Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
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level, country of origin, basic brewing instructions. What else could there be? In fact, even as I moved through the industry and increased my knowledge, I genuinely believed at each step that I had plumbed the depths of available information. For trainers, taking the entry-level classes is a great way to see other people training the material you teach every day. You'll learn new terminology, fresh analogies and different ways to say familiar things. EDUCATIONAL FULFILLMENT "Ah, coffees are processed differently sometimes. Interesting! I wonder if that affects the flavor." "Wait. Coffees don't have to be roasted longer to taste better?" It wasn't until 2009 that I really understood how much there was to know—and how little of that I knew. At that point in my career, humility finally overpowered hubris, and my real education in coffee began. Professional development for baristas doesn't look much different than it does for any other profession. Individuals take classes that are both theoretical (customer service) and practical (grinding, dosing, tamping and extracting) in an attempt to elevate their ability to execute the expectations of their job with excellence. The breadth of training options available to baristas today is staggering. There are the requisite basic courses, like introductions to espresso, cupping and brewing, but there are also a wealth of advanced classes that run the gamut from learning latte art to being more efficient (and effective) on bar. The classes are taught by subject matter experts who have experience in the coffee industry and in coffee shops doing exactly what they're teaching. The efficacy of taking these classes all at once became most evident in 2010 when the BGA started Camp Pull-A-Shot, a retreat for baristas from around the country that acts as a three-day crucible of sorts meant to produce passionate, well-trained coffee professionals. That first year was so successful that a secondannual camp joined the first in 2011. Today it's just called Barista Camp, and the focus has expanded slightly to include a broader range of classes, including some that were historically offered primarily to Roasters Guild members. There is still room for evolution, though. As more baristas progress through their personal development and get into material that requires more dedicated commitment, the name Barista continued on page 50 freshcup.com | January 2014 49