Professional Barista Training

Whether you are just getting into the coffee industry or need to become more hands-on in your shop, our training is designed to help you build confidence behind the bar.

This class teaches barista skills paired with personal instruction and consultation, giving you the tools you need to feel more confident working as a professional barista, whether in your own shop or in another coffee business.

Crop to Cup Fundamentals

This portion of the class is dedicated to learning where coffee comes from through a crop-to-cup discussion, complete with visuals. Students will learn about the history of coffee, origins, production, harvesting, processing, acids, defects, green coffee grading, terminology, tasting, and much more.

These fundamentals give each student a chance to understand coffee cultivation, where coffee is grown, plant species, varietals, seed processing, roasting, brewing, and how it all relates to flavor in the final cup.

This is a true seed-to-cup interaction designed to immerse the student in coffee culture. Each student will receive a study manual to use in class, take notes in, and keep.

Espresso and Milk Skills

This is a hands-on approach to learning the fundamentals of espresso and milk science. Students will learn how to properly dose, tamp, and pull shots of espresso, as well as understand what espresso should taste like.

We will also learn the basics of blending for espresso, milk texturing and stretching, proper milk temperature for beverages, proper beverage sizes and proportions, and basic milk drink preparation. Each student will receive a study manual to use in class, take notes in, and keep.

Included in this class:

• Machines, grinders, and small wares you’ll need and use
• Bar layout
• Proper grind settings and dosing for single and double shots
• Pulling the perfect shot: demo and hands-on practice
• Steaming and frothing for perfection: demo and hands-on practice
• Steaming, frothing, and pouring for a latte, cappuccino, and macchiato
• Efficiency and consistency
• Milk and espresso lab
• Equipment maintenance and cleaning

Please note: we do not cover latte art in this class.

We do not offer drink building with flavors, blender beverages, food, or sandwich prep as part of our program. We feel that extra time in our milk and espresso lab is a more efficient use of your limited and valuable time with us, so we make the best use of it.

We utilize lab time for these techniques so you can leave our program feeling confident about honing your barista and coffee business skills.

Please Read

Please note: this class is not a business class, so questions and discussions related to coffee shop operations are not covered. We do not want to take time away from our goal of helping students learn valuable skills to work behind a coffee bar as a barista.

If you are interested in learning about the coffee shop business, we do offer a periodic class on opening a coffee shop, as well as private consultation. If you are looking for something more customized, you can also request a private coffee class or consultation.

My name is Tony DiCorpo. I have 20 years of experience as a coffee professional, barista, green importer, green sourcer, roaster, and shop owner. The staff at Troubadour Coffee are also instructors, so sometimes we switch some elements of the class to other instructors. However, your learning is important to us.

We will work with you until you feel confident about your new skills on training day. We are always available for questions and troubleshooting after you complete your training.

Please note: we are not a college or career school as defined in the O.R.C. We are private consultants.

Reservations are required through the Eventbrite link below. Please do not call the shop to make reservations.

We offer this class on a limited schedule as listed on Eventbrite. Follow the link below to check dates or book your class. Dates are added as they become available.

All classes and workshops have limited capacity. We only take two students per class due to lab time needed per student. Classes and class content are subject to change without notice.