Origin Barista Training

So have you may have noticed, I now have a job. It's nothing special, just a waitressing/barista job in a cafe. If you live in Cornwall, or the Falmouth area, you may know of Gylly Beach Cafe- a hugely popular beach cafe in my town. Well, I scored a job with them! Sadly (or lucky in some circumstances) all of my work experience is with restaurant and cafe work, so I'm pretty well trained for the catering industry. As you may also know, I had a while ago, arranged some further Barista training with Origin Coffee, as I love to make coffee (even though I hate to drink it) and wanted to take my skills a bit further. I've been using a coffee machine in cafe's since my first job at Loe Beach Cafe when I was 13, since then I have had the pleasure of training with Origin twice, and through experience as well, could make a pretty good coffee. However I still wanted to know more- I felt I was lacking some specifics and had a few gaps in my knowledge of coffee. Plus, as my training was at least a year ago, and I have been living and working so sporadically, I lost touch with the science and the details to the coffee making. For instance I knew from experience that whole milk is better for steaming, but had no idea why. Small little things like that. So I got in touch with Origin, and lucky for me they could squeeze me in! So, yesterday I popped over to the warehouse and spent the afternoon with Dave :)

Origin have some of the best branding I have seen. Whilst I think about how I will begin to brand my business, I often think of them. They're delivery vans have these fun designs on them too, and they stick to the basic colours orange and brown, synonymous with coffee and them.

I also had no idea about the selecting and roasting processes, so Dave took me through that. He laid out samples of the different stages of roasting, showing them in their ripe green stage, all the way through the finished product 15 minutes later. Origin are getting ready to open a new roasting warehouse over in Helston soon, which I would have been very interested to see, had there been more time.

Plus the famous latte art. I can do it while I'm at work, but not always that consistently. So we broke it down to the basics yesterday. And I failed. I didn't even do a single leaf . Or heart.... :( so neither of the hearts you see above are mine. Boooo

Abiento x

Origin Barista Training

I started working in the catering industry when I was 13. I got my first job in cafe through that long legged girl that is my best friend. The family that ran the business at the time are still very close to me, and hopefully always will be. When I started in the industry, one of the first things I learnt was how to use a coffee machine. I prided myself in learning how to create smooth frothy milk for my customers, and after I left the little cafe, I moved onto to bigger and better restaurants and cafe's that gave me the barista training I desired. Since then I have fallen in love with coffee. I can't really explain it, as I don't like to drink coffee- I don't even like to drink tea! I am a water and juice kinda gal :). Yet maintaining a coffee machine, learning about the beans, producing quality crema and even cleaning the machine gives me pride and makes me happy. I love it :) I now become the coffee girl wherever I work.

In some ways this is quite strange to me, as I started out loving the job because of the people and the customers. I am a sociable person. But over the years the coffee has drawn me in, and left me wanting more. I felt that the training I had been offered though work just wasn't enough. Plus, having not had a regular job over the last 2 years, but spits and spats of work, I have become rusty. And so I contacted Origin.

Both times I have had barista training though work, it has been with Origin, and they have always proven themselves to be fabulous. I like working with them, even if I only come into contact with their colourful delivery van and the nice smiley man inside it :). And so, I contacted Origin to see if they could help me. Within a couple of days I had a response saying that they could happily squeeze me onto a course in their warehouse if I wanted. So on Thursday of this week I will be spending my day with lovely gentlemen of Origin Coffee. Next week i will write all about my day with them, and share some images from the day too, but more information on the local Cornish coffee company that is Origin coffee, please head over to their website.

Abiento x