which course to do?

[refsta Member Find all posts View Profile Close refsta]

Hi all,

I have been perfecting my home machine skills and have gotten my microfroth and shots pretty damn good. I currently study IT and am thinking about getting 1-2 shifts in a cafe making coffee and whatever other smaller chores are entailed in being a barista. I am looking at some courses in Melbourne and have come up with this list.

1. William Angliss Coffee Academy - TAFE qualification THHBFB12B Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee
2. Barista Basics - Another TAFE qualification THHBFB12A Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee
3. Veneziano Coffee - Barista Training - Introduction to Espresso doesnt look like a TAFE qualification.

can anyone give me an idea of which is the best and why?
the coffee academy seems to be a full 30 hour course involving work placement, practice sessions, food hygiene etc while the barista basics is 8 hours. i think maybe thats why the difference between the A and B at the end of the qualifications.

and are there any tips for breaking into the cafe industry. I have worked in a pizza shop and a fish and chip cafe about 10 years ago as a young lad doing back of the house stuff like washing dishes/food preparation and have worked in the likes of burger king also. Would that be considered as some kind of foot in the door?

i am thinking if i do the coffee academy course i could get recognition on the food hygiene unit and do the rest. it seems like a more well rounded course.

Cheers
Refsta

[capuchin Member Find all posts View Profile Close capuchin]

Re: which course to do?

Not that dollars should drive every decision, but...Barista Basics is in the Sydney Entertainment Book, and you get 25% off the price for 1-4 people.

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

Re: which course to do?

Not that dollars should drive every decision, but...Barista Basics is in the Sydney Entertainment Book, and you get 25% off the price for 1-4 people.

...which only goes to prove that you get what you pay for  :-?. If youre really lucky, youll get a spatula and free set of stencils too  :

The Academy have been doing it for a long time and have a great reputation. It comes down to what detail you want to cover. FWIW, THHBFB12A was replaced by THHBFB12B about 2 years ago so the A course is no longer current and if the course is to be respected, workplace experience is a given (although there are dodgy organisations where you can do Prep. and Serve in a day). The bottom line is no classroom can provide real world experience and you are not a barista just because you have completed a course or because you make a great coffee at home. It takes a long time to learn to effectively multi-task ten things at once and still produce great coffee  .

If you dont want Prepare and Serve, the Academy Advanced Espresso course underpins Prep. & Serve and is a great start..

I have popped in to First Pour and can confirm that the Veneziano guys (especially Dave Makin as a trainer) are doing great work...

[refsta Member Find all posts View Profile Close refsta]

Re: which course to do?

what are barista basics in Melbourne like?

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

Re: which course to do?

what are barista basics in Melbourne like?

erm....theyre uncannily like Barista basics in Sydney :...Why if you didnt know better, youd think that they had been cloned.... :P

I guess it depends on how much you like stencils.....

[coastal_coffee Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close coastal_coffee]

Re: which course to do?

refsta, do yourself a favor and talk to 2MCM his experience and attention to detail are invaluable, I am sure that he could find a cafe for you to do some work experience in as well.

As for Dave(Wushoes) at Venezianos first pour I am sure that he could provide you with excellent training as well, although he does go to pieces when showing latte art prowess in front of heaps of mates !!!!! ;D(sorry Dave btw the way congrats on your applause winning shootout win last Saturday.

Craig.

[Thundergod Sleep is overrated Find all posts View Profile Close Thundergod]

Re: which course to do?

I did a couse a year ago (not TAFE).
That was to help me in my research for a machine.

I had the time because I was out of work for the first time in 30 years.

After months of fruitless searching for a job I managed to get an interview at a small local cafe/kebab shop.

The owners first question was what experience I had.
The answer was "none".
His response was "goodbye".

Having worked in food before I couldnt have cared less but that response was a challenge.
So I convinced him to let me make him a coffee.
He was impressed enough to then sit down and talk to me.

He thought I was crazy when I showed him pictures of my Expobar and Macap but it was enough to convince him to give me a go.

It only lasted a couple of weeks because business was slow and after that I found a new fulltime job.

As Chris said, you need real world experience before calling yourself a barista.
The piece of paper you get from a course cant help you when its busy.

I dont know how much weight even the TAFE certificates hold.
Chris may be able to answer that one.

A willing employer and a willing employee are whats needed to set you on the path to becoming a good barista.
Ive always said that attitude counts a lot.

[refsta Member Find all posts View Profile Close refsta]

Re: which course to do?

2mcm i guess it really depends on the quality of said stencils and spatulas
ok i get it. barista basics are basic at best lol

its simply why i was asking. i am not an elite taster of coffees. i dont really wish to know of the obscurities of coffee origins apart from the fact they are fairly traded and as close to natural as possible. and with that i just want to learn how to operate a commercial machine to produce consistently great coffee. id like to know that my coffee will be truly appreciated. im not expecting to enter the industry to become a superstar or anything, merely to keep myself fresh for my other tech intensive pursuits. i think it can be a creative and social opportunity. anyway i am in geelong so to attend any of the academies would be in melbourne unless anyone can recommend the 3 hour course in geelong at gordon TAFE. it is run by Espresso & Coffee Solutions. but they only run monthly sessions and the next one is full. price is $60 so it is cheaper than the Melbourne ones at 100/110 but as for the education i dont know. i am willing to part with 100 for the good tips and tricks and to get into a course earlier, even if it is in melbourne. i do guess the fact that its a TAFE qual isnt of utmost importance but its recognition as being elite is. so if ur saying veneziano is second to none i will take it on board

so 2mcm, do u have any contacts in geelong? pretty please.
i can say i am pretty good when it comes to handling hospitality pressures while maintaining process and i can definately see myself as an artistic finisher given some training.
ok with that i am off to pull another 5 shots for the family on the ever submitting 800es. ciao.

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

Re: which course to do?

I am somewhat puzzled why you asked for advice but are not particularly interested in the suggestions given. I cannot fathom the contradictions. If you want to do it well, do a great course. Why ask about courses in Melbourne and then look for something in Geelong? :-?

I believe that many years ago they installed a track used to run locomotives between Geelong and Melbourne. Perhaps you might avail yourself of a journey on one of them??

The recomended venues have great reputatations and for good reason...

Nevertheless, if the local cafe with a haros steamer and a can of international roast lights your fire as a training venue, so be it.....

[Dennis Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dennis]

Re: which course to do?

what are barista basics in Melbourne like?

erm....theyre uncannily like Barista basics in Sydney  :...Why if you didnt know better, youd think that they had been cloned.... :P

I guess it depends on how much you like stencils.....

Chris...Sometimes youre funnier than I am! : ROFL! ;D ;D

[refsta Member Find all posts View Profile Close refsta]

Re: which course to do?

so are you saying the geelong course is crap then. do you really know of this local cafe or the equipment used? lol. look i really dont know. as for geelongs cafe circuit tasting like frothed international roast, i agree. and its still 3 dollars a cup. but there are a few exceptions of course like some on pakington and ryrie streets and michels in belmont which won second place in the state barista comp. but i dont know, i guess im just a poor country boy with blend 43 as my goal in life.

[capuchin Member Find all posts View Profile Close capuchin]

Re: which course to do?

Not that dollars should drive every decision, but...Barista Basics is in the Sydney Entertainment Book, and you get 25% off the price for 1-4 people.

...which only goes to prove that you get what you pay for :-?. If youre really lucky, youll get a spatula and free set of stencils too :

I imagine that some of the restaurants and cafes that advertise in there would disagree with you
Thanks for the info regarding Barista Basics. Do you have any thoughts regarding courses in Sydney? (I realise you are a melbourne lad)

[fatboy_1999 Señor Ding Dong Find all posts View Profile Close fatboy_1999]

Re: which course to do?

A bit OT, but -

I think the different sections of the Entertainment book certainly have different levels of value.

Most of the food related stuff ranges from reasonable to great value.
Most of the non-food related stuff is hit and miss. A lot of it seems to come down to - if you were going to do it anyway, this will save you some money.
Whilst some of the food related stuff might tempt you to go to the eatery in question, the promise things like of a 2 for 1 admission to the Ford Discovery Centre has yet to convince me to make the trip!

[coastal_coffee Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close coastal_coffee]

Re: which course to do?

Oi!,the haros steamer is only bought out to fire up the steam train, and I object to that anyway

I am somewhat puzzled why you asked for advice but are not particularly interested in the suggestions given. I cannot fathom the contradictions. If you want to do it well, do a great course. Why ask about courses in Melbourne and then look for something in Geelong? :-?

I believe that many years ago they installed a track used to run locomotives between Geelong and Melbourne. Perhaps you might avail yourself of a journey on one of them??

The recomended venues have great reputatations and for good reason...

Nevertheless, if the local cafe with a haros steamer and a can of international roast lights your fire as a training venue, so be it.....

[refsta Member Find all posts View Profile Close refsta]

Re: which course to do?

im stuck between william angliss and veneziano. arghhh