When developing a resume to apply for a barista job, keep it simple. Most cafes aren’t going to hire you based on your resume but will decide whether to get you in for a trial or not. During these trials, an owner, manager or head barista will decide whether to employ you based on a combination of skills and characteristics. This will include your coffee-making skills but also include your ability to handle pressure, your work ethic and customer service skills. Since you are trying to make a good first impression, make sure your resume looks sharp. Make it concise and truthfully highlight your ..read more

Back in August, we had the joy of taking a couple of days to visit some of our previous students. We travelled all over Melbourne to visit some lovely people who have opened cafes, are in the process of doing so, or are working as baristas in some of the city’s top coffee shops and bakeries. We kicked things off by heading to Ormond to pop in on Lisa and Chris who have opened up Velo Rapport, a cafe and bicycle workshop catering to a wonderful community of coffee and cycling enthusiasts. Velo Rapport, Ormond Velo Rapport, Ormond While close by, we stopped off in Bentleigh to check in on Nico ..read more

We had another great night of learning, community and coffee trivia at our last MCA Session. We’re constantly evolving the format and hope to keep growing this in the coming years… We believe public coffee cuppings should be a fun, educational and a safe place to ask questions so that we can keep learning. We did a lot with this one and even threw in some defects to mix it up. Congratulations to Louis for winning the night! Also, big thanks to Slayer Espresso for hosting and Oatly for sponsoring the night. You can download a copy of the trivia results below. See you next time! Download Present ..read more

At MCA we run quarterly cupping sessions to engage and bring together the coffee community in Melbourne. As coffee educators, we see this as a privilege but also a way for us to keep learning and to develop as barista trainers. Our last one (on March 9, 2023) was our most experimental as we really wanted to change the way we run public cuppings. We wanted more interaction and playfulness but at the same time make it educational and thought-provoking. Too often cuppings can be overly serious and unapproachable to newer baristas. Sometimes it can be threatening or intimidating, especially when y ..read more

We are humbled and grateful to be awarded the best barista course in Melbourne by portafilter.net Quality and cutting-edge training are at the forefront of what we do and it is an honour to be recognised as the best coffee training school in Melbourne. A big thing that sets up apart is the experience and passion of our trainers. With a combined 35 years of experience working at the top specialty coffee cafes in Melbourne and around the world, we can safely say we know specialty coffee! On top of that, we never take anything for granted and are constantly upskilling and learning to stay releva ..read more

Ever wondered how a barista handles making multiple different orders in a busy cafe environment? We break it down in this video with a fairly complicated (but realistic) sequence of orders you will find in a typical Melbourne cafe. Here is the coffee order: • Dine-in strong latte • Large takeaway oat cappuccino • Dine-in latte • Dine-in flat white • Babycino • Large takeaway soy chai latte • Small takeaway cappuccino - 1 sugar • Small takeaway cappuccino • Dine-in long black In this video we have our 2 barista trainers - Justin and Charles working as a team of 2, pumping out these coffees as f ..read more

As you probably know, we love good workflow and systems at MCA! It can be thing of beauty when 2, 3 or even 4 baristas work together in seamless harmony to send out amazing coffees, efficiently and consistently. In this video, we’re tackling a 2 person team making these coffees: 2 x dine-in lattes 1 x large takeaway cappuccino with 1 sugar 1 x small takeaway cappuccino 1 x small takeaway flat white 1 x dine-in flat white 1 x dine-in latte Are you looking to become a barista or are you hoping to open a cafe one day? We can’t stress the importance of good fundamentals and a solid u ..read more

Steaming milk can be one of the biggest challenges for any aspiring barista or home user. Ultimately, we believe in the importance of hands-on learning to quickly improve but there are some fundamental skills that can be applied through online learning. Check out this little video we made in partnership with La Marzocco Home Australia - we teach some fundamental skills and the positioning needed to steam good milk but also run through troubleshooting on some common issues. When it comes down to it, nothing beats in-person, small group learning. Courses like our Basic Espresso course are crucia ..read more

Here is the first in a series of videos demonstarating our workflow and process in making a set of different coffees. In this video, we are making: 1 x large takeaway latte with 1 sugar 1 x oat latte 1 x flat white. There are so many ways to make a great coffee and each cafe has their own systems and processes. With over 30 years combined experience between our trainers, this is our approach for a reason and what we teach each and every student coming through our Barista Apprenticeship or Barista Masterclass program. It’s not just understanding the system and process but knowing how to execute ..read more

Cleaning your espresso machine is crucial for maintaining the quality of your coffee and durability of your equipment. In this video, we take you through the process of maintaining your coffee machine using the beautiful La Marzocco Linea Mini. Whether you’re a cafe barista or home espresso enthusiast, make sure you maintain a regular cleaning schedule as part of your routine. Your tastebuds will thank you for it! This video was made in partnership with La Marzocco Home Australia ..read more