# Latte Art course in Bath - my opinion



## RikA (Oct 28, 2012)

Not sure if this is the right place to do so, but I thought it would be useful to post my experience of a Latte Art training session that I received as a gift from my wife.

The course was run at Colonna and Small's in Bath, and I believe it cost £40. I understand that the courses are either run by both Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood (UK Barista Champion 2012) and Peter Attridge (2012 UK Latte Art Champion). I spend an hour with Peter (although looking at the website, I think the sessions have been reduced to 45 minutes), and I'm thrilled with the results and the progress I made. Getting 1-to-1 training surpassed what I could ever had hoped to learn from youtube videos and books.

As a keen amateur, I was unsure what to expect, but the setting was perfect - a small but very well lit room, nicely away from the public (though some people occasionally walked passed on the way to the toilets!). Peter ran through some basics with me, and then within 10 minutes or so, he was pulling shots while I was steaming milk, and then instructing me on the pouring techniques for a heart and then a tulip (although some of my hearts turned into rosettas!). The biggest challenge to start with was getting used to a powerful steam wand, and telling when the milk was up to temperature without the aid of a themometer! I also found myself waiting for the shot to be pulled before steaming the milk (as I have a single boiler machine at home).

Peter is knowledgeable and a great teacher - he put me at ease and was really encouraging - taking care to show me what I had done well and how I could improve.

If anyone is local to Bath, and is interested in Latte art, I'd thoroughly recommend this as an experience. I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has done the same course with Maxwell!


----------



## MichaelSmith81 (Nov 20, 2012)

I would like to add that, I did a simialr course at colonna and smalls, it was the espresso training crossed with a bit of latte art, I can only back up you comments above. Maxwell is extremely professional and passionate about the subject, the experience was thououghly enjoyable and a great way to learn! (from people with extensive knolege and experience in the industry).

I would reccomend it to anyone in the local area who is keen to expand on their knowlege, even if experienced, the course would be great for discussions/debate on their coffee views/experiences....


----------



## tcr4x4 (Jan 2, 2013)

I'd love to do a course like that, and I'm pretty local. The one thing that puts me off is the fact my machine is of a completely different standard to what they would use. Steaming on their machine would be completely different to doing it on mine. Of course you get the basic gist of the technique, but I wonder how easy it is to transfer what you learnt on a pro machine to a simple gaggia.


----------



## RikA (Oct 28, 2012)

On one hand, yes - the machine you use has more steaming power, so it is certainly a slightly different experience in that the milk heats up much more quickly. I was also a bit wary about using a pro-machine, and I might have resisted attending the course under my own steam (pun intended!), but received it as a pressie from the wife.

However, the principals are certainly the same, and the quality of my milk and latte art certainly improved as a result of the course. For reference, at the time of the course I had a Gaggia Classic too, although I have since upgraded to a Fracino Cherub (If I'm honest, partly because I did yearn the additional steaming power after the course!).

After a few goes at steaming, the main focus of the session (for me, at least) was pouring. The theory can be found in youtube videos, but having 1-to-1 tuition was a great experience. Like a fortune teller reading tea-leaves (except with a bit more accuracy!), Peter could point at my poured milk and show me the good bits and the bad bits, and what each thing meant (e.g. "This marbling is where the milk is a bit too thin, try to get a bit more air into the milk at the start").

Hope this helps!


----------



## Fabian (Jan 31, 2014)

I have this course next month. Will it be mainly on art or will we go though milk texturing as well ?


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Fabian said:


> I have this course next month. Will it be mainly on art or will we go though milk texturing as well ?


Don't live in Wiltshire, do you?







Good luck with the course.


----------

