^^best attempt at latte art (suppose to be a dick)
After gaining greater mobility in my recently repaired shoulder, I decided to try my hand at becoming a barista to greater my employability on my travels abroad at the end of the month. For someone strangling their finances 1 month before a big trip I decided to give a family friend (whom I had never been acquainted with), to see if he could teach me the ways of the bean roasters. Mum had told me that he was a credentialed barista (little did I care the cost was in the right bracket), but it turned out that I had landed a one on one session with an internationally renowned coffee judge, whom spends between 3-4 months a year overseas critiquing the different blends from all continents of the globe. After reading through a few basics in the textbook we shared a coffee (which I partially spilt on my leg and managed to conceal with a notebook) and spoke of my prior knowledge of coffee (nothing). I watched him create the first extraction (extracting the coffee from the beans), which looked easy enough (I tried the shot in which my eyes pointed outward as I gasped for water, damn those senseless Italians!). I followed with my own version of an extraction, which proved to include way to many beans and basically jammed the machine. I spent the next half an hour trying to create a consistently acceptable brew and when Justin thought I could progress I moved onto the milk, which I was little more fluent at. The intricate processes that lead to a cup of coffee involves an amount of concentration and precision in actions, and even then I found small stuff ups to greatly alter the outcome of the cups taste, texture and palatability. Justin had to rush off after giving me the basics and I was granted full access to the machines and ingredients, which I managed to practice on for an additional 2 and a half hours (I felt bad about all the quality coffees I poured down the drain).
Before Justin left I was introduced to a former student of his Cindy, whom had returned to brush up on her skills. She was a kind Asian woman, in whom I predicted to be in her mid 30’s. She told me of her struggles early on with the course, but to her credit she was producing some fine looking beverages 3 months on. She was clearly strong and driven and possessed this perpetual happiness that couldn’t help but be infectious. Cindy broadcasts this raring appreciation for her life and others, that I imagine probably stems from previous experiences of adversity and hardship in her years growing up. She told me how she was returning to China in the coming months, and dreams to open a cafe over there, where she can hone her talents with coffee in her home country. I felt inspired by Cindy and hope that her dreams become a reality for her one day.
After 2 bags of coffee beans, 6 cartoons of milk and a very arduous clean up I called it a day. I hit the street and started for the station with my white t-shirt brown, my chinos ironically smelling of cappuccino and a mind as buzzed as a man who had just taste tested around 60 or so coffees.