Gaggia's Caffe Academie: Barista the Future

Gaggia is a market leader in the provision of professional coffee machines to cafes and coffee shops all around the world - and it takes its leadership role very seriously.

No surprise, then, that Gaggia sees part of that role being to develop the skills of the baristas who use its commercial coffee machines to provide the rest of us with our daily jolt of caffeine.

Gaggia Caffe Academie: hands-on experience and follow-on support

The Caffe Academie is a Gaggia initiative that offers young people hands-on work experience in front of a Gaggia coffee machine. It also provides follow-on support within the coffee industry and related indutries.

According to business website brandrepublic.com, the Caffe Academie is all part of Gaggia's "commitment to development and evolution."

Gaggia graduate is barista World Champion

The website says, "The scheme has attracted attention from leading restaurants, such as Carluccios and Pizza Express, who acknowledge the long-term benefits of providing stimulating training opportunities, within the marketplace, for young people."

The "young people" can find the experience rewarding, too. In 2007, Gaggia Caffe Academie graduate James Hoffman was named World Barista of the Year (the first Briton ever to win the title). As well as starting his own roasting company, Hoffman works hard to promote the barista's image in the employment marketplace, insisting baristas should be better paid and better trained.

Gaggia aim to encourage grass roots

Gaggia's own motivation for running the Academie is "to encourage the grass roots to improve coffees served in restaurants" - a noble enough aim - and with the same goal in mind, it runs its own Barista championship, which is attended by baristas from a wide variety of restaurants.

The company is unlikely to be resting on its laurels, however. The blog on the Gaggia website says of its Caffe Academie work in the UK, "The quality of coffee served is continually improving but there is a lot more to be done."

Gaggia coffee machines: available from Coffee Xclusive

Coffee Xclusive supplies a wide range of top-quality coffee machines for use in the home, the office, or for commercial purposes. We also provide coffee beans, pods and capsules along with all the accessories you need. To find out more, or to order online, just browse our website. We're always happy to answer any questions you might have - just fill in our online enquiry form on the Contact Us page.