Before Easter this year, I enrolled in a Barista course on the spur of the moment, a decision I'm glad I made.
Reading through the enrolment terms and conditions, it said there may be knowledge assessments. Carefully the fine print because the 'may' should have read 'will be', but I wasn't there to edit the T&Cs.
The assessment quizzes also included a Language, Literacy and Numeracy Test (LLN), which required a 100% pass mark, either 100% or 'see you on the next prac course'.
So I carefully read (twice) a mountain of pages about hygiene practices for food and preparing and serving espresso until my eyes and brain hurt.
The quizzes seemed easy enough until it wasn't.
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| Hello there coffee machine, we have work to do. |
It was all fun and games until one question baffled me.
There were countless alternatives to the answer to the question, at least to someone as detail-oriented as me, and after an excruciating period passed, I gave up and called the college.
The college contact wasn't a facilitator but was worthy of one.
Their clear line of questioning to the question I agonised over helped me finally reach the correct answer - go me! It was embarrassingly simple.
Note to Self: next time I take an exam or quiz, try not to keep things simple.
The following morning I arrived at the appointed time, eager to begin my barista learning experience in the finer art of making espresso.
I learned to pour two at a time x three milk coffee of caps, lattes, piccolos, mochaccinos (looked delish) and flat whites.
Milk coffees done, we started on the short/long blacks, ristretto, short/long macchiatos, and a long black ... phew!
I prefer soy milk with coffee, so I decided to froth soy.
My steam wand whooshed, squealed and occasionally screamed as I moved the milk jug up, down and around.
It was disappointing to see my best effort of frothing had produced a jug of hot milk instead.
Maybe it was because the milk wasn't cold, or it wasn't barista-class soy, or could this have been a student error?
Last we cleaned everything until everything sparkled and the angels sang.
Now that I am competent in making the above coffees, I have a newfound respect for baristas - pulling shots of delicious coffee is an art form.
The irony of my barista course was we didn't get to sample a single drop of delicious dark brew.
Nope, not a single drop of coffee passed our lips - we were too busy pulling shots and being assessed!
I solemnly give thanks to the Hairy Goddess for the flat white with soy I thought to buy from the cafe next door before class commenced.
As a sexagenarian, I know one thing for sure, age is no barrier to learning a new skill - you can train an old dog new tricks - who decided you couldn't?
Now to secure an apprenticeship ...
