# I want to improve



## series530 (Jan 4, 2013)

I'm pretty new on here but have been using my Gaggia Classic for about a year. My wife and I tend to enjoy Cappuccino rather than pure espresso.

Earlier this week, for my birthday in this coming week, I have purchased a Eureka Mignon grinder and to kick things off I ordered a starter pack of beans from Union Roasted (which arrived today). I've also bought some cheap beans from the local supermarket so as to get the grinder in the right area.

All very well having some kit but I am now wondering if I could benefit from some proper training. A one day course would be fine. Something which isn't absolutely basic but not something which I will struggle with the foundations of either.

I noticed that Qualitasse are not far from me. It seems a whole lot easier to drive down the M3 to Basingstoke than to make my way into central London. I had the Barista Essentials course in my mind as being at about the right level.

I know that courses depend very heavily upon the quality of the instructor and not just the content. That said, does anybody have experiences of this provider? Alternatively, what suggestions do you have for training a home user within reasonable driving distance of Camberley in Surrey?

Many thanks


----------



## IanP (Aug 4, 2011)

My very best training session was at home on my own set up by Glenn himself...... Not sure whether he still offers this...... Thorough, personal and professional service and nothing better than being able to work directly on your own equipment.

I imagine it could be a little frustrating to train on a bells and whistles commercial set up then to expect one's own home equipment to work just the same........

Just a thought


----------



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

It is in London, but I would thoroughly recommend the Saturday courses at Prufrock. Nice people too.


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

I'm likely going to be enlisting the services of funinacup to do some a home training for me. With a new machine on the way, and a setup capable of pretty amazing coffee, I'd like to be sure I'm getting the most I can from it. Plus it's always nice to learn new skills.


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

IanP said:


> My very best training session was at home on my own set up by Glenn himself...... Not sure whether he still offers this...... Thorough, personal and professional service and nothing better than being able to work directly on your own equipment.


I sure do. It is such a rewarding experience from my end as well as I get to meet some lovely people and keep hands-on time on a variety of prosumer machines.

Minimum spec is Gaggia Classic. There is no Max spec









I also bring along a Vario grinder if the customers grinder is below MC2 standard.


----------



## series530 (Jan 4, 2013)

I'd like to provide an update and encourage anybody else in the same position as I am to follow my actions:

This morning we had a very enjoyable and informative lesson from Glenn. He came to our house and showed us how to use our grinder and coffee machine properly. Jane (my wife) questioned the benefit of having instruction at the time that I suggested it and she said to me after our lesson that she was intending to participate more through politeness than interest. Very quickly, she said, she found Glenn's instruction both informative and highly interesting and realised that that there was so much for her to gain from the instruction as well. She enjoyed this morning just as much as I did. We now have two budding barista's in our household and not just one.

Coffee will never be the same again: we now know how to tell a good espresso from a bad one, how to pull a good espresso and not just brown water, how to get a good grind and and not just an acceptable grind, how to get a glossy dreamy micro foam and not just some fluff, how to have a clean machine and not just a clean work top and so many other things besides.

Having instruction with your own equipment in your own home is the right way. One to one instruction (or one to two as in our case) is fantastic.

Contact Glenn (if you live within a stone throw of London), don't just watch what they do at Costa, get some instruction ... coffee has now come to life!


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Many thanks for your kind endorsement Ian and Jane

I enjoyed it as much as you did.

I think you will enjoy the Kenyan I left with you. I've had a couple of shots of that myself this afternoon - delicious.

Feel free to contact me with questions at any time


----------



## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

That's a good write up, might be thinking of going down that route myself, but thinking of upgrading so will wait until I have my new machines.

Who's local to Newcastle that offers this service?


----------



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I will show you how not to make coffee Jason, but the good news is I do not charge! Pumphreys at Blaydon old training days but not in your home, but I have heard a couple of people say they are not brilliant, though I have not experienced them myself, so please do not be put off.


----------



## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

Ah that's good, I only live at the top of Blaydon Bank, I usually pop in so will ask them next time I'm in.

Cheers for that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Foz (Jan 19, 2013)

Coffeelatino up at High Spen also offer training.


----------



## CoffeeExmoor (Mar 10, 2011)

If you ever get down to the wilds of Exmoor, Glen, you would be made very welcome and I would greatly appreciate your training expertise. Although I have had my Gaggia Classic for over a year now, I still find the whole coffee creation process to be a challenging and frustrating exercise - which seems to knock a bit of the fun out of it sometimes. Add my new Eureka Mignon to the mix and it becomes even more complex - especially as my wife prefers cafetiere brews to espresso!

Do you ever come this way, or can you suggest anyone in this direction who may provide a similar own-equipment hands-on service?


----------

