the Midwest Barista School. The school offers clients both hands-on coffee classes and courses to help entrepreneurs start or improve their cafe business. In summer you will want to bring your bathing suit and enjoy the fabulous lakes and in winter ice skates and really, really warm clothing! It might be a nice summer holiday, cozy autumn break, or beautiful summer vacation!

If you are looking for a vacation in a city that never sleeps and where the latest trends mingle with the fresh arts, the sophisticated views of centuries gone past and the craze of new entrepreneurs and old school economics, then New York will probably be your best bet. After all, there’s something for everyone in that town, including the Kitten Coffee Barista School in Brooklyn, who offers Espresso 100 and Advanced Espresso classes.

We hope this might have given you some ideas and inspiration, and as mentioned in our next blog we will cover barista schools worldwide. For now though, sit back and smell the smell of those fresh roasted coffee beans…

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Love coffee beans? Become a barista

Posted on by Sara Walker

baristaWho wants to operate the coffee machines at Costa?

It was recently reported that a new
Costa coffee shop in Nottingham was inundated with applications – 1,701 to be specific – for eight new barista roles.

The amount of applications came as a surprise, especially as some applicants had as much as 15 years’ experience in retail. Did all these people just have a love for coffee beans? Were they all desperate for a job? Or is there something quite appealing about the barista label?

Barista after all has no stigma attached – not that there’s a stigma attached with sales assistant, bar person or café worker; it’s just that barista sounds more sophisticated. It has an attractive edge. Even in Hollywood, actors playing baristas are often portrayed as cool, calm and really attractive.

Barista has become more than just a job title – it’s become a sub culture with its own dress code, magazine (Barista Magazine) and attitude; there’s even a World Barista Championship. How many other job roles have all this?

But is this just an illusion? Would the newly appointed baristas in the Costa coffee shop in Nottingham feel part of this culture or has the role of the barista simply been glamorised? Barista after all, means bartender in Italian.

Other than the culture, there has to be more to it. There’s no denying that being a barista in a busy coffee shop must be hard work and stressful at times; however, perhaps other things make up for it – working with lovely people, nice lighting and the smell of freshly ground coffee beans.

Or perhaps – going back to the second paragraph of questions, people just need jobs and Costa would have received the same amount of applications regardless of the initial advert.

Despite times being tough – job wise – I do think there’s something we can learn from the barista culture. Rather than stigmatising certain job roles, we should be looking to create  – not necessarily sub cultures for every individual job title – but creating nice atmospheres and a lovely working environment with a sense of community could be a start.