Don Cortez training

A comprehensive course that makes a great starting point for people who want to learn the basics about Italian espresso. It provides participants with an overview of the world of coffee, from the origins in plantations to serving the consumers.

• The coffee bean’s journey: from the plant to the cup (history, cultivation, harvest, processing, drying, transport).
• From green beans to roasted coffee: differences between Arabica and Robusta in terms of quality and sensory properties.
• Visit to the roasting facility: the production cycle.
• Coffee in Italy and worldwide: production and consumption.
• Espresso in cafés: consumption and trends.
• The blend.
• Espresso machines and grinder/dispensers: use and maintenance.
• Handling: extracting espresso properly.

The ideal course for aspiring professional baristas and expert baristas who want to learn the secrets of exceptional preparation.

• Espresso machines: settings and maintenance.
• Grinder/dispensers: settings and maintenance.
• Perfect espresso extraction.
• Making a cappuccino.
• Espresso-based drinks: latte macchiato, espresso macchiato, marocchino.
• Service: exceptional standards at the counter.

A course for improving your Latte Art skills and learning to make coffee-based specialities to offer to your customers.

• Latte Art: free pouring and decorating with tools.
• Decorating with tools.
• Summer specialities.
• Winter specialities.
• Alcoholic coffee-based specialities.

Theory and practice of coffee tasting. While drinking espresso often gives rise to personal discussions about taste, tasting is actually a genuine profession that involves objective coffee assessment criteria. This course will teach you about those criteria and provide you with the resources for analysing the quality of an espresso.

• Tasting and memorizing acidic water, salty water, sweet water and bitter water.
• Tasting techniques and assessment criteria.
• Blind H ₂O test.
• Practical coffee tasting and assessment exercise.