Budding baristas pick up some hot tips

By Myron Kukla
The Grand Rapids Press

Travis Yaklin figures he has more to learn before he opens a coffee shop.

The 24-year-old plans to open Guido's Coffee Lounge in Owosso later this year, and so he took a class with the Midwest Barista School in Holland (MI) this month.

"I dumped a lot of the espressos I made the first day," Yaklin said.

"It's a real knack to get the right aroma and taste to the espresso to serve it to customers. You just don't turn on the machine and call it espresso."

No, one doesn't.

To help coffee-shop owners, Jack Groot started the Midwest Barista School in January 2007 to share his 15 years' experience in the business.

The owner of JP's Coffee & Espresso Bar at 57 W. Eighth St. charges $1,375 for a week of intensive training on how to open a cafe and brew just the right cup of joe.

"I decided it would be more cost effective for the clients and less road time for me if I opened a barista school at JPs and ran the school from here," said Groot, who uses a second espresso bar in his cafe for the on-the-job training.

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