Caffeinate and Conquer

Finally…Back to writing. Last week was an erratic one. I usually just came here too tired, post my random impromptu thoughts to make me sleep, do some replies and some rounds of tips and comments and I’m gone! I think I was only able to submit two articles (sheepish grin) but anyway, I’m back and I think most of my to do lists are cleared and will have more time to do more hustling here. So what’s up with everyone? I hope everything is well at your other side of the world. With me I guess I’ll start by sharing what I have been up to for the past days.

Image Credits: Mine

Barista Goals Achieved

Last Friday we had an initial assessment at our Barista Class with our instructor, our schedule is 8am and for some reason I chickened out, I don't feel ready, I am not up to attending class that early so for the first time I was absent. I plan to join the other class but I learned later that day that all the other classes were done with their assessments as well. I felt bad, my instructor told me it's okay but I need to make sure I will pass the national assessment. That is the one counted, it is the one that will certify us as a Barista. The pressure is on! I regretted being absent, I would have had more idea how the national exam would be like since the initial assessment would atleast give me an idea if I am competent enough.

Then came Monday, our day of National Assessment for Barista NCII certification. It is a whole day activity, we started 8am and ended at 530 pm. We were the first batch in our class to take the exam. We were 11 in the group, the second half of the class is scheduled for Tuesday. We have a guest assessor, He owns one local coffee shop in La Trinidad Benguet and he seemed to be nice but meticulous. As for our exam, it has three parts:

The first part is the manual brewing, we were asked to brew coffee using the V60 and the French Press and we had to present and taste profile the coffee we made in front of the assessor in terms of Aroma, Body, Acidity, Flavor Notes and the coffee's After Taste.

This is how the V60 looked like, we have to do some pre-heating stage and the paper filter needs to do a pre-wash and pre warm phase to remove the paper taste. The result is a very aromatic brewed coffee and will be best enjoyed by coffee lovers who prefer plain black. It does not taste good if creamer or milk is added.

Image Credits: Unsplash

Up next, we have to do the French Press, best brewed using medium fine coffee beans and brewing time recommended is 3-4 minutes before you dip completely the plunger. I was not proud of my french press coffee since it is underextracted and tasted so bland but oh well, had to shrug it off and moved on to the next part.

Image Credits: Mine

The second part of the assessment is to make a Ristretto and present it to our assessor. Ristretto is a version of an espresso and prepared with the same recipe similar to a Latte but lesser coffee extraction time so expect a darker and more concentrated coffee taste. I believed I did well for this. Latte Art is not a requirement so I didn't do much effort making one.

Image Credits: Unsplash

After serving the Ristretto, we were asked to make two kinds of Cappucino, the wet and the dry version. Dry Cappucino has more foam while the wet one has lesser foam with more steamed milk. I am so proud that I was able to create the wet and dry version flawlessly even if I can't do instant pouring of the milk foam for fear of spilling them and opted to do manual foaming using a spoon. The picture below is an example of a wet and dry cappucino.

Image Credits: Unsplash

The third part is the oral exams. I think it lasted 10-15 minutes per person and we need to take turns being called one a time and I was even the last one to be called. While the others were so pessimistic about not being able to pass the course, I had a good feeling the whole day. I guess it also helped that my work as a Virtual Assistant trained me to undergo numerous interviews and I just felt like going through another interview but this time I need to memorize and take heart the class modules given to us.

The result of our assessment were given to us a few minutes after my orals. We were asked to enter the room and we were given a piece of paper with our name written on it. I got the Barista Competent check and will be given a certificate. Happy Dance! I can finally call myself a real Barista! Yay! I thought all of us passed the course but was surprised when I asked the other 10 of my classmates and found out most of them failed the certification. There were 4 out of the 11 of us that were certified as competent. I really feel bad most especially for one of my group mate whom I knew makes better coffee than I do and can even do latte art. I don't know why he failed. The ones who failed can apply for re-assessment but will need to pay 1350 Php in order to do the re-take.

So what's in it for me?

Some may ask what made me take the Barista Course, I am already middle aged, I have a full time job that I find fulfilling and what am I planning to do with my Barista Certificate? To be honest, I only took the course in order that I can maximize the use of my espresso machine and to make better tasting coffee. I thought learning to become a Barista is an easy peasy course, it's just coffee making right? But it was not. Being passionate and being deeply interested about the coffee making business is a must in order to appreciate the said course. My second reason for taking the course is I want to learn something new, a new skill I can be proud of. I do not want to just be contented with what I am doing for a living. It's some sort of self upgrade I guess.

My daughter also enrolled in a baking class a few months ago and can already bake cakes and pastries. She made a birthday cake for her dad last August. I am a cake lover so I am a critique for her baking, her own personal taste tester and to me her baking recipes still needs some improvement. Most are too sweet for me. Last week, she spent some of her money buying pastry molders and made some cake popsicles that she plans to sell. I made a video of her cake popsicle creations and you can check it below:

Video Credits: Mine

Our friends are telling us that I and my daughter can already put up a coffee shop, she will do the baking and I will be the Barista. In a way I am entertaining the idea, however I don't think my daughter can do full time for that and she's still in college and wants to be a flight stewardess someday. I do have the ambition to put up my own Pet Cafe soon given that I am a dog lover and I also have a dog community to market this pet cafe business but we'll see. God willing, it will happen.

For now, i will just enjoy my coffee creation. I noticed lately I can now sleep soundly even if I drink more than 2 cups of coffee. Yay! I used to be stubborn and drink coffee late at night and then regret being awake past midnight. LOL!

Also, I plan do some self learning how to make matcha latte soon and other gourmet coffee recipes like those Korean foam lattes that are becoming a trend lately.

So that's atleast 7 minutes of coffee rambles for me. If you happen to be in noise.cash please join the noise channel I created earlier today called Kapetography. Let's share our coffee stories. See you there caffeine addicts.

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