February 2019 Membership Update

In my youth, I discovered that our elders really do matter – particularly when it comes to wanting to learn more about your industry. I got lucky and worked with Tim O’Connor, a former SCA president and owner of one of the oldest service companies in the United States: Pacific Espresso. He knows everything about our industry.

I worked for Tim for about 10 years. I could not have asked for a better mentor. Looking back though my journals, I am amazed how much my current professional self is based on his lessons and training.

That is how it has worked in our industry for ages. Hook up with an old tech, drain them of all their knowledge and then become the seasoned tech for the next little snot-nosed smart-ass like myself.

The guild aims to change that. One of the guild’s greatest mandates is establishing an education program that will legitimize what we do through association with the SCA.

Lorenzo Roncali has worked tirelessly with our education committee and recently, Ben Helt, who works with the SCA’s Education delivery. They are performing minor miracle in getting this program off the ground. The Coffee Technician Skills Program will offer a Foundation, Intermediate, and Professional course in each of these six modules: Coffee Machines, Hydraulics, Electrical & Electronics, Cleaning & Preventive Maintenance, Operations Management and Coffee Preparation. Each module has a Content Creator Group consisting of volunteers working with peers to develop curriculum, written exams, practical exams, resource materials, course summaries, venue requirements, pre-course checklists and more. Much of this work has already been completed in each of these modules, but there is still more to do.

• Content creator groups should have a representative balance including geographic location, age, gender, career position, subject matter expertise, and training experience.

• Content creators will be recognized in several ways, including attribution of authorship; listings in online and printed materials; signage at events; and an annual badge program noting their years of service.

• Participants should expect to give 10-15 hours per month, especially in the genesis stage of the program.

• The current plan is to beta-test two foundation courses at the CTG Summit that will be held in Milan, Italy this May.

• We are currently recruiting content creators in each of the six modules, if you are interested in learning more, contact Ben Helt at benh@sca.coffee. 

The Guild with be having its annual strategy meeting in early March.  If there are any improvements you would like to see, please feel free and reach out to me at hylanljoseph@gmail.com and I’ll respond and add it to my list of item to cover.

Thanks for all that you do, and have a great month,

Hylan