Coming soon: an institution for latte learning.
Local coffee entrepreneur Sean Kohmescher is opening the area's first barista training school this fall.
His mission is to "raise the standards" of coffee preparation locally, says Kohmescher, who owns two Temple Fine Coffee and Tea shops and serves as an officer with the Barista Guild of America.
The classes, to be held at the newest Temple site at 29th and S streets, will be open to anyone interested in learning the finer details of coffee and espresso preparation, Kohmescher says.
Students could spend as long as a year downing a three-level certification program being finalized by the barista guild.
Is all that training necessary? Just to make a cup of coffee?
Dumb question, says the plain-spoken Kohmescher.
"That's as funny as somebody saying, 'I cook at home, so why do I have to go to cooking school to be a chef?'" he says.
His curricula will include coffee bean selection, roasting and grinding techniques, proper milk steaming and artistic pouring.
Kohmescher believes in brewing up coffee's true flavors - not "masking" the taste by over-roasting or mixing in lots of sugary additives.
He disdains the "chain" coffee shops, which he contends automate the coffee-making process and water down the taste.
Calling those employees baristas, he says, "is like saying they have a chef at McDonald's."
For the rest of Bob Shallit's column, see Thursday's "Our Region" section. Reach Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.
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