by Joey » Thu May 25, 2006 7:12 pm
The SCAE and me?
For me as a shop owner the SCAE is a very good invention:
We want the same thing: Making better coffee.
Unfortunately there are so many people who teach Barista lessons.
Lavazza teaches on Lavazza machines with Lavazza recipies, Segafredo trains their own staff, and some little shop owner who doesn't even have a good machine or good coffee offers "Barista trainings" just to make some extra money.... WE WANT A EUROPEAN WIDE LEVEL OF EDUCATION.
The SCAE helps in several ways. There ARE training centers in Europe where Baristas can be trained to ONE LEVEL
But it's not only about Baristas, also about roasting, grinding, brewing....
I had the possibility to get a SCAE Trainer training in London and am now able to teach the SCAE standards and certify Baristas under their name. Of course I could have done this alone, too. And make a "Mocca Club - Certificate" - but I am not so famous yet, and the SCAE is a European wide institution. If we work together and lots of people join, the SCAE will be more famous, and I hope that in the future people will know for sure, that you only get good education if you go to the right training place and not "some guy in some shop". You can't believe how much crap I have heard in some shops here... one man is handing out certificates of a "coffee-sommelier" - but he even refuses the espresso technique! He thinks he is the pope of coffee but his methods are old, old old....
So the SCAE sets European wide standards (one has to do...it coud have been another "Club", but now it's the SCAE)
And I have to say I was very impressed how many famous companies join. When I had my training, the manager from Mahlkönig was there speaking with us about the importance of grinding. We have someone from Probat who's brain I could pick a bit, and I got to know a wonderful guy from Bunn, who changed my mind about drip coffee.
It's a pool of very interesting personalities from the coffee industry, and we as members can get any information and news.
I got a CD with all the training contents from the lessons held in Athens last year. There will be a new scientific research from Mahlkönig about how the way of cooling the beans after roasting effects the grind.... As a member I will be able to get that info...
I get cheaper materials for teaching, like posters and other things. The members themself are very helpful. I once asked for a certain coffee from Timor and immediatly got connections to a vendor who was very helpful.
It's all about contacts and connections. Sure things cost money, and I also thought 100 Euros is a lot for a one year member ship, but even the magazines I get frequently are worth it. There is so much to learn in it...
And let's not forget the Barista Championships - they help us here to get the name & job "Barista" out to the world. In Vienna not many people know what a barista is. But lately we had a huge gastronomy fair where al the gastronomers where browsing around. And exactly there we have had the Austrian CHampionship. I can tell you - this was the best place to do it.
This event was fun, loud and a big attraction. Lots of guests in the audience asked about what we are doing here and where someone can learn that... What I wanna say is, that the Championship helps to make the job Barista be better known. And that's what we need out there. Specially I as a shop owner who has a lot of problems finding a good barista if nobody knows what it is.
Ok, nuff said. This sounds much like advertising, I know. But they don't pay me money to tell you this - I just want the SCAE to be more famous soon, so that guests who enter my place and see the wooden SCAE sign know that here you'll find the best coffee cause the SCAE stands for a certain level of quality. Like restaurants get a better reputation if the Gault Millau has mentioned them...or other certifications....
So nuff said, for me the SCAE is a good thing and I will try to use it for me as often as I can.
Cheers
Joey
PS.: It's not easy to get the certificate for "Barista Level 1" according to the SCAE. The test contains over 50 questions and working on the machine, including me as a teacher changing something on the settings, so that one has to find the failure by himself.... it's not just watching the attendant making one espresso.... and one has to have worked in any coffee business for at least 3 month!!!!! So it's nothing for hobby baristas, it's for professional baristas who want to stand out from the rest. And the SCAE watches over the trainers by asking the attendees if the lessons were satisfying and ckeck the content frequently. I also have to tell them about every training I am doing. So they are very strict and want to prevent people missusing the SCAE logo.
"Latte" is french for "you've paid too much for your coffee"