Thank you for visiting our site. This site is supported by our readers and members. We may earn commissions, at no cost to you, if you purchase products from retailers after clicking a link or advert from our site. As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon. These commissions help keep this site going. Content may be curated. Please read our disclaimers policy for more information. We hope you enjoy our site!
Coffee is a fascinating seed and drink. Coffee is an exciting and ever-changing industry. When making our own coffee or for others, we want to bring out the best taste for the bean, the roast, and the brew.
Of course, you can learn to make coffee by yourself with trial and error or you can take a coffee-making course. You can take a specialized barista training course even if you don’t want to end up as a barista.
If you really want to make awesome coffee then a barista training course will be the way to go. You can become a coffee professional either just as a hobby or for the specialty coffee industry.
Barista Training Courses
Barista training programs provide structured education and training in the art and science of making coffee.
When you attend a barista training program, You can learn something new or accelerate your progress as a barista in the coffee industry especially if you want employment in a coffee shop.
Most of the barista training concentrates on using an espresso machine as this is the most common piece of equipment for a coffee shop.
Where to get barista training? Well, you can enroll in offline or online courses. Both types of courses have their advantages and disadvantages. However, you can also use both to your advantage too!
Offline Barista Training Course
The advantage of an offline course is that you get to practice with commercial espresso machines and socialize with other trainees.
The disadvantage is that you are working close to other people and this may not be ideal in this current COVID pandemic. Restrictions or ‘lockdowns’ may also prevent you from attending offline courses. You also usually only have access to training materials whilst taking the course.
Online Barista Training Course
The advantages of an online course are that you can practice with your espresso machine at home and you always have access to the learning materials. You may also be safer practicing at home compared with practicing in a group during a pandemic.
The disadvantage is that you miss out on socializing with other people and training on commercial coffee machines.
Some online barista training courses lead to an official certificate and some are just for your own experience.
Online training sessions can cost anywhere between $150 and $999!
Offline and Online Coffee Training Courses
Some barista training courses have both offline and online components.
The Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) runs some excellent training programs. The SCA’s barista training course is called the Coffee Skills Program.
However, you need to find an Authorized SCA Trainer (ASTs) near you before you can enroll in the SCA course.
This may be offered as both an offline and online course depending upon the AST.
Unfortunately, the SCA courses are a bit expensive. You could pay hundreds of dollars for each module in the SCA course depending on the AST.
You may ask ‘where do I find barista training near me?’ That’s not too difficult. You can use the SCA course finder to find a suitable course worldwide.
Best Online Barista Training Course
In this post, we briefly review one of the best personal online barista training courses we have seen to date.
This course is the Coffee Ninja Online Barista Training course and your barista trainer is Steve Jackson. This course is also used to help train newbie baristas for coffee shops, hospitality staff, cafe staff, and even experienced baristas who just need to refresh their skills.
Steve is a professional and has had extensive experience in the specialty coffee industry. In fact, Steve has been a barista, coffee technician, coffee representative, cafe manager, head trainer, and consultant for owners of coffee shops.
You can be certain that what you learn in this course is good comprehensive practical advice.
Take this course and you can be ready for anything before you ever step behind a coffee counter.
Steve’s mission is to make specialty coffee education easy, interesting, and fun!
Coffee Ninja Course
Did ninjas make coffee? Probably not. Coffee was introduced into Japan during the early 18th Century. The ninjas were active about 15th Century Japan.
Of course, we aren’t talking about ninjas making or drinking coffee. We are talking about the ‘secret’ and highly effective methods of making coffee revealed by Steve’s course. That is, making coffee ‘like a ninja’!
The ninja barista training course is the perfect way to learn how to make excellent espresso coffee. This course is coffee made simple with the most useful course on the market.
The course compiles years of result-driven experience into helpful guides, practical cheat sheets, and ongoing support.
You take the course through the Teachable online training platform. It is well organized and logical.
The course is full of practical information, videos, animations, and pdf materials. It is packed with about 2 hours and 30 minutes of excellent training videos.
Honestly, these videos must be some of the best and highest quality instructional videos I have ever seen.
The videos are well presented and directed. The camera angles are just right. The videos show all the necessary steps and give you an actual ‘over the shoulder’ view of what’s happening.
Steve was a 3D animator and graphic designer before taking up a coffee career. You can certainly see his talent in the excellent animations and graphics throughout the course. An example is shown below.
The video captions are clear and informative. The background music is appropriate and not irritating. The background photography is stylish and gives you the feeling of being in a cafe.
Steve presents all the videos and he has a clear sonorous voice with good diction. This means that you won’t struggle to understand what he says. Oh…he does have a tell-tale Australian accent but that is in no way distracting.
You get cheatsheets and 82 pages of supporting full-color documents in the course. The pages aren’t boring black and white text. They are vivid full color with high-quality images and great design. You can use the documents and cheatsheets as guides next to your espresso machine.
The course comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The course materials are always available, you have lifetime access and there is no need to renew your membership after a couple of months. You can refresh any lesson at any time. If you have a question or you need help then all you need to do is ask!
Five Steps To Make Perfect Espresso Coffee
Steve has a 5-Step Program, comprising 31 video modules, all set out for you to make awesome coffee!
Step 1. Know Your Equipment
This first step helps you understand coffee-making tools and machines and how to get the most out of them. There are six modules in Step 1.
- Barista Tools
- Grinders
- Home Espresso Machines
- Commercial Espresso Machines
- Preview Barista Flow (cafe bonus)
- Espresso Menu
This step and the modules are a very useful and practical introduction to espresso machines. It takes an inside and outside look at some of the common elements of most espresso machines.
Step 2. Perfect Espresso
During Step 2 Steve beaks down everything for you to make the perfect espresso coffee. There are 10 modules in Step 2.
- Freshness
- Brew ratios & portafilters
- Preview Grind
- Changing the grind step-by-step
- Touchpad (cafe bonus)
- Dose
- Dosing step-by-step
- Tamping
- Assessing the espresso
- Challenge: Perfect Espresso
The last module in this step is a ‘challenge’ where Steve asks you to do your best at making espresso and share your experience with the Facebook group.
Step 3. Silky Milk
In this step, Steve instructs you how to make perfect steamed milk with a shiny microfoam and a pour that delivers quality! There are five modules in Step 3.
- Milk steaming
- Milk steaming step-by-step
- Pouring
- Chocolates and Chai
- Challenge: Silky Milk
The last module in this step is a ‘challenge’ where Steve asks you to do your best Silky Milk and share your experience with the Facebook group.
Step 4. Latte Art
During Step 4 Steve takes all that you’ve learned and brings it together to show you how to make great-looking latte art. Practice this and you can impress your friends with photo-worthy latte art! There are six modules in Step 4.
- Preview Heart
- Rosetta (or leaf)
- Tulip
- Swan
- Teddy Bear
- Challenge: Latte Art
The last module in this step is a ‘challenge’ where Steve asks you to do your best Latte Art and share with the Facebook group.
Step 5. Cleaning
Cleaning? Absolutely! If you want great-tasting coffee then you need to have a clean machine both inside and out. There are three modules in Step 5
- Backflushing
- Final Cleaning
- Servicing
The final module in the course is a conclusion where Steve wraps it all up.
Conclusion
Steve Jackson developed this course because he hated one-off physical training sessions being like one-off transactions. He thinks that “in-person barista training courses allow you only a few turns on a machine with a trainer providing one-time feedback leaving people frustrated and wanting more.”
Coffee ninja training was designed to help you learn to make perfect espresso coffee simpler and faster. The course guides you to making great-tasting and consistent barista-quality coffee.
The Ninja Barista training course is the perfect tool for your home, job or cafe to master great taste and consistency. Coffee made simple by what we think is one of the best online barista training courses on the market!
Discount!
Steve has offered GoodCoffeePlace readers a massive 30% discount on his course. To take advantage of this great offer just click the display ad or click this link for the Coffee Ninja Discount.
Just to let you know I am NOT an affiliate, so I don’t receive any compensation for recommending the Coffee Ninja course. I recommend the course because it is the best online barista training course I’ve seen to date. In my opinion, the course is well worth the money! So start learning now!
Related Posts
Here is a similar post you may like…
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
