This week’s Happycoffeepeople is Siew, a Starbuck’s Barista that lives in California, a real barista with a big passion for coffee and latte art!

Hi Siew, how are you? Can you introduce yourself to our students?

Hi Guys! I have been a barista at Starbucks in Livermore, California for the past 3 years and 5 months. I only found my passion in latte art since last year 2018.

I attended the One-Week Coffee Route Course, Espresso Machine Maintenance and  Reparation Course, Italian Basic Barista Course and Latte Art Grading System course during May 2019 at the Espresso Academy Firenze in Florence, Italy.

Three words (or even more) to describe Espresso Academy?

Every one of the trainers (Marco, Robert, Simone, Ilaria, Gabriel and Helena) are so professional, passionate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, informative and inspiring.

What did you learn in Espresso Academy was important for your coffee career?

Espresso Academy is really eye catching for me. It was the greatest experience in my life to learn so extensively about coffee.  From seeds to cups, there are so many things to learn.  I never knew that:  an extraction time for an espresso is 26s and 30g out, what Specialty Coffee is, Brazilian Cupping, channeling, brewing ratio, Hario V60, roasting first  crack, famous maya reactions, sensorial analysis, green coffee beans Robusta and Arabica etc.…!

My greatest passion is in latte art, and I came to Espresso Academy to learn and take the Latte Art Grading System Exam.  I passed the White Jug Exam for the LAGS.  My trainer Simone’s expertise is in Latte Art Skills and he is an Official LAGS Certifier. The   techniques I learned from the school are something I would never learn from my work.  I appreciated the theories he taught; I was able to steam the milk correctly regardless of the cup sizes.

The One-week coffee route course, especially the Coffee and Cupping Course captured my heart.  We learned different types of flavors according to the SCA Coffee Flavor Wheel. The greatest impact of the course is that I will be able to identify and describe aroma, flavors and body.  I never thought that sensory analysis played an important role in creating a good quality of coffee.

So you are working as a Barista in a big Coffee Chain like Starbucks, what are you future projects?

I hope to keep pursuing my passion in latte art, pass the Latte Art Grading System Exam to the highest level I can achieve and eventually I will be able to become an examiner as well. I will also continue to do all the SCA Intermediate courses and certifications in the  future.

Espresso Academy is the best academy in the world to learn everything about coffees from the expert trainers, sharing experiences and meeting people from around the globe!

Thank you Siew, hope to see you again really soon!!