SCA Barista Skills Foundation: Hands-On Barista Training
Learn to make better espresso, steam silky milk, and work confidently behind the coffee bar.
The SCA Barista Skills Foundation course introduces the essential skills used in specialty coffee shops. Designed for beginners, aspiring baristas, and home coffee enthusiasts, this hands-on course helps you understand what makes a good espresso and how to prepare it consistently.
Practice grinder adjustment, espresso preparation, milk steaming, and basic latte art while learning the cleaning, safety, and customer service habits that support good coffee service.
What You’ll Learn
Espresso Fundamentals and Grinder Adjustment
Learn how an espresso machine and grinder work together. Practice adjusting grind size, measuring your coffee dose, and preparing espresso using a repeatable recipe. Understand how changes in preparation affect the coffee in your cup.
Milk Steaming and Basic Latte Art
Practice creating smooth microfoam for milk-based espresso drinks. Learn to control milk texture and temperature, combine milk with espresso, and begin pouring basic latte art.
Equipment Cleaning and Safe Working Practices
Build a practical cleaning routine for your espresso machine, grinder, and workspace. Learn how proper maintenance supports drink quality, equipment care, and food hygiene.
Who Is This Course For?
This beginner barista course suits people starting a coffee career, café staff who need foundational training, and home baristas who want more control over their espresso. No previous barista experience is required.
Course Assessment
Hands-on activities help you practice essential barista tasks. A written examination assesses your understanding of the Foundation course learning objectives.
Book your SCA Barista Skills Foundation course and start building the skills you’ll use every time you make coffee.
SCA Barista Skills Intermediate: Espresso, Latte Art and Café Workflow
Learn to diagnose espresso problems, improve drink consistency, and handle coffee service with greater confidence.
The SCA Barista Skills Intermediate course builds directly on the techniques introduced in SCA Barista Skills Foundation. Through hands-on training, you’ll deepen your understanding of espresso extraction, sensory evaluation, milk handling, latte art, and café workflow.
You’ll connect what you taste with the adjustments you make, practice refining espresso recipes, and organize your work to maintain quality during service.
We recommend taking Foundation and Intermediate together, starting with Foundation. This sequence gives you a grounding in essential techniques before progressing to more detailed tasting, troubleshooting, and drink preparation.
What You’ll Learn
Espresso Extraction and Recipe Development
Explore how coffee dose, grind size, beverage yield, extraction time, and water quality influence espresso.
Practice dialing in a recipe, evaluating the result, and making purposeful adjustments.
Espresso Tasting and Troubleshooting
Develop your ability to assess espresso flavor and balance. Use tasting alongside recipe measurements to identify extraction problems and decide what to change.
Milk Handling and Latte Art
Refine your milk steaming technique for consistent texture and temperature. Practice latte art with greater control over milk preparation and pouring.
Espresso-Based Drink Preparation
Improve your preparation of espresso-based beverages. Understand how coffee-to-milk proportions affect flavor, texture, and the finished drink.
Café Workflow and Customer Service
Practice organizing your station and coordinating drink preparation. Develop working habits that support efficient service, consistent drinks, and professional customer interactions.
Cleaning, Health and Safety
Strengthen your approach to equipment cleaning, safe milk handling, and workspace hygiene throughout service.
Who Is This Course For?
This intermediate barista course suits working baristas, café staff, and learners who already understand espresso preparation and milk steaming.
If you’re new to barista training or want to strengthen your fundamentals, we recommend booking SCA Barista Skills Foundation and Intermediate together. You’ll practice the basics first, then build on those skills in Intermediate.
Course Assessment
A written examination assesses course knowledge. A practical examination evaluates grinder calibration, espresso extraction analysis, latte art, and drink preparation.
Book your SCA Barista Skills Intermediate course to sharpen your technique and improve the consistency of the coffee you serve. For a connected learning experience, book Foundation and Intermediate together.
