Today we talk with…Félix Donosti, coffee lover and trainer of high-performance baristas
Training is a super important part in the coffee world. Let's say that there is a lot of science in any of the phases, both in the cultivation field, during roasting and obviously also when preparing a cup. Topics that will be explained to us in detail Felix Donosti, lover of coffee is the founder of Coffee Cooking Studio, which has served as a school for high-performance baristas and intermediate brewing for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Among this group of professionals is our expert, the Q-grader and professional taster, Beatriz Mesas.
As if that were not enough, Félix Donosti had the opportunity to prepare the Spanish champion in the barista championship organized by World Coffee Events. An event that included collaboration with SCA Spain in 2016 and the runner-up in the 2018 edition.
We invite you to learn more about the career of one of the most prominent trainers in the coffee industry in Spain, you cannot miss this interview.
How long have you been involved in the world of coffee? Tell us a little about yourself and your career
"My career has two paths. First, at the age of 18 in 1988 when I started working in hospitality, specifically in a bar where we sold a lot of coffee and the truth is it's something that doesn't catch your attention. Because for us to make coffee we had to press a little button.
Then life evolved and I started working on other things until, by coincidence, I landed at a coffee company. There I landed with a coffee project to start working on quality, since that was what they were looking for. I started working in this company in 2003, from there I began to train. And I have been working with coffee for 32 years, directly or indirectly. At first it had nothing to do with the evolution that the sector is currently having.”
Could you explain to us how you have seen this evolution of coffee?
“The evolution is very interesting, because normally in almost all products, branches, there are two types of businesses: those that work with volume and those that seek other types of experiences. I relate the evolution of coffee to hospitality, for example, one day you go to a bar where you get sandwiches, mixed dishes and after a while you come across something completely different like haute cuisine.
I started by making black, hot and bitter coffee. Now I'm selling sensory experiences. Nowadays it is totally different. “What we want is for the customer to seek experience to develop their senses through coffee.”
If we talk a little about numbers in this evolution of coffee, could you tell us how many establishments have gone from offering black and bitter coffee to one of better quality, to specialty coffee?
“In fact, this evolution comes from an international association, at the end of the 90's, that is, it is not very old. The specialty coffee association of Europe and America have recently (three or four years) merged to create a single organization. The evolution began in 1998. In Spain we could say that there were two or three micro-toasters (in charge of seeking quality, closely monitoring every detail). Then there were the conventional roasters who worked on coffees with higher profiles (they are based on seeking a good consistency and balance of the drink). We always have the debate of Arabica and Robusta. This does not mean that Robusta is very bad and Arabica is very good, everything is linked to the quality of the product.
The fact that it is Arabica often leads us to the confusion that it is a high quality coffee, and it does not have to be that way. Within the Arabicas, there are different qualities. As for specialty coffee, the evolution that exists, in 1998 Spain with two or three micro-roasters and perhaps half a dozen points of sale throughout the country. But in 2015, we had almost 50 micro-roasters and about 200 points of sale.
Now in Spain we must be in 500 and 600 points of sale, and thousands of micro-toasters. You may think that there are many micro-roasters for so few customers.. RIn fact, the evolution seems to be very fast or slower in the rest of the countries. But yes, I think there really is an evolution and I think that the situation we are experiencing now is going to be a very interesting turning point because people have to give another look to their businesses.
At the moment we are changing volume for other types of businesses, in which we have to bill the same. So many people are starting to opt for higher quality coffees. I talk about coffee because it is our sector, but people are starting to become interested in other types of products, ways of working and evolving in the business. We have to maintain business and we have to do it no matter what. When you open the door of your business and it fills up, you are not curious about anything, but if the opposite is the case, you have to evolve and adapt to the market.
With what is happening there is going to be a very important boom in terms of quality or specialty coffee.”
For you, what is specialty coffee?
“It's very interesting because many people think that specialty coffee, is that you have a product that you have paid dearly for, and that with that we have already met all the objectives.
Specialty coffee goes through a process that goes from when it is green coffee until it reaches the cup. Why green? Because a specialty coffee cannot have defects. There are two types of defects in coffee, just as you can find an apple that has that black spot. The same goes for coffee. There are several types of defects, these will be classified by two important categories: The primary ones, which are those that affect the flavor. The secondary ones may be in greater or lesser quantities, but they simply do not affect the flavor. If a coffee has primary defects, it is automatically no longer specialty.
Then we have to comply with what the roast (the first preparation we do with coffee) also complies with some protocols so that these beans are specialty. If you give me a top-notch product and I burn it during roasting, it is no longer a specialty product. But imagine that the roaster does a perfect job and the coffee arrives in optimal conditions, and I have to make an espresso or filter. But if the processes are not applied well and I make a drink that is not of quality either.
Therefore, for a coffee to be a specialty, the entire process begins from the moment it comes out of the seed, because the farmer invests a lot of time, money, and effort, so that all that traceability is lost along the way. The important thing is that when it reaches the cup it is with the same quality with which it left the farm. If not, you can consider that you have a better quality coffee than average, but it would not be a specialty one from my point of view.
It is not just about buying a quality product, it is very important in traceability that we have all the possible information: Where and when it was grown, what the process is, how it reached us. The more information we have, the more personalized this product is. As long as we have a lot of information in the bag, the product will surely have better quality. Specialty coffee just needs to be a good product. There are even many people who use the expression 'I have specialty coffee' and saying so doesn't make it so."
How can we know if the coffee we are buying is specialty or at least how can we know the quality of the coffee we are buying?
“It's not very difficult but it's not very easy either. The first thing we have to do is prepare ourselves in terms of training. Have knowledge of almost all the processes involved in coffee. For example, the person who is in charge of preparing the coffees is the barista, the person who is in charge of roasting it was formerly known as the master roaster, who is specialized in his field. Communication throughout the chain is very important because, as a barista, I do not have to know about roasting, it is not necessary to be an expert roaster. But it is true that I must have very good communication with my roaster to be able to say what is in my coffee, what I don't like or what doesn't work so that he can provide a solution. Talk to your green coffee supplier.
Another example is that we don't have to be experts in water, but it is very important in coffee. We have to work with a company that advises us on how water can be treated, what type we have, which is the most interesting. We have to work throughout the chain and specialize in something specific. For example, I am a barista preparer, I specialize in that area and I roast coffee, however, I am not a roaster. When I need something from the roasting process, I get in touch with people who do it every day, who will know much more than me, who does it occasionally.”
Why do you think there are coffees that can cost around €10 per kg and others that can cost more than €50 per kg?
“Price is important, but it is not everything. There are coffees that are very expensive. In fact, I have seen some that are on the market for around €30 and so on. I think that at €10 they would be in the price range, but the problem they have is that perhaps it does not cover the quality.
The consumer often understands that price is quality. That is, if it is expensive it is good. What is the easiest? That they are prepared with very basic things that have a direct relationship with the person from whom you are buying the coffee and can provide you with information. A series of data that can be based on to have a reference, whether the product you are consuming is of quality or not.
Not empty words, because it is very easy to say I spend on Arabica or Robusta. It must give us a series of information that is really useful.
In the end, coffee is a gastronomic product and they have to give us information related to this.”
Do you think it is enough to buy a good coffee to have a good coffee? What else is important?
"It is important to buy a good coffee, that we know is of quality. The best barrier to enhance the quality of whatever it is, is that the consumer is demanding. At the moment in which the consumer relaxes and pays a lot of attention to the image or what is being offered to us. To the one who offers that service or product, it gives the possibility of lowering any barrier, the issue of quality. If the client is demanding, we are going to raise the quality range, that is, it is not about paying because it is cute. It is about pay because it is good.”
Let's talk a little about you. What pushed you to take the leap and start your personal project at Coffee Cooking Studio?
"Well, I really started in the world of coffee one hundred percent in 2003. I remember perfectly that it was September 5. I started with a project for a medium-large company, in which we were going to work a little on improving quality at the point of sale. It was when the boom in coffee quality began a little, we were going to improve the product, develop new ones. Time was passing, a small problem occurred in the company, and we moved from the quality department to the commercial area.
I spent two years in the commercial department, until I said that that was not for me, I did not want to be selling coffee and we recovered the quality project a little. Then came the 2009 crisis, where the quality departments were reconverted in almost all companies. The trainers, among others, were transformed into commercial departments. It was for so long that I came to the conclusion that it was not the job I wanted to do.
In 2013 when I became a trainer, I spoke to my company and told them that I had an expiration date: I will be here until the moment we are here. But the time will come when I took my path, I am going to start setting up my company. We started this in 2017, with a small center in Lleida, with all the necessary materials, we were missing things to implement.
From this, we began to grow, have clients, to improve all the materials, to include new things, we have opened a Bilbao center, two more in Valencia and we have a lot of collaborations until this situation has arrived that we are a little waiting for what will happen, with many projects started. We have a lot of demand because people need to improve quality or be curious about developing other types of things, but well, with great enthusiasm and we think we are optimistic about it.
Tell us what your experience was like as coach of Pablo Caballero, the champion of the SCA Spain Barista championship in 2016
“It was very cool. I was in the championships, in the organization, the coordination. I started in the championships as a technical judge, I always started from the bottom. Then I moved on to sensory and I saw that what I really liked was not being a judge, nor evaluating baristas but preparing them to compete. A project started in a very silly way, I was as a judge, I took the courses in Madrid for the 2015 championships. In the place where we were preparing, the owner of that company told me 'I would like you to prepare one of our baristas to compete next year. Make us a budget’ we start training a year in advance.
At first, what I wanted was to develop it, make a little bit of a name, have a cool project, the truth is, a lot of enthusiasm and very little money. In the end, every Saturday, I got up at 5 in the morning, left at 7:00 am and arrived in Madrid at 10:00 am. We trained all day, I returned at 8:30 pm and arrived home at 11:30 pm every Saturday. It was the way we had to start doing that project, it was a super long road but very attractive from the point of view of learning every day. In fact, we were learning a lot about coffee, and a little less about competitions. We learned from the competitions as we began to compete, not only do you have to study about coffee but also how the industry works.
In this case we start with a more or less normal coffee. That is to say, in the competition there were some that had cost fifty times more than ours. The one we had, the kilo in green, was 10 euros and the one from other participants cost 800 euros at auction. As an experience it is good because it teaches you many things, and the truth is it was a quite interesting path, because both the barista who prepared it and I were new to competition.
We complemented each other quite well, we made a good team and we even won this Spanish championship. We hadn't asked the sponsor at that time for a lot of money, but maybe he didn't expect us to win. In fact, when we won he told us that the World Cup was too big for him, this doesn't suit me and we had to create a GoFundMe to raise money. We reach up to 6 thousand euros, nothing more. But just where we stayed it cost us 4 thousand euros. We had to put money for the trip, accommodation, we rented a place to train.
We had many problems in terms of bringing the coffee, because we bought it directly in Ethiopia, a 40 kilo micro lot that arrived two days before flying. We roasted and practically didn't have time to try it until we arrived in Dublin. We were a small team unlike other competitors.
For 2018 we present another barista, with great enthusiasm. He was a kid that no matter what you told him, he would immediately change his chip. We trained for 12 days and were runners-up in Spain.
If you had to give any advice or recommendation for someone who wants to compete in the next championship, what would it be?
“Above all, you have to really want to, you know that it is not easy, that it is super hard. In the case of the boy we trained for 12 days, he then, at home on his own outside of his work hours, like me, practiced. This was less hard for me, because here my work was already one hundred percent. However, when I prepared the champion of Spain in 2016 I had my job and I did this on the side.
I recommend that they have a lot of capacity for sacrifice, that they know that in a championship, winning, everyone wins, but only one can remain first. Those who don't win always get very angry. But in reality, everyone is a winner, because they learn a lot of things and develop new skills. For example, they will be able to prepare up to four espressos at a more professional level in a few seconds, as well as other drinks. Recently a 50-year-old guy called me and said to me, Félix, I want to participate, what do we have to do, I told him to sweat a lot of ink (laughing). I want the baristas to have a good time.”
Well, I know it may seem like a very basic question, but what does barista mean?
“Barista is really the person specialized in preparing coffee-based drinks. Be it espresso, filter and even latte art. But the fact that you know how to make a drawing on a latte does not make you a good barista, because the presentation is as important as that drink being spectacular and when I see it I say: Wow! And when you try it say wow again.
You have to have knowledge of roasting, tasting and of course preparation, and communicate with all the people who participate in it to be able to improve the drinks. It is important that a barista is the one who organizes your entire drink menu and improves that entire experience on a daily basis.”
How many people have already passed through one of the Coffee Cooking Studio centers to at least begin to have the notion of being a barista?
“The truth is, we are surprised by the number of people who have passed, because really when you start with the project, you start with a little respect to see how it works. We, who are a company dedicated exclusively to consulting and training, do not sell coffee, machinery, or absolutely anything. Well, we work with many roasters, we have an average of between 600 and 900 people a year, both through our centers and by visiting coffee companies and training the staff, the sales department, the technical service and others.
In the almost three years that we have had about 2 thousand people who have passed through our centers.”
Do you think there is a long way to go, regarding training and knowledge about coffee in Spain?
“I think there is a long way to go in terms of training. But not only for the people who want to learn, but also for the trainers, we have to be up to date. In fact, SCA has a program for trainers that is renewed every three years, which is essential, since the market is evolving.
The coffee machines started with a lever, now you press if you want it to stop on its own, we have to readapt to the market, we have to be in constant training and evolution.”
Do you run training courses for individuals, coffee lovers or those curious about coffee?
"In fact, when I previously talked about adapting to the market, about doing this type of thing, one of these has been to implement many workshop programs at the user level, much more economical, one hundred percent practical so that the consumer acquires basic knowledge. To know what they are buying, prepare it in a basic way, in an espresso machine and filter.
We have prepared three workshops. The first of them is the introduction to the world of coffee, here we talk about the most basic things, such as the different botanical varieties. In another, we teach how to taste, here we include a specialty coffee and another not so that you can notice the differences. We also have a barista workshop, where we will explain milk emulsification and everything about filtered coffee.
At this point we focus specifically on the so-called homo (home) baristas since, as a result of the pandemic, many users decided to start preparing the coffees that they previously used to drink in a cafeteria, bar or office. We consider that currently there are more people seeking to learn a little more about their favorite drink, as we said before, if the customer is demanding, the market will evolve at exaggerated speeds.”
Yes, Félix Donosti motivated you to train, whether at a basic or professional level regarding the world of coffee, do not hesitate to visit the website of Coffee Cooking Studio Choose the center and workshop of your choice, to begin a unique experience related to your favorite drink.
If we talk a little about numbers in this evolution of coffee, could you tell us how many establishments have gone from offering black and bitter coffee to one of better quality, to specialty coffee?
“In fact, this evolution comes from an international association, at the end of the 90's, that is, it is not very old. The specialty coffee association of Europe and America have recently (three or four years) merged to create a single organization. The evolution began in 1998. In Spain we could say that there were two or three micro-toasters (in charge of seeking quality, closely monitoring every detail). Then there were the conventional roasters who worked on coffees with higher profiles (they are based on seeking a good consistency and balance of the drink). We always have the debate of Arabica and Robusta. This does not mean that Robusta is very bad and Arabica is very good, everything is linked to the quality of the product.
The fact that it is Arabica often leads us to the confusion that it is a high quality coffee, and it does not have to be that way. Within the Arabicas, there are different qualities. As for specialty coffee, the evolution that exists, in 1998 Spain with two or three micro-roasters and perhaps half a dozen points of sale throughout the country. But in 2015, we had almost 50 micro-roasters and about 200 points of sale.
Now in Spain we must be in 500 and 600 points of sale, and thousands of micro-toasters. You may think that there are many micro-roasters for so few customers.. RIn fact, the evolution seems to be very fast or slower in the rest of the countries. But yes, I think there really is an evolution and I think that the situation we are experiencing now is going to be a very interesting turning point because people have to give another look to their businesses.
At the moment we are changing volume for other types of businesses, in which we have to bill the same. So many people are starting to opt for higher quality coffees. I talk about coffee because it is our sector, but people are starting to become interested in other types of products, ways of working and evolving in the business. We have to maintain business and we have to do it no matter what. When you open the door of your business and it fills up, you are not curious about anything, but if the opposite is the case, you have to evolve and adapt to the market.
With what is happening there is going to be a very important boom in terms of quality or specialty coffee.”
For you, what is specialty coffee?
“It's very interesting because many people think that specialty coffee, is that you have a product that you have paid dearly for, and that with that we have already met all the objectives.
Specialty coffee goes through a process that goes from when it is green coffee until it reaches the cup. Why green? Because a specialty coffee cannot have defects. There are two types of defects in coffee, just as you can find an apple that has that black spot. The same goes for coffee. There are several types of defects, these will be classified by two important categories: The primary ones, which are those that affect the flavor. The secondary ones may be in greater or lesser quantities, but they simply do not affect the flavor. If a coffee has primary defects, it is automatically no longer specialty.
Then we have to comply with what the roast (the first preparation we do with coffee) also complies with some protocols so that these beans are specialty. If you give me a top-notch product and I burn it during roasting, it is no longer a specialty product. But imagine that the roaster does a perfect job and the coffee arrives in optimal conditions, and I have to make an espresso or filter. But if the processes are not applied well and I make a drink that is not of quality either.
Therefore, for a coffee to be a specialty, the entire process begins from the moment it comes out of the seed, because the farmer invests a lot of time, money, and effort, so that all that traceability is lost along the way. The important thing is that when it reaches the cup it is with the same quality with which it left the farm. If not, you can consider that you have a better quality coffee than average, but it would not be a specialty one from my point of view.
It is not just about buying a quality product, it is very important in traceability that we have all the possible information: Where and when it was grown, what the process is, how it reached us. The more information we have, the more personalized this product is. As long as we have a lot of information in the bag, the product will surely have better quality. Specialty coffee just needs to be a good product. There are even many people who use the expression 'I have specialty coffee' and saying so doesn't make it so."
How can we know if the coffee we are buying is specialty or at least how can we know the quality of the coffee we are buying?
“It's not very difficult but it's not very easy either. The first thing we have to do is prepare ourselves in terms of training. Have knowledge of almost all the processes involved in coffee. For example, the person who is in charge of preparing the coffees is the barista, the person who is in charge of roasting it was formerly known as the master roaster, who is specialized in his field. Communication throughout the chain is very important because, as a barista, I do not have to know about roasting, it is not necessary to be an expert roaster. But it is true that I must have very good communication with my roaster to be able to say what is in my coffee, what I don't like or what doesn't work so that he can provide a solution. Talk to your green coffee supplier.
Another example is that we don't have to be experts in water, but it is very important in coffee. We have to work with a company that advises us on how water can be treated, what type we have, which is the most interesting. We have to work throughout the chain and specialize in something specific. For example, I am a barista preparer, I specialize in that area and I roast coffee, however, I am not a roaster. When I need something from the roasting process, I get in touch with people who do it every day, who will know much more than me, who does it occasionally.”
Why do you think there are coffees that can cost around €10 per kg and others that can cost more than €50 per kg?
“Price is important, but it is not everything. There are coffees that are very expensive. In fact, I have seen some that are on the market for around €30 and so on. I think that at €10 they would be in the price range, but the problem they have is that perhaps it does not cover the quality.
The consumer often understands that price is quality. That is, if it is expensive it is good. What is the easiest? That they are prepared with very basic things that have a direct relationship with the person from whom you are buying the coffee and can provide you with information. A series of data that can be based on to have a reference, whether the product you are consuming is of quality or not.
Not empty words, because it is very easy to say I spend on Arabica or Robusta. It must give us a series of information that is really useful.
In the end, coffee is a gastronomic product and they have to give us information related to this.”
Do you think it is enough to buy a good coffee to have a good coffee? What else is important?
"It is important to buy a good coffee, that we know is of quality. The best barrier to enhance the quality of whatever it is, is that the consumer is demanding. At the moment in which the consumer relaxes and pays a lot of attention to the image or what is being offered to us. To the one who offers that service or product, it gives the possibility of lowering any barrier, the issue of quality. If the client is demanding, we are going to raise the quality range, that is, it is not about paying because it is cute. It is about pay because it is good.”
Let's talk a little about you. What pushed you to take the leap and start your personal project at Coffee Cooking Studio?
"Well, I really started in the world of coffee one hundred percent in 2003. I remember perfectly that it was September 5. I started with a project for a medium-large company, in which we were going to work a little on improving quality at the point of sale. It was when the boom in coffee quality began a little, we were going to improve the product, develop new ones. Time was passing, a small problem occurred in the company, and we moved from the quality department to the commercial area.
I spent two years in the commercial department, until I said that that was not for me, I did not want to be selling coffee and we recovered the quality project a little. Then came the 2009 crisis, where the quality departments were reconverted in almost all companies. The trainers, among others, were transformed into commercial departments. It was for so long that I came to the conclusion that it was not the job I wanted to do.
In 2013 when I became a trainer, I spoke to my company and told them that I had an expiration date: I will be here until the moment we are here. But the time will come when I took my path, I am going to start setting up my company. We started this in 2017, with a small center in Lleida, with all the necessary materials, we were missing things to implement.
From this, we began to grow, have clients, to improve all the materials, to include new things, we have opened a Bilbao center, two more in Valencia and we have a lot of collaborations until this situation has arrived that we are a little waiting for what will happen, with many projects started. We have a lot of demand because people need to improve quality or be curious about developing other types of things, but well, with great enthusiasm and we think we are optimistic about it.
Tell us what your experience was like as coach of Pablo Caballero, the champion of the SCA Spain Barista championship in 2016
“It was very cool. I was in the championships, in the organization, the coordination. I started in the championships as a technical judge, I always started from the bottom. Then I moved on to sensory and I saw that what I really liked was not being a judge, nor evaluating baristas but preparing them to compete. A project started in a very silly way, I was as a judge, I took the courses in Madrid for the 2015 championships. In the place where we were preparing, the owner of that company told me 'I would like you to prepare one of our baristas to compete next year. Make us a budget’ we start training a year in advance.
At first, what I wanted was to develop it, make a little bit of a name, have a cool project, the truth is, a lot of enthusiasm and very little money. In the end, every Saturday, I got up at 5 in the morning, left at 7:00 am and arrived in Madrid at 10:00 am. We trained all day, I returned at 8:30 pm and arrived home at 11:30 pm every Saturday. It was the way we had to start doing that project, it was a super long road but very attractive from the point of view of learning every day. In fact, we were learning a lot about coffee, and a little less about competitions. We learned from the competitions as we began to compete, not only do you have to study about coffee but also how the industry works.
In this case we start with a more or less normal coffee. That is to say, in the competition there were some that had cost fifty times more than ours. The one we had, the kilo in green, was 10 euros and the one from other participants cost 800 euros at auction. As an experience it is good because it teaches you many things, and the truth is it was a quite interesting path, because both the barista who prepared it and I were new to competition.
We complemented each other quite well, we made a good team and we even won this Spanish championship. We hadn't asked the sponsor at that time for a lot of money, but maybe he didn't expect us to win. In fact, when we won he told us that the World Cup was too big for him, this doesn't suit me and we had to create a GoFundMe to raise money. We reach up to 6 thousand euros, nothing more. But just where we stayed it cost us 4 thousand euros. We had to put money for the trip, accommodation, we rented a place to train.
We had many problems in terms of bringing the coffee, because we bought it directly in Ethiopia, a 40 kilo micro lot that arrived two days before flying. We roasted and practically didn't have time to try it until we arrived in Dublin. We were a small team unlike other competitors.
For 2018 we present another barista, with great enthusiasm. He was a kid that no matter what you told him, he would immediately change his chip. We trained for 12 days and were runners-up in Spain.
If you had to give any advice or recommendation for someone who wants to compete in the next championship, what would it be?
“Above all, you have to really want to, you know that it is not easy, that it is super hard. In the case of the boy we trained for 12 days, he then, at home on his own outside of his work hours, like me, practiced. This was less hard for me, because here my work was already one hundred percent. However, when I prepared the champion of Spain in 2016 I had my job and I did this on the side.
I recommend that they have a lot of capacity for sacrifice, that they know that in a championship, winning, everyone wins, but only one can remain first. Those who don't win always get very angry. But in reality, everyone is a winner, because they learn a lot of things and develop new skills. For example, they will be able to prepare up to four espressos at a more professional level in a few seconds, as well as other drinks. Recently a 50-year-old guy called me and said to me, Félix, I want to participate, what do we have to do, I told him to sweat a lot of ink (laughing). I want the baristas to have a good time.”
Well, I know it may seem like a very basic question, but what does barista mean?
“Barista is really the person specialized in preparing coffee-based drinks. Be it espresso, filter and even latte art. But the fact that you know how to make a drawing on a latte does not make you a good barista, because the presentation is as important as that drink being spectacular and when I see it I say: Wow! And when you try it say wow again.
You have to have knowledge of roasting, tasting and of course preparation, and communicate with all the people who participate in it to be able to improve the drinks. It is important that a barista is the one who organizes your entire drink menu and improves that entire experience on a daily basis.”
How many people have already passed through one of the Coffee Cooking Studio centers to at least begin to have the notion of being a barista?
“The truth is, we are surprised by the number of people who have passed, because really when you start with the project, you start with a little respect to see how it works. We, who are a company dedicated exclusively to consulting and training, do not sell coffee, machinery, or absolutely anything. Well, we work with many roasters, we have an average of between 600 and 900 people a year, both through our centers and by visiting coffee companies and training the staff, the sales department, the technical service and others.
In the almost three years that we have had about 2 thousand people who have passed through our centers.”
Do you think there is a long way to go, regarding training and knowledge about coffee in Spain?
“I think there is a long way to go in terms of training. But not only for the people who want to learn, but also for the trainers, we have to be up to date. In fact, SCA has a program for trainers that is renewed every three years, which is essential, since the market is evolving.
The coffee machines started with a lever, now you press if you want it to stop on its own, we have to readapt to the market, we have to be in constant training and evolution.”
Do you run training courses for individuals, coffee lovers or those curious about coffee?
"In fact, when I previously talked about adapting to the market, about doing this type of thing, one of these has been to implement many workshop programs at the user level, much more economical, one hundred percent practical so that the consumer acquires basic knowledge. To know what they are buying, prepare it in a basic way, in an espresso machine and filter.
We have prepared three workshops. The first of them is the introduction to the world of coffee, here we talk about the most basic things, such as the different botanical varieties. In another, we teach how to taste, here we include a specialty coffee and another not so that you can notice the differences. We also have a barista workshop, where we will explain milk emulsification and everything about filtered coffee.
At this point we focus specifically on the so-called homo (home) baristas since, as a result of the pandemic, many users decided to start preparing the coffees that they previously used to drink in a cafeteria, bar or office. We consider that currently there are more people seeking to learn a little more about their favorite drink, as we said before, if the customer is demanding, the market will evolve at exaggerated speeds.”
Yes, Félix Donosti motivated you to train, whether at a basic or professional level regarding the world of coffee, do not hesitate to visit the website of Coffee Cooking Studio Choose the center and workshop of your choice, to begin a unique experience related to your favorite drink.
