Barista training, the epilogue!

Over the past month, I enrolled on a whim to City & Guilds’s barista training program on a whim to satisfy my love of coffee. While it has been a lot of fun tasting my own creations and learning trade secrets of the food industry, it was definitely a nerve-wrecking moment when it comes to the exam.

Here goes my exam vent:

Paper exam: Honestly, just memorize the study guide for the 20 questions. There are trick questions with terms such as “chocolate making machine” (there is none…it really meant the blender) and various ways of how to produce espresso properly, but most questions are straightforward.

I know may need some extra points from paper exam because I can’t practice much with foam milk and espresso on a Simonelli, so I did a lot of work on it. Still amazed at 19/20 distinction.

Practical exam:

Here is where the fun starts. Prep work is relatively easy if you memorize the utensils needed for all 7 drinks (filter coffee, tea, espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate and smoothie)

The hint is that cappuccino requires a napkin because of the foam milk and latte doesn’t, and that filter coffee and tea go last in the heated beverages because they take time to make. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the plate for tea.

The adventure began when the timer started. Like previous candidate I didn’t spend so much time with customer service but I knew I probably would hit the 10-12 minute mark and would be content to have 5 marks deducted anyways.

Here’s the run down:

Espresso: Sounded weird in the beginning and first espresso was 40 seconds with splattering sounds. Coach claimed that it was likely due to me not pressing temper on surface which reduced coffee size.

Cappuccino: Undertimed. 18 seconds.

Latte: Surprise! 30 seconds! But the misadventure was that foam milk sounded weird so I thought I needed to redo it but it turned out better.

Hot chocolate: By then it was hitting the 9 minute mark and I forgot to stir.

Filter coffee and tea ended up pretty nicely. As did smoothie but after enough panick from the timer, I finished everything in 11 minutes and 20 seconds!

What I was amazed is how I managed to get a pass with credit. As expected, most marks are deducted from overtimed and undertimed espressos which I deemed I require more practice. But would I still take the course despite all the exams? Absolutely. After cross-referencing with friends who work in various coffee shops, I realize it is a privilege to have coffee shops that still have that personal touch with semi automatic machines (most are automatic so taste is consistent, but lacks the personal touch) and have more friends in the food industry. (Totally changed my opinion with McDonalds and Roubouchon!)

However, would I take SCAE Intermediate class that focuses on brewing and cupping coffee? I would definitely want to take a break and enjoy Joel de Roubuchon’s new coffee first!

City & Guilds Barista Training

While I am not online as much as I was, I have been busy making shots and shots of coffee for my barista training.
Why coffee, you may ask?

Those of you who know me probably knows that if I am really into something, I would go very far and such is the result of a 10+ year love affair with coffee – the fraps, the mocha, the latte…it’s time to know what kind of coffee I have drunk over this past decade.

I took my City & Guilds barista training with YMCA (let’s all hope I pass the exam next week) and here is my personal take:

Affiliation: SCAE vs City & Guilds
Wanting some sort of valid certificate, I researched a lot onto training between SCAE and City & Guilds. Both have accredited exams but SCAE appears to focus more on grinding and coffee beans in foundation level, City & Guilds introduced 7 drinks and theory.

The drinks…
Although they appear basic, I have been working on the basic drinks in a cafe with a half automatic coffee machine and both single and double shot baskets (yes!)

The drinks: Filter coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, smoothie and syphon coffee

Drinks that will be tested: Filter coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, smoothie, hot chocolate and tea

Seeing that I have done almost every possible mistake as a barista, let me share a few fun facts and misdemeanors along the way.

Espresso
* Fun facts: Ideally, espresso with crema would be 20-30 long with this concentrated caffeine in its best essence.
* The not-so-fun adventure: The many panics about why my espresso took only 18 seconds and how the grinded beans flipped out of the basket

Cappuccino
* Fun times: Cappuccino is an Italian drink with 2cm foamed milk, preferably on a double shot coffee basket.
* I-can’t-believe-it-moment: Foamed milk is an art. Ideally you steam the milk until it reaches 40C with steam wand, then lower and let it foam at 60-70C. I have had milk spurted out because of how hot it is and lowered it too much. Let’s hope I make perfect foamed milk in my exam!

Latte
*Fun times: Latte is American and seeing my classmate doing latte art was amazing…
* Milk adventures continued: Not remembering to stir the milk and it became a milk mix of some sort..

Mocha:
* The bonus: Mocha is really 3 tablespoons chocolate powder, espresso and the milk.
* We-could-have-made-sweeter-drinks: Yeah, my first iced mocha is bitter because I stirred after I added the ice…

Smoothie:
* Class recipe: Class recipe is 2 strawberries, half a banana, syrup, ice and whipped cream with honey.
* The struggle: Exam requires me to produce drink with nothing dripping out of blender. After 5+ experiments my secret is 8 cubes of ice..

Bonus: Mango lassi
* Why did I make it? Because I felt if I have a blender at home, I can master any smoothie. Mango lassi is a Northern India drink with mangoes, yogurt, honey, sugar and saffron.
* However, it is still too thick with me and I needed 8 ice cubes to thin it…

Overall it has been a fun class amidst the many accidents. I may continue to work my way up to latte art or advance classes but bartending is also equally appealing..