Three hundred and ninety-five years agao, the people of London were introduced to a black liquid, described initially with little enthusiasm by those who first tasted it as “syrup of soot or essence of old shoes.” By 1670, however, coffeehouses were sprouting up on every street corner, and customers whiled away the hours drinking cup after cup of the dark, caffeinated elixir, talking about politics, arguing philosophy and passing on the juiciest gossip. As nearly four centuries of time marched on, though, the British coffee scene fell apart. Blame beer, the ever-present and always-popular tea or just bad coffee–after all, instant crystals still have a lock on much of the English home market–but coffee has been the black sheep of beverages in Britain for eons. While many Western countries have spent the last few decades in the throes of a specialty coffee revolution, the Brits off on their emerald isle have been somewhat left out, at least until now.

In 2004, a few dedicated coffee professionals, including Jon Willassen, an international coffee authority, decided enough was enough, that the English palates famed for their diet of beans on toast, spotted dick, bangers and mash, and a good curry deserved better than one more awful cup of freeze-dried crap, and so they opened the doors to the London School of Coffee (LSC). Its mission was simple and twofold: to educate and train coffee industry professionals to deliver a quality experience to their customers, and to provide superior training and education to baristas so that they would be regarded as experts in their craft.

Since neither Starbucks nor its independent counterparts have yet infiltrated the British scene to the extent they have in the States, many Brits have not had the opportunity to taste any type of espresso or even, in many cases, a decent drip coffee. In fact, just getting a wary public to give coffee a chance is still something of a challenge in England. But after only its first year in operation, the LSC is busily making inroads and altering peoples’ perceptions. “The most fun is when people come in loudly protesting the possibility that coffee can taste pleasurable in any form or way,” says Anette Moldvær, one of the LSC’s trainers, “and (then they) leave utterly smitten with the flowery brightness or heavy earthiness of this or that coffee we’ve had on the table for them. If they even get around to inquiring about where these coffees can be purchased where they live, we know we’ve done a nice job.”

The Building Blocks of Education

Martin Hildebrandt, cofounder of the Copenhagen Coffee Academy (CCA) and one of the illustrative instructors on the faculty of the LSC, established his school in Denmark around the same time Willassen began his just outside of London. “We had similar ideas about starting up academies,” says Hildebrant, and when Jon and I shared our ideas it became clear that we should share the information and knowledge that we had.” Thus unlike in the States where schools often find themselves as rivals to other institutions, whether it be for funding, students or football bragging rights, the LSC began its existence in a different light, with an emphasis on cooperation instead of competition. “The primary goal for us, in specialty coffee has always been to share,” says Hildebrandt.

To keep that open and sharing environment functioning not only between institutions but between students and teachers, classes at the LSC are kept small in size; they may even be held on a one-to-one basis. If, however, a larger group, such as the entire staff of a café, wants to participate in training, the LSC can facilitate up to 12-15 students at a time depending on the nature of the course. “The normal class size is four-to-six people,” says Willassen, “but the number of students in a class depends on the customer’s objective.” The LSC also offers standard or customized course curricula to match its students’ particular needs.

“We have lecturers and teachers from a wide cross-section of the industry, from farmers and importers to roasters and baristas,” explains Moldvær. Then she goes on to list some of the subjects LSC instructors specialize in. Basically, classwork covers everything in the specialty coffee world, from trade arrangements to green bean and origin studies to roasting, cupping and grinding, to water and coffee chemistry, and of course, barista skills. If it’s related to understanding and improving coffee knowledge, the LSC probably covers it. And if they don’t cover it yet, they will soon says Willassen. “We are continuously revising and developing our courses based on demands in the market,” says Moldvær, “and by looking at what people know and want to learn, whether they are complete beginners or established connoisseurs.”

A Classroom for Coffee

The LSC hands-on training takes place in a custom-designed lab and cupping room where students have access to both professional and home-market roasters, all manner of coffee-brewing equipment and, of course, commercial and home-market espresso machines and grinders. “LSC is independent of any manufacturer or grower related to the coffee industry and offers totally objective and comprehensive training,” says Willassen. “(We’re) focused on producing the highest possible coffee experience for the customer.” To that end, the lab is filled with equipment from various manufacturers who use the LSC facility as a showroom where people can come to try any machine and then decide on which products will best suit their individual business profile.

More theoretical course material and classes are held in a meeting room with a traditional environment of tables, chairs and chalkboards, and where in addition to a modern espresso machine, the LSC boasts a growing collection of old-fashioned and vintage-style coffee equipment. But one of the areas where the LSC’s facility really stands out is its cupping room. “LSC has a fantastic platform for educating students in green coffee and cupping,” says Hildebrandt. The school’s unique cupping table, where students can gather around to sample and learn about coffees from all over the world, was specifically designed by one of the institution’s partners. “At any given time we have available to us around 120 different lines of specialty grade coffees from about 20 different producing countries,” says Moldvær. “This means we can introduce our students to high-quality coffees from a hugely diversified specialty market, as well as letting them compare them to any coffees from the supermarket or their local supplier that they care to examine. We wish to neither glorify nor vilify any one brand name or origin so our cuppings are always done blind, as we always trust that ‘the proof is in the cup.’”

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