The Canadian Barista & Coffee Academy will be offering two days of barista training at Fratello this May 26th and 27th - following the Barista Competition.

This special training academy for barista (espresso machine operators) and those interested in learning more about coffee and espresso presents its 2008 Educational Program. The hands-on training workshops are lead by Canadian and international expert trainers and professional baristas. They are for those new to the industry or those who want to perfect their coffee skills and include: Basic Training, Advanced Training and Expert Barisa workshops.

Please refer to the schedule below for details and click here to register.

Location: Fratello Coffee

4021 9th St. SE Calgary, Alberta

403-265-2112

Monday, May 26, 2008

9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Barista Level I: Beginner Barista Workshop

2 p.m. - 6 p.m. Barista level II: Advanced Barista Workshop

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Level III: Expert Barista & Latte Art Workshop

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Opening a Successful Coffee Business Seminar

2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Coffee Cupping Workshop

Check out some pictures from our “cafe crawl” at:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/15126591@N02/sets/72157603439934924/ 

 My brothers and I spent a day last week touring 14 of some of the best cafes in Seattle! We had a lot of great coffee and gained new insights as to where coffee culture is going.

Our hope is to influence the coffee scene in our home town of Calgary with some of what we are learning. We are committed to doing our part to raise the bar in Alberta.

I used to be the best in the building, but very quickly John & Joel are pulling away from me!! I had better start practicing! Good job guys.

It has been a little bit of a wait, and a very exciting one in deed, but the wait is over. The first of many Slayer installations in Calgary has finally happend at Caffe Beano.Their 3 gp Slayer was installed a few days ago and both Jay and Dan have been working to ensure that this machine is working perfectly…..and it is.We went by Caffe Beano yesterday (a Wednesday) to make a few additional tweaks, and they mentioned that they have been busier than normal since the installation took place. They are doing the volumes typically seen on a weekend, in fact, people that normally have 1 espressoo are having 2 or 3 because they taste so good. WOW, what a difference an amazing piece of machinery makes. Below image show Dan making some final calibrations.

Jason Prefontaine and I visited the Coffee Equipment Company in Seattle recently to see what’s behind their new Clover 1s brewer. Though this machine has been around for a couple of years, most people only know it from what can be seen on the outside. That is an automated by-the-cup brewer that allows the user to make a number of adjustments via a slick iPod-like control wheel. Seeing the machine in operation most people may also guess (correctly) that the Clover 1s uses a permanent micron-scale metallic filter–not disposable paper or cloth filters.Inside the Clover 1s, however, lies the heart and soul of this machine. There you find the meticulous design that makes the 1s such a beautiful device, as beautiful inside as it is outside. The Clover 1s mechanism is laid out logically and pleasingly. The workings of the 1s are crafted from well-conceived components, some of them expensive custom machined parts, meshed magnificently with a brilliant and inspired electronics package. The inside of the Clover exudes a sense of functional robustness and a high degree of engineering competence. I should also mention that the Clover 1s was articulately, passionately, and energetically represented by Coffee Equipment Company super-technician Jason Schroeder who toured us through the inner workings of the machine, and how to maintain it.  (Read the rest of this post)

Caffe Beano has spent a lot of time with us at our facilities over the last few weeks. Some in this group have been back 4 or more times to practice proper coffee-distribution, tamping & pulling shots w/ naked filters, plus getting used to heating and texturizing milk on the Slayer espresso machine. Their’s will be the first Slayer to hit Calgary, and owners Janice & Margie want to be sure that the espresso machine isn’t the only upgrade - which is why these staff have invested so much time with Jason & I to upgrade their skills.

David Parker, Calgary Herald Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2007It doesn’t seem that long ago to me that a cup of coffee was something poured as an expected followup to any restaurant meal. Then came the coffee shops and over the last few years people in this city have followed the trend in lining up for a cappuccino, mocha, espresso, frappucino or any number of gourmet blends.Now, according to Chris Prefontaine, director of business development and one of the three brother owners of Fratello Coffee Co., we are entering a third wave.Following behind the remarkable movement in Seattle and Vancouver towards serving unique, specialty coffees from high-quality, auctioned green beans that are served by a knowledgeable and well-trained passionate staff, coffee drinking is reaching new heights here.Russ Prefontaine, left, Chris Prefontaine and Jason Prefontaine of Fratello Coffee Co. The company buys top-qualify coffee from 31 countries. Leah Hennel, Calgary HeraldHe should know — the family has been in the business here since parents Cam and Barb Prefontaine began supplying offices with coffee from their home garage in Varsity Acres in 1974.  (Read the rest of this post)

While in Vancouver I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon drinking WAY too much coffee with Mark Prince (THE CoffeeGeek)! I have a high caffeine tolerance, but Mark drank me under the table. While together we tested (several times) 4 espresso blends and 2 coffees then went out for more espresso on Commercial Drive!It was a great afternoon together… learned a lot of new things. Thanks Mark for the time!Mark doesn’t like having his photo taking (though he loves taking other peoples picture), but I hope you like this one. It is Mark in his mini home espresso lab!

The first time around was a tease, then it was gone. Much to our collective dismay… Now it’s back and lets just say there may be bloodshed should someone try to take this one… You think I’m joking… See the name? Yeah that’s right. You’re wondering what I’m talking about.The “Slayer” is our newest creation, recreation, incarnation of the Espresso machine. In it’s current existence, it’s a La Marzocco that has been heavily modified. Things like PID, another boiler (yeah, I said that)… and those are the immediately obvious ones. So, with John and myself loitering ermm, I mean training ourselves. The beast came to life, and on the VERY FIRST SHOT, promptly knocked Jason’s socks off with an unbelievable shot. After that (and a few elbows) John and I were next… Might I say that never in my life have I had an Espresso that had that perfect, lovely, rich, deep brown/red crema, with a hint of flecking, the texture and mouth-feel of silk, and the flavor, well the flavor was everything that Blackjack had promised to be, and more. Pleasantly acidic, sweet, bold, full, rich… So, satisfied on that, we proceeded to pull shot after shot after shot, all the while extolling the virtues of this new machine like giddy 10 year olds on Christmas morning, literally freaking out… It was almost embarrassing. 

(Read the rest of this post)

It took me 10 shots before I could manage to pull a shot that looked even CLOSE! Frustrating. No matter how carefully I tamped, it still came out poorly. The grind was right, tamp was done very carefully, etc. The machine (brand new Simonelli Aurelia 3 group) seemed to be brewing really freaken hot… and I think that had a little something to do with it. I will measure the temp tomorrow to be sure. But compared to the results I was getting on the Marzocco that we modified with PID, there is NO comparison. Seriously, I would get a proper pour with vertually no effort.By the way, I love the ‘article’ you wrote Eric on naked filters!! It is so true. If it weren’t for the naked filter here on thise pours tonight I would never had known what was going on and how “off” the shots were! Very interesting for sure. Check out this little slide show: