Barista 102: Day 2

February 18, 2015. My second training day as a latte artist.

Although I was warned by my sister not to take the MRT for its potential harm (yesterday, local news broke out about two passengers getting hurt when a train stopped suddenly) and alleged terrorism or bomb attacks (yes, she could be extreme at times!), I could not think of other ways to get to the school in a faster and cheaper way.

I still rode the MRT, but I tried to be vigilant but not overly cautious. I trust God to keep me safe. And things went smoothly. I just hope and pray that the concerned agencies/persons would ensure the safety of the commuting public. There has been a lot of faulty episodes and I do hope such problems will be resolved soon.

Okay, okay. Enough of that. Forgive me for divulging into other matters. (This will the last time I’ll mention MRT, hopefully.)

I got tired and quite thirsty from walking some distance to the school so I dropped by a convenience store. Incidentally, RM was also there buying his drink. We were the students  to arrive first and RM, being the best student, practiced already with his free pour while I was eating my breakfast.

RM willingly reinstalled the parts of the group head we cleaned the previous day. We did the seasoning for espresso machine as our other classmates arrived.

We were instructed by Sir Dave to practice free pour for rosetta, yet again, with water. Some fifteen minutes later, he gave us a carton of milk each for the first round of practice. For each pour,  230-250 mL is used, thus, only 4 tries until the milk is consumed.

I was getting frustrated with my pour as I haven’t formed anything close to a rosetta. I couldn’t get it down. And I was also feeling beat since my classmates were able to do the art. Argggh, more practice! And I pray for more patience.

It was only in my third try that I was able to pour something close to a rosetta. Sir Mike, another instructor, was there and he requested if he could have that one cup of coffee I made. Of course, I gladly handed it over but it was the one cup of latte art I’ve succeeded so far and yet I haven’t gotten any photo. Anyways, I’m glad he gave an OK for that latte drink.

After that, I can no longer pull of another rosetta. What a pity.

After lunch break, I was getting bored since Sir Dave had not resumed the class. It was past one o’clock in the afternoon and he was still talking to some other students from the CBM class next to our room. I was minding the time since I wanted to have a lot of practice. Mind you, I was really getting impatient and bored. And I wanted to catch up with my classmates who already did well with the rosetta. (Yes, I’m a bit competitive as well.)

I was ready to take a nap when Sir Dave walked in and resumed the class. (What an irony! haha) He showed us a visual of pouring a heart. So this time, we will move on with the heart latte art. And he said there will also be a pre-evaluation: rosetta and heart latte art.

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Like what? I haven’t even formed any rosetta!

So just like that, I temporarily gave up pouring a rosetta and moved on with a heart.

Then again, we practiced first with water. We were given a carton of milk each for the practice. After the demo by Sir Dave for free pour heart, we were off to practice.

Thanks to Sir Jeff, an assistant instructor, for guiding me with my practice; I got to know if I’m doing things correctly. I just wished I sought his help sooner! Especially with the dilemma of my rosetta.

I was able to form a recognizable heart at third try. (It’s always, only, in my third try that I got to form an art.haha. I don’t get it.) So here’s my “successful” third try for a free pour heart latte art:

After the practice, we did the pre-evaluation.

I was the second to the last to perform my art. I remember being jumpy and dropping cartons of milk, suggesting that I was nervous. I guess it just shows.

We were instructed to make a rosetta and a heart in a maximum time of 8 minutes. All other five did well. It was my turn. I did a lot of mistakes in milk steaming. I was not yet confident with my pour.

As expected, my rosetta was a complete disaster! The milk was steamed too thin that’s why no art was formed.

Fortunately, I pulled of a “passable” heart latte art. Somehow it looks like a buko (coconut) at some angles. haha

I finished in 6:50 minutes. Not bad. But not good. I failed in my rosetta.

We cleaned up and after some reminders from Sir Dave, we were dismissed.

Although I was a bit down, I will not lose heart. I can get through this.

Hard work will pay off.

God bless us!

Searching for a Goldmine

Last Wednesday, November 26, 2014, I went out looking for a ‘goldmine’.

The day before, I got back from the city to my hometown. Since I haven’t enrolled for another barista class (advanced level), I decided to go back home to look for a profitable location, a.k.a the ‘goldmine’.

My brother ought to help me look for a location while I was in the coffee academy, however, he got sick. Nevertheless, he told me he saw some “Space for Rent” in the Old Albay District. Initially, I went out to ‘evaluate’ a coffee shop around the area; I found out that the ‘space’ was directly across the coffee shop I was visiting. I thought it wouldn’t be a suitable location.

After trying out their ‘Pili Cappuccino’ at Php 105,  I went on a few kilometer walk along my former university. (I may write about the ‘evaluation’ some other time.)

I intended to set up my coffee shop near my Alma mater. I remembered there were some good spots along the highway, some corner streets. However, disappointments were what I found.

The ‘really good’ spots were already taken. A famous line of convenience store had already claimed the area. The corner streets I thought of were also taken. There were a lot of business establishments already. I continued walking, hoping to find a spot; I was already at my college campus (Daraga Campus, which by the way was a bit far from the university’s main campus) when I stopped. I knew that the area beyond was already saturated as well.

I went home sad and disappointed; however I was not disheartened. I believe one day, I will chance upon a ‘goldmine’. The ‘goldmine’ that will enable me to bless my family, my friends and many people as much as I can.

“God will not always answer your prayers the way you want. He will always answer them in the best possible or impossible way.”

When I read those while I was browsing through my newsfeed, I realized I was rushing things; there’s still a lot of time to search. It doesn’t have to stop here. I may have failed this time, but I’ll keep on trying. There is still a lot of time to plan things. I asked God to bless my plans, bless my business.

Soon, I will find my ‘goldmine’.

God bless us!