Since usually volunteers hardly get thanked for anything, I want to begin this post with them: to everyone that helped us put together this three day event, packed with unglamorous chores like polishing cupping glasses, emptying spit cups, pouring 20-minute-old lattes down the drain, and then frantically moving on to the next thing, I say: Thank you. This workshop would not have been possible without you. The biggest thanks go to Sarah Riley, Ankeen Macguire, and Jason Scherr at Think, Teresa Von Fuchs from Dallis, and Maria Diaz, who all worked above and beyond the call of duty to receive their “volunteer” title.
Last year, I got in touch with Think Coffee’s Sarah Riley about hosting an SCAA Skill Building Workshop, the best way the SCAA provides regional access to its educational programs. Was Think in? Sure! And so we worked with Melissa Bula for several months to put this three day event together. On top of providing great education, I also wanted to be sure attendees were welcomed by the New York Coffee community. And what better way to do that than with a Thursday Night Throwdown?
It’s always good to get things started with a throwdown!
To kick off the event and get things started, we held the September Thursday Night Throwdown in the lab space. We were thrilled when Mike Love and his Coffee Labs crew showed up, as well as travelers all the way from Buffalo, NY! This particular throwdown was female dominated, with only one guy (our Neil Oney, that’s who!), advancing to the second round. Even Neil didn’t make it to round 3. The winner was the lovely Alie Camp of Cafe Grumpy, who wowed the judges every round. Congrats, Alie!
What a sunrise before the workshop begins!
The next morning, the Skill Building Workshop, an event I had been planning and coordinating for almost two years, finally came to be. We packed the lab with students eager to learn more about espresso and coffee, and also amassed an excellent team of instructors to guide them on their path.
Katie Duris, lead instructor for the espresso workshops, workin’ it.
In Espresso Theory, students learned the fundamental definitions of espresso according to SCAA standards, watched their instructors pull shots, and learned the vocabulary of the espresso machine and grinder. They also learned about the crucial importance of regular cleanliness for both pieces of equipment.
Ben Wilkinson & Katie Carguilo leading their groups through the theory.
Armed with the theoretical knowledge behind espresso preparation, the students then began to tackle Hands-On Espresso. Here they practiced proper technique, observing shot volumes and behaviors, and making adjustments. The students also did a little bit of milk steaming. Teresa Von Fuchs, Travis Edwards, and Katie Carguilo lead their groups hands-on through the process, rotating through the lab so everyone could experience working with the three different espresso machines we had set up.
Distributing coffee, checking the volumes.
The next day began with Milk Steaming and latte art. We had great local milk to work with, provided by Battenkill Valley Creamery through Basis, so we got everyone tasting and steaming right away! I hate to leave a milk steaming class without every student pouring at least the basic designs, and so I worked with students throughout the lab to get them more comfortable with a steam pitcher (hold it!) and practicing the pouring concept with water. Amanda Byron, Travis Edwards, and Ben Wilkinson lead the groups and each of them got their groups doing some lovely pours! Here are some proud latte art parents:
Then began the cupping labs. Andrew Miller, importer extraordinaire at Cafe Imports in Minneapolis, shared with us some wonderful coffees. In the first lab, we established SCAA cupping protocol, went over the SCAA flavor wheel, and students started cupping! I worked as a porter during this lab, and was once again reminded of how challenging it is to run cupping. Still, I was happy that this completely packed course went off without a hitch.
Andrew gives the run-down on cupping; The cupping lab in full force.
Saturday night came time for the Barista Guild of America Level 1 certification exam. The process of proctoring was great for Katie Duris, Neil, & myself, since we had just received the credential in Anaheim a few weeks before. We had 12 students take the exam, and overall I was encouraged by the skills saw. Still, I believe the exam is a lot tougher than many believe, so we’ll wait to see how the results turn out. We also had another chance to review the exam afterwards since this was the first launch of the Certification exam “in the wild” – outside of SCAA exposition.
Andrew and Richard Ottenhoff chat while grinding our coffees.
On Sunday, we were back again to cup more coffee. In the intermediate and advanced classes, we covered taste differences due to processing methods, elevation, and coffee variety, while scoring coffees and calibrating using SCAA methodology. I was a station instructor for these two courses, and so I got very caffeinated going over the 15 coffees we tried, some multiple times, throughout the day. We also learned about countries’ sizing terminology as well as a little bit of information about different coffee economies. All in all, Andrew did a great job leading the cuppers, again with thanks to his supportive lead instructors: Ed Kauffman, John Moore, Mark Howell, Richard Ottenhof, and Neil Oney.
The event came to a close, as many cupping days should, with some informal beers before we began packing up. Melissa, Sarah, Neil & I then loaded away the event and it was hard to believe it had even existed. Wow, we did it, and shared our passion for coffee with dozens of students for three days!