> Was the barista course useful? It very much was. I already knew a lot about making espresso but the course taught me a lot of small tips and tricks. It also

> Was the barista course useful? It very much was. I already knew a lot about making espresso but the course taught me a lot of small tips and tricks. It also gave me better understanding of end to end process and what is and what is probably not as important. In the past I would be spending a lot of time on gimmicks (like a grinder that could grind to exact weight) which I learned are completely unnecessary for the most part. The course was meant for people who will be working as baristas and so it was not oriented on getting best coffee but rather teaching you the process and how to make various drinks. The other students were not super interested in coffee but the teachers were. > It is a lot of effort - so I don't do it as often as I should. I pull about 2-3 double shots for myself every day and probably, on average, one another for my wife and daughter. I got in a habit of observing every single shot I make. I weigh the grounds that came out of the grinder, the espresso, the time it took to pull it as well as the profile (I look at the weight vs time profile in my head). I also look at the bottom of the naked portafilter during first couple seconds to see how well I have distributed it so that I don't start correcting in response to incorrect distribution. I have been doing it for long enough that I don't have to think about it anymore. Over time you also learn to intuitively know what kind of correction you need to introduce and how large magnitude to fix the problem. The result of this is that I get a very good shot probably 50-70% of the time. Which I am happy with, it is very difficult to get consistent results at home when you just pull couple of shots every day.