Staff at INC Café were recently given the opportunity to undertake a Barista course through SAGE and the Australian Coffee Academy, to enhance their coffee making and hospitality skills.
The course enables participants to leave feeling confident to work in any establishment to produce quality coffee, and understand general operations and protocols of a café.
Support and Training Officer Kuldeep, and Supported Employees Shawule and Jack participated in the class that was run by Barista Trainer, Thanh Luu.
The course incorporated both theory and hands-on learning and was undertaken in one day (from 9am to 4pm). It started with two hours of theory, a break to digest information and then practical based for the remainder. Those partaking in the day also received a Certificate of Attendance for their participation.
I liked the course, it was informative and I enjoyed learning how to correctly make a coffee, texturing milk and discovering all of the different types of coffee
Thanh says the course facilitates different learning abilities and styles, and as well as acquiring coffee and hospitality principles, encourages teamwork within the group. “If a participant makes a mistake, they don’t have to feel uncomfortable, they can learn with the support of their colleagues, which also assists in team bonding.”
Kuldeep, Shawule and Jack gained knowledge starting from a brief history of coffee, to steaming and texturing milk, combining, weighing and patting down coffee. They also learned about different types of coffee (fine and course), hygiene and cleaning the machine, as well as service and presentation etiquette.
At the end of the training, participants were asked to produce a latte, which Thanh says: “Builds on their confidence and helps to create independence in directly applying information gained.”
Upon completing the class Shawule says: “I liked the course, it was informative and I enjoyed learning how to correctly make a coffee, texturing milk and discovering all of the different types of coffee.”
Facilities Manager Nils Wartemann says: “I am extremely proud of our Supported Employees who undertook the course. I couldn’t be happier for them to gain further skills they can put to practice.”
