How does a novice start to learn coffee? Suggestions on systematic study and self-study

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Recently, a friend asked me how to start learning coffee, and also asked if I could be a private coffee tutor. I think many friends might have similar questions, so as to the question of how beginners should start learning coffee, I would like to provide some personal suggestions for your reference.

Generally speaking, there are two ways of learning-systematic learning and self-study. Coffee learning can also be divided in this way. Systematic learning is nothing more than looking for opportunities to provide coffee teaching.

University Coffee Society

The lowest cost in systematic learning is probably the coffee club course in universities across the country.

Take the coffee shop of National Chengchi University as an example, the social fee is only 600 yuan per semester (about 10 classes). The courses include brewing teaching of different equipment, tasting coffee from all over the world, inviting masters of the coffee industry to give lectures, and visiting coffee shops, which are quite diverse and cost-effective; but the situation of each school community is different, and some may be restricted from non-school students, and the Zhengda Cafe, which is exemplified here, certainly does not have this problem! Anyone interested in coffee can come and study together.

Coffee shop teaching course

In addition to the school club, you can also attend courses offered by some coffee shops that provide teaching, but the price must be much higher than that of the school club. The advantage is that the content of the course is relatively solid, but the content is relatively limited, and there may only be classes on a specific coffee theme during a certain period of time.

A coffee-sharing meeting held by the contestants

In addition to regular professional courses, coffee lovers should have more or less heard of the activities of "coffee sharing sessions", which are usually held by some contestants after the game, ranging from 2 to 3 hours at a time, with a cost of more than 500 yuan. listen to the contestants' experience sharing and taste the coffee they brew during the competition, but the disadvantage of the sharing meeting is that there is a limit on the number of people. Usually only 20-30 people will be allowed to participate at a time, because the experience of the contestants is valuable, so this kind of activity is quite popular!

The theme sharing meeting of the coffee shop

But its real coffee shop will have its own theme to set up sharing meetings, which may take flavor and region as the theme, and the cost will be about $350 to 500. The owner of the coffee shop will tell the story and history, and I personally like this kind of activity very much. because this kind of sharing will make people feel very human and very close to themselves, and can also interact directly with the narrator. It will be a great pleasure for coffee lovers to participate every time.

I just mentioned to you what are some good ways to learn coffee systematically, so how to learn it by yourself? Alice believes that there are five ways to share with you!

● reads coffee-related books

In the part of self-study, people who have the patience to sit at their desks can choose to buy the works of teacher Han Huaizong-- "New version of Coffee", "Fine Coffee" (top) (bottom), "long live Coffee in Taiwan", and so on. These can be called Taiwan's coffee bibles.

However, I myself regard the teacher's work as an encyclopedia of coffee. Questions on baking, variety and treatment can all be satisfactorily answered when flipping through.

If you want to know where else to drink good self-baking coffee, recommend "bake a good cup of coffee" written by the recently popular coffee uncle, and all the coffee shops with good quality will be in control!

● visits Coffee Farm

In addition to learning by reading dense words, there are also some coffee farms in the mountains of Taiwan to visit, and the Bidu Manor in Taichung will be a good choice.

The advantage of the visit is that you can understand the culture and environment of coffee cultivation, and you may also have practical knowledge of the treatment method, but remind you that if you want to go, you should remember to know the coffee harvest season in advance, so as not to go but you will be shut out!

● participates in coffee exhibition

Of course, the "Taiwan famous Tea, Coffee and Wine Exhibition" held at the Taipei World Trade Center at the end of each year is also a very good way to learn (Note 2). The admission fee is about 250 yuan, and you can get 100 yuan discount coupons at South American coffee or some coffee shops.

You can drink a lot of beans for free at the exhibition (key point!) In addition, you can also learn about some new coffee utensils, or participate in experiential activities; you can also see the promotion of coffee producing areas around the world, so as to understand the style and coffee flavor of different producing areas. If you have the courage, you can interact more with the exhibition staff of various countries, and the amount of learning will certainly be greatly increased!

Watch the ● Coffee Competition

Going to the coffee competition and watching the game may not be so kind to the newcomers, but it is also a great learning opportunity. In addition, you can also visit the stalls in the field. Beans and equipment may have preferential prices, which is also an unexpected harvest.

At the above-mentioned Taiwan famous Tea, Coffee and Wine Exhibition, the annual Taiwan Coffee Competition, also known as TBC (Taiwan Barista Championship), will be held. The contestants who stand out in the competition will represent Taiwan in the WBC World Coffee Competition. The only disadvantage is that the exhibition will be more commercial. If some people are not very receptive to this mercenary atmosphere, they should think twice before deciding whether to participate or not.

Not long ago, the first Taiwan Philharmonic pressure Competition was also very wonderful. in addition to observing the cooking skills of various contestants, the host father Xiong also generously shared his Philharmonic pressure cooking method with us, which was really great!

● chatted with the coffee shop owner

Finally, I would like to introduce the practice that everyone can do. ─ went to the coffee shop!

Alice likes to sit at the bar when he goes to the coffee shop. In addition to watching the coffee brewing, he can also have more interaction with the boss to make you have more feelings for the coffee shop. And if you can talk to each other, there is also one more friend who can talk about coffee. Isn't that good?

For example, Alice met the owner of the wooden house coffee shop when he went to Ilan. Later, when he visited again, he brought his own baked beans to share with them, which is also a good way to meet friends with coffee.

Thank you for patiently watching this series of introductions. I hope it will be of some help to you who want to learn coffee! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave us a message.