Fixed by Coffee
Where I Got Certified as a Barista:
I attended a Barista Basic Workshop thru Coffee Galleria Roastery in Silverwater, NSW. The workshop costs around $55 and was offered via Groupon. Besides utilising their space for providing education and training to budding baristas and professionals, Coffee Galleria is an espresso bar that showcases their own blends and direct traded coffees. It describe itself as on a coffee crusade to reinvigorate specialty coffee in Australia and create a hub for coffee enthusiasts of all levels of experience.
My Barista Workshop Experience:
The 2-hour training focused on fundamentals and proper espresso preparation techniques.
It was a lot of tasting of their very good and freshly ground coffee beans as we drank all the coffee that we made. We learned how to make cappuccino, flat white, latte, mocha, and long black by using commercial coffee machines and traditional grinder. For someone that prepared own "real" coffee for the first time, it was such an unforgettable feeling. Now I know that the 5 types of coffee that we made are all the same in terms of preparing the espresso but it is the pouring of milk and the presence of chocolate that makes each of it to be unique which in turn makes the foam at the top and what underneath it becomes tricky in preparation yet beautiful in taste. For cappuccino, steamed milk is poured close to the brim of the cup; for flat white, it should be far from the brim; for mocha and latte, it's just midway from the brim but mocha need to have chocolate at the bottom of cup and sprinkled on top unlike latte; for long black, it is without milk and chocolate of course but should have hot water first on the cup before the double espresso shot is poured. More details about the topics that were covered in Barista Basics training here and see video below which was taken during the class when, for the first time, I made my own latte and mocha.
What Coffee Machine, Coffee Beans, Chocolate and Milk that I use for my Fave Coffee
I am loyal to Italian Coffee so I use Vittoria 100% Arabica Ground Coffee, Vittoria Original Chocochino Drinking Chocolate, Italian coffee machine which is DeLonghi, and any full cream milk for my favorite mocha. After my barista training, I definitely now check the date that the coffee beans were ground as it really makes the difference, especially if it was ground more than a month ago. We were advised not to buy coffee packs in supermarkets if they are on sale as most likely they have been ground months ago.
Where I Buy my Coffee in Sydney:
With the strong coffee culture in Australia, any local cafe in Sydney can be trusted to make good coffee but I have a VIP card from Two Black Sheep Cafe for being a loyal customer. The cafe is located in Townhall Train Station which makes it convenient for me to buy my mocha before I start work. They give one mini cookie for free for every coffee that customers buy.
What Happens When Coffee is not around:
My brain wont function 100% and my day will not be complete if I do not start it with coffee. People in the office usually ask me first if I already had my coffee before they request me to do something, especially in the morning. My face beams with smile everytime coffee is served. Aint it obvious on the picture?