Barista Training
We don't just care about our brand; we care about yours. Every client of ours is a partner, and we both have a vested interest in how your customers experience our coffee. It goes without saying, even if we make the best coffee in the world, you can ruin our reputation by serving just one bad cup of coffee. That's why we have a complete programme of service and training to ensure that every coffee you serve does justice to our award-winning handroasted coffee beans.
The foundation of our education programme gives our customers the artistry, skills and experience they need to be a world class barista. We run training days at The Barista University in our Dublin Roastery; throughout our distributor base and at customers venues, with the sole aim of giving you or your staff the expertise neede to make a consistently good speciality coffee. Please note as much as we would like to run independent Barista Training, our Barista Training Programme is solely for Java Republic Clients.
The basics, perfected: keeping your beans fresh; how to work and clean your equipment; and how to time and texture a perfect coffee.
Macchinesti Training
Refinement of knowledge of grinding, tamping, extraction times and dosing skills; mastering the flow procedures and milk texturing techinques.
Latte Art
Advanced texturing techniques to produce milk that is wet, glossy and absolutely shines with perfection. The hybrid of science and art for the ultimate cup of coffee.
Cupping
A course in coffee tasting to hone the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. It incorporates a standard cupping procedure involving deeply sniffing the coffee, then loudly slurping the coffee so that it spreads to the back of the tongue. Since coffee embodies telltale flavours from the region they are grown, cuppers may attempt to predict the coffee's region.
GUIDELINE TO THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE
Gerard Hughes, our Coffee Quality Manager, has put together a guideline to help you make the perfect cup of coffee
STEP ONE:
Espresso should be served hot! It's important to keep the handles (also known as portafilters) in the group heads at all times. The handle should never be left on the drip tray when not in use. You cannot make great tasting espresso with a cold handle.
STEP TWO:
Speed is of the essence. Do not dose a shot and leave it in the handle without brewing the espresso. In just a few seconds the coffee will start to burn leaving the shot bitter with pale crema.
STEP THREE:
Double handles are designed to make two espressos. It's not meant to be used when only one espresso is required. To achieve the thick, brown crema necessary for great tasting espresso, two measures of ground coffee are required. You cannot make a single espresso in a double handle - always make two.
THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE TASTE OF YOUR COFFEE:
Freshness:
- The enemies of coffee are oxygen and direct sunlight
- Don't have any more beans in the hopper than you can use for today - an open bag of beans will only stay fresh for 18-24 hours. If you have a half filled bag, roll the empty portion tightly down onto the remaining beans and seal it with a thick rubber band to keep out any oxygen and keep in the aromas and taste. This coffee will last for 3 days. After this you will start to notice the taste difference and the amount and quality of your crema.
- Once the coffee bean has been ground it has a 1-2 hour freshness window.
Grind:
The grinder is the most important component to perfection. Your first concern is learning how to dose the coffee correctly:
- The grind should produce a 20-25 second extraction
- The all-important crema should always be there
The Machine:
The brewing heads must be cleaned on a regular basis - the is called backflushing.
The Barista:
Does the person making the coffee know the recipes for all the speciality coffees?
Milk:
There are two things we need to know about milk - the fat content and protein content:
Fat Content:
When we heat up milk, the fat within the milk releases glucose (sugar). This is what makes the milk taste sweet.
Protein Content:
When we use the steam wand in the milk, we are trapping the protein molecules within an air bubble. This process gives us 'foam.'
Three times a year the process of frothing milk is affected and last about a week during each month:
Jan – Feb
July – Aug
Nov – Dec
This is due to grazing and also calving. Extra milk is produced, which in turn contains a lot more enzymes. The excess enzymes deplete the concentration of protein within the milk, resulting in the breakdown of foam.
What the Barista will find in their steaming jugs are large bubbles, where the silky, smooth, velvety sweet foam should be. This foam brakes down quickly, and there is little that the Barista can do to enhance the protein level.
