Barista Training & Cupping

I go through a general training session with Anson, in the company of a Linea Classic that is placed next to a “Jellybean Knockbox” where coffee pucks are dumped. For the few next hours I will be using the grinder, weighing the coffee, and pulling some espresso shots, to finally conclude in the practice of steaming milk.

I also write down how 15 kg are thrown into the roaster (in the cellar of the Ozone Coffee Shop), to then come out brown, ready and weighing 12 kg instead. Indeed, coffee beans are like popcorn and although they expand with heat, they also lose a lot of chemical components, thus becoming lighter in weight.

Back to post-grinding, the aim of using a tamper is to level, more than to put pressure. Anson levels in 2 stages, first with the feel and measuring with his thumb, then a firm and steady push downwards follows.

“It is better to leave the porta-filter out of the group head valves, unless you know you’re going to brew straight away”, he adds.

Here I question: What is there to know about extraction? An unexpected Italian example pops up…

“You need the right contact size and time with coffee. It is like ciabatta bread, crusty outside, with holes inside. Depending on how the coffee is ground, you either remove too many or too few oils” (fruit acids and caramelized sugars). Extraction is the removal of coffee oils from the solid mass of coffee beans.  As you guys know, water is lazy.”

So I am taught again that time grinders have become crucial for consistency in the dose.

Then I write down the 3 essential characteristics for coffee prep in cap: DOSE (a constant), TIME (fixed), and YIELD. The latter is associated with how much water we want to pass through the coffee so it dissolves, this being dictated by the grind.

About steaming, I learn that the steaming stage takes about 12-13 seconds. You begin by stretching the milk (adding air to it) for texture, then you add heat and mix the milk to create an ongoing vortex in the pitcher’s epicentre, which should be kept stiff – and in any case make gentle movements.

The “nozzle” is what the tip of the steamer is called, and it is supposed to go up and down (1 cm difference) again when placed under the milk surface. When discussing temperature – which you understand by simply grasping the pitcher – Anson quotes: “Just cuz you can dip your hand in a warm bathtub doesn’t mean you’re gonna jump in it”.

There are 2 things to keep in mind when pouring. The crema is to be on top of the cup and to give texture, so we want to “let the milk pierce the espresso” when adding it to the cup from the pitcher, and tilt them both in a studied fashion.

I am “warned” that when this can be done properly, you are in a position to let your creativity break loose for Latte Art.

After such attention to tech details, during the afternoon I move on to experience  a delightful cupping session with a dozen attendants lined in 2 groups on the sides of a long, wooden, table.

There are 3 rows of trays with cups (containing ground coffee for hot water to be poured into) and different pieces of dark chocolates: from Vietnam 80%, to Madagascar 72%, to Ecuador 100%.

I abandon myself to what I have coined a “5 S’s Full Immersion” workshop of coffee smelling, sucking, savouring, spitting and scoring. Unbelievable!

Stay tuned for the next episode.