Barista Training

Training: Part 2.

The other night Navid and my brothers headed down to Crema to practice. Right now some of the main things I’m looking for are a soundtrack to my performance, and a rough draft of how the actual presentation will be given. I think music is a lot more important than a lot of people think, and based on some of the competitions I’ve been watching online and seen in person, my theory checks out. It really can make or break any mood, especially in a competition atmosphere.

I’ve been talking with Liza (Crema’s all-star baker/everything else) and I think we have a great baseline for a signature drink. The plan is to start experimenting with that next week. If it tastes half as good as it sounds, we may be on to something. I’m also looking for some cups and all that fancy stuff as well.

The espresso shouldn’t be a problem so long as I get the grind good to go in the preparation time. Last night I got it down to pulling both shots and having the espresso served up in less than 2 minutes - more than adequate for the espresso section of my 15 minute timeframe.

One minor thing that will be quite foreign to me no matter how hard I train is the Nuova Simonelli machines. We use a Synesso at Crema, and they are different in a lot of ways, most notably in regard to the steam wands. (Nuova Simonelli is the machine used at the Regionals.) I have a feeling most baristas competing will be native to a Marzocco or a Synesso as well.

As a final note, I’ve also added a “barista championship” category now, so anything related to it can now be found under there as well.