A freshly brewed four-week course called the Art of the Barista will take students from the campus to Costa Rica to learn about coffee next spring.
Announced in September on Algonquin’s website, the Art of the Barista will combine elements of adventure tourism with various coffee-related activities and lessons, says one of the program’s two co-ordinators, Wes Wilkinson.
“We have the curriculum completed, and we’ve been working on (the course) since last year,” said Wilkinson, who also serves as Hospitality Studies academic manager at the college.
The announcement of the course was accompanied with an interview on CBC Radio, where Wilkinson was joined by Roberto Dormond, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to Canada.
“We have a coffee culture (in Costa Rica). We call it the ‘golden bean’,” Dormond told CBC host Robyn Bresnahan.
The Costa Rican Coffee Institute worked with the college to develop the Art of the Barista.
The second half of the course will consist of a two-week trip to Costa Rica where students will tour plantations to perfect their coffee-making skills. Before that, they’ll spend two weeks at Algonquin, focusing mainly on theoretical work.
According to Wilkinson, the course is for anyone from seasoned coffeemakers to those with no prior experience.
The Art of the Barista is on track to begin in March, with registration opening in January.