PASS I(t) ON

*  When I decided to become a barista way back in 2007, I knew that someday I was going to teach people how to make and drink coffee. And they would do the same and share their knowledge with others. After every workshop and class I have attended since the beginning, I was always excited to share what I have learned to my friends and family even though they did not understand what I was doing and what I was going to be. Little did I know that through running a small coffee shop, people would start asking me how to do what I was doing. Suddenly there was a demand.

* The barista culture that I was immersed in for 5 years revealed to me that baristas are a very generous and passionate breed. They would give and share gadgets and information and develop disciples and students; and these students would find followers of their own and so on and so forth. So I would share to every willing customer, coffee enthusiast, entrepreneur, and barista my experiences, struggles, and techniques over the bar counter and hope they would get inspired and start their own coffee journeys.

* For the past two weeks, I have been training and teaching future entrepeneurs and baristas. And most of them have almost "zero" knowledge about coffee. But after 5 days of intense "indoctrination" and "immersion" they were able to respect the barista profession and pursue coffee careers of their own. My classes and workshops include a coffee appreciation class; a basic and advanced barista workshop where I let them experience how it feels like to work behind the bar with REAL customers lined up; a coffee tasting and cupping session where they get to taste 9 to 12 different coffees for the first time (sensory SHOCK!); and a dedicated, 3 to 5 hour-long latte art boot camp where I FORCE them to learn latte art, hehe! But seriously, these are fun activities that would really get you thinking about coffee after completing all of them. I think my workshops are attractive because it's cheap. The participants just basically pay for the beans and the milk. And after this 5-day experience (which I also experienced back in 2007 in Dumaguete), the participant may pursue other trainings and workshops in TESDA, PBCA, or SCAA and Espresso World which holds professional level workshops all throughout the year. Google 'em up guys!

*So if you're interested in testing the waters first before investing in a cafe of your own, a barista career, or further advanced training, you're welcome to visit us and we'll talk about your plans. You can also e-mail us at cafeantonio_elbi@yahoo.com if you want to avail of our special 5-day workshop package.