Yesterday, I attended the Di Bartoli Intermediate Home Barista Workshop run by the legendary Hazel de los Reyes. The course ran for 3.5 hours with a focus on the variables in espresso extraction and how changes in these variables reflect what is in the cup, as well as a small tuition in milk texturing.
We were assigned similar setups to what we have at home (a great little feature provided by Di Bartoli and their excellent setup) and, with the help of a Scace, investigated the effects of cooling flushes with HXs. Then our consistency in dosing was evaluated - which, in my opinion, was one of the most beneficial aspects of the course. Even if you have a GS3 and a robur-e, if you do not have a consistent and repeatable method for dosing and distribution, every cup will be different and you will find it difficult to get the sweet spot of a particular bean/blend.
This highlighted how inconsistent I was with my methods (and surprised me greatly) and as such, I have refined my technique in an attempt to be more consistent.
We also played with up/down-dosing, evaluating naked extractions, different distribution techniques, as well as milk-texturing.
I cannot recommend this workshop highly enough - even if you think you have your methods down pat, I bet you dont!
Hazel, apart from being one of the most knowledgeable people in her field, is also one of the nicest and is so incredibly generous with her time and sharing her love of the bean. Di Bartoli have a great setup for such a course and provided us with kilos and kilos of beans and litres and litres of milk.
Next time one of these courses comes around, jump on board and enjoy the ride. The quality in my cup has already improved this morning! ;D
Thank you once again to Hazel and Di Bartoli

We were assigned similar setups to what we have at home (a great little feature provided by Di Bartoli and their excellent setup) and, with the help of a Scace, investigated the effects of cooling flushes with HXs. Then our consistency in dosing was evaluated - which, in my opinion, was one of the most beneficial aspects of the course. Even if you have a GS3 and a robur-e, if you do not have a consistent and repeatable method for dosing and distribution, every cup will be different and you will find it difficult to get the sweet spot of a particular bean/blend.
This highlighted how inconsistent I was with my methods (and surprised me greatly) and as such, I have refined my technique in an attempt to be more consistent.
We also played with up/down-dosing, evaluating naked extractions, different distribution techniques, as well as milk-texturing.
I cannot recommend this workshop highly enough - even if you think you have your methods down pat, I bet you dont!
Hazel, apart from being one of the most knowledgeable people in her field, is also one of the nicest and is so incredibly generous with her time and sharing her love of the bean. Di Bartoli have a great setup for such a course and provided us with kilos and kilos of beans and litres and litres of milk.
Next time one of these courses comes around, jump on board and enjoy the ride. The quality in my cup has already improved this morning! ;D
Thank you once again to Hazel and Di Bartoli



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