The second day of Let’s Talk Coffee 2009 is just under way. (Or officially the first day, yesterday’s activities which included a long session on storytelling and seven stations of barista training were optional.) Attendees just watched a welcome video and introduction from David Griswold, president and founder of Sustainable Harvest, and the first presentations of the day have begun.
When the presentations began, the barista champions in the audience made a dash for the door, not because they’re not interested in what the presenters have to say, but here at LTC, your morning coffee at the break time will be prepared and served by one of several national barista champions, so they had to get busy prepping.
Just after the baristas finished participating in the storytelling session, they ran over to the other end of the hotel to set up their seven stations for barsita training. The stations included: espresso preparation, milk steaming, latte art, triangular cupping, alternative brewing methods, understanding water, and espresso machine maintenance.
For many attendees, it was the first time they had seen or worked with espresso machines. And though all the stations got very positive responses, the station that drew the most attention was latte art. Seeing someone in person pouring latte art for the first time is just a damn cool thing, and the attendees were very impressed.
The day of training was supposed to end with a latte art competition, but after running through their stations with seven different sets of attendees the baristas were pooped, and with the sun setting over the Pacific, they were released to go play in the ocean before the welcoming night drink and dinner started. And there was much rejoicing.
