Busy Bee Barista!

Just a quick update on my professional career!  This year, we have made it a company goal to get the managers up to speed in the barista world.  This year, we are lucky enough that the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) will be hosting their annual Event in Portland this year.  Which means that we are making big plans to attend, and to use this opportunity to make leaps and bounds in the way we do things at Coffee Culture.  One of the things we will be doing at the Event is taking the certification test for Level 1 certification through the SCAA and the Barista Guild of America (of which we are now members.)  We have begun our studies already, by first taking an online Webinar on Customer Service.  We will be training with Nathanel, who is the trainer at Portland Roasting, to prepare us for the written and practical parts of the test.   We will also be attending classes and lectures to learn about ways to better ourselves and our shops!

We are also lucky enough that our roaster, Portland Roasting, was named Roaster of the Year by Roast magazine.  This may sound silly, but it is a prestigious award.  They plan on celebrating by having a block party on one of the nights during the Event weekend.  They are a friendly, fun group of people and I am looking forward to meeting many of the people that I talk to on the phone all the time.

So, between getting Coffee Culture registered as a cafe with the SCAA, getting the management signed up with the SCAA and Barista Guild, and getting certified as a PRO barista, it is a big year for our company and for me!