French Truck Coffee Now Offering SCA Classes
Geoffrey Meeker, owner of French Truck Coffee, has opened the first and only certified and accredited Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Training Lab in Louisiana, located at 1533 Melpomene Street in the Lower Garden District in New Orleans.
Meeker says, “Pouring the perfect cup of coffee is not something to be taken lightly. A great deal of training, skill, and passion is needed to deliver an amazing experience for each customer. So, being able to provide the necessary training right here in New Orleans is something I’m very proud of.”
French Truck Coffee, considered an SCA Premiere Campus, is a member of the Specialty Coffee Association, which was created after the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) merged with the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) earlier this year.
French Truck Coffee (FTC) will offer a variety of SCA courses for individuals interested in pursuing a career in the specialty coffee industry. The classes will be taught by Michael Breaux. Initially, French Truck is offering SCAA heritage courses until January 2018, at which time the classes will be shifting to the new SCA Coffee Skills Curriculum. The current courses available are in the SCAA Barista Pathways, which affords students the opportunity to reach the level of professional barista.
FTC is accredited to teach six students at a time. When an additional espresso machine is added, it will accommodate 12 students at a time and will include courses in the Coffee Taster Pathways. Those courses teach the necessary skills to properly assess the grade, quality and flavour profile of coffee, which can be used in developing roast profiles, as well as setting premiums for sourcing coffee.
Expanding its education reach, FTC will partner with Gather Coffee Company, a national company dedicated to coffee education and training, to offer a Q-Grading Course, which teaches skills necessary to properly assess and contract green coffee. This intensive course will take place 6-11 November at the FTC Training Lab. Currently, there are only about 3,500 licensed Q-graders in the world.
French Truck Coffee, a small-batch coffee roastery founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2012 by Geoffrey Meeker, is dedicated to roasting single origin coffees from hand-selected farmers. FTC operates a coffee shop at the main roastery on Magazine Street in New Orleans, two locations of French Truck Cafés uptown, and in the French Quarter. Meeker opened French Truck Roastery and Espresso Bar in Memphis, Tennessee, in mid-2016, and a second café in Memphis, located in the historic Crosstown development. A Baton Rouge (Louisiana) location opened in 2017.
For more information about French Truck Café, visit www.frenchtruckcoffee.com.