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Serious about coffee? This institute has courses for baristas and home aficionados

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Jeeves de Veyra

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/06/14/barista1.jpg"/><figcaption>Michael Harris Conlin poses at the Institute of Coffee Excellence. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- When Michael Harris Conlin competed at the 2019 World Barista Championships in Boston, he unabashedly shared his dream to build a sustainable coffee economy where everyone contributes to a beautiful coffee future.</p><p>As the first-ever Filipino to reach the semifinals of the prestigious event, there’s no rest for this coffee geek as he launched the Institute of Coffee Excellence (ICE) shortly after he returned to the country. This institute is a giant leap in making his vision a reality.</p><p>Conlin has been in the coffee business for 12 years. He went under intensive training and practice, travelling the world expanding his knowledge in all aspects of the coffee business.</p><p>“I&#x27;ve always wanted an avenue or a place to share what I know. And the nice thing is, the instructors here at the institute believe the same thing. They believe that we learn to teach future generations to to continue what we&#x27;re doing, to improve, and think outside the box,” he explained.</p><p>It’s not really just about technical skills, but also about imbibing values, sensory and soft skills. The value education is about showing learners every link in the coffee production chain to create a sustainable living for everybody from the farmer to the barista behind the coffee shop counter.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/06/14/barista2.jpg"/><figcaption>Michael Harris Conlins poses with the faculty. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The ICE features special facilities to enhance the students’ sense of smell and taste. “If you don&#x27;t know how to taste coffee, the coffee you&#x27;re going to be brewing is not going to taste good. For me, the perfect cup of coffee is to have it at the sweetness level with a balanced acidity and bitterness. You can&#x27;t really have coffee, that&#x27;s just sweet with nothing, or you can&#x27;t even have coffee, that&#x27;s just all sourness or all bitterness, it just has to be balanced.</p><p>Conlins also touts the value of soft skills.</p><p>“A barista can be a great barista, but he could be a horrible person. We&#x27;re teaching them to have mindfulness, being in the moment paying attention to what they&#x27;re doing, and to be to have empathy. If you&#x27;re having like a really, really bad day, and you walk into a cafe, and there&#x27;s one very steady so If he sees that you&#x27;re having a bad day and cheers you up. All of the sudden, he&#x27;s way better than a champion who doesn&#x27;t care and just gives you a coffee.,” he explained.</p><div><strong>COFFEE EMPIRE</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mb5PExVmQHY?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The ICE is located near the other enterprises in Conlins’ budding coffee empire. Inside this group of buildings on the corner of Sheridan and Pines Streets off Kapitolyo in Pasig, coffee aficionados can have a coffee flight at The Giving Café, buy beans at Henry &amp; Sons, and get all sorts of coffee equipment from Manila Coffee Gear.</p><p>Entering through the Manila Coffee Gear offices, the first thing you see is the ground floor lecture rooms. When there are no classes going on, these are co-working spaces where the faculty regularly lets guests sample their experimental roasts.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/06/14/barista3.jpg"/><figcaption>The ICE will feature cupping sessions of expiremental blends and roasts. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Connected to the common room is the institute laboratory where Conlins spent months practicing for the Boston competition. In this are all the coffee implements a barista would need to be proficient in to make coffee. Through another door is the sensory deprivation room designed to enhance a student’s sense of taste and sense of smell.</p><p>The upper floor is a traditional classroom where the ICE holds its classes and lectures. The institute holds different classes for different needs and levels of coffee proficiency. From a one-session home brewing class for the home aficionado to multi-week technobarista courses for restauranteurs who want to make a coffee an essential part of their business, the ICE has these covered.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/06/14/barista4.jpg"/><figcaption>Chief coffee educator Raoul De Peralta shows off the ICE&#x27;s equipment. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>It even has a “barkada” package where a group of 10 baristas can take a class for P500 each per session.</p><p>Conlin brought back the experience and knowledge he got from Boston. His “engineered milk” drink and his Signature Drink that he developed for the competition are available at The Giving Café across the street. He continues to give importance to the coffee farmers he meets around the country featuring their beans in the Institute.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/06/14/barista5.jpg"/><figcaption>Michael Harris Conlins flanked by Elma Serna, president of Itogon Coffee Growers, and Prudencio Pedro, Itogon municipal agriculturist. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In his opening spiel at the World Barista Championships, he talked about the special role of the barista as the person being able to communicate and connect to the consumer about specialty coffees. The ICE is dedicated to the barista who will be part of the Conlins’ beautiful coffee future.</p><div> </div>

<p>As the first-ever Filipino to reach the semifinals of the World Barista Championships, there’s no rest for Michael Harris Conlin as he launched the Institute of Coffee Excellence (ICE) shortly after he returned to the country.</p>

As the first-ever Filipino to reach the semifinals of the World Barista Championships, there’s no rest for Michael Harris Conlin as he launched the Institute of Coffee Excellence (ICE) shortly after he returned to the country.