Page 48 - #57 English

Cover Story

China

Over the past five years, rising globalization has brought new opportunities
China to the emerging markets like China. Among the fastest growing industries is the
coffee business. Western-style coffee has been met with the interest in these
markets and it is fueling the sector, particularly among younger consumers who
are influenced by international big branded chains. Education and continuing
innovation are important in the area in order for growth to be sustainable. Many
roasters and cafes here are helping their local consumers to become more aware
and accepting by introducing classes and programs from SCAA and SCAE, as well
as educational workshops and coffee tastings.
Kelly Chan, General Secretary from Crema Coffee Training Centre, ex-
plained that development of coffee scene caused a large change in quality of
coffee shops. Their steady development and growth of consumer groups made
professional baristas face a big flourishing market. She also acknowledged that
now mass market is shaping not only retail scene, as we already know, but also
training courses.
Crema Coffee Training Centre was established on 2005 and has training
centers in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen (having 50000 students enrolled).
IIAC and Italian Barista School ( IBS ) also set up their branches here.People
from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia
and other countries come to Crema to widen their knowledge on coffee. And as
a result, over the last five years the total number of students increased by 70%.
The “General Program” is the most popular course among students, which is
characterized by a comprehensive knowledge, long-term training and practice,
combined with effective assessment and summary, as well as work and internship
opportunities in coffee shop. “The hardest thing about coffee education in China
is to recruit new students,” says Kelly Chan. After 13 years in business Crema
Training Center became very well known in coffee education sphere so students a
lot of professionals recommend to start coffee education here. In addition, Crema
provides students with detailed and deep knowledge.
Dean of Bloom Coffee College (Beijing, China), Qi Ming, told us that inter-
national certificate courses (SCAA/SCAE) are getting more popular, as coffee
professionals around Asia tend to need deeper and wider knowledge. So, it is
no surprise as Bloom Coffee College is the first schools to provide SCA training
courses. Other classes such as C01 Barista Almighty Classroom is also welcomed
by students, which provides comprehensive training to newcomers of the indus-
try, thus, the school has already enrolled more than 10 000 students. Over the last
5 years Bloom Coffee College has trained around 20 000 students, among which
are mostly 22-35 year-old people. “Talking about changes in Chinese coffee educa-
tion, we should notice that the world market now is more focused on individual
consumption that is also true for coffee industry in almost every country, that
is why it is obvious that in the future we will se ore and more new equipment,
technologies and businesses,” said Qi Ming.

As we think where to go to study, we need to notice the differences in coffee cultures around the world. Every
country and region is different in its own unique way due to different factors, and we need to pay attention on every
advantage and disadvantage that might affect our education. We need to stay focused on what we want to gain from
the program and how it is supposed to help us. Almost every coffee school suggests universal Barista training and
SCAA/SCAE courses, as people want to know more about coffee and how to make it (not only professionals), but
we need to pay attention at regional difficulties such as slow market development or even comparably recent market
development etc..
Talking to 5 representatives of coffee schools from different parts of the world, we can conclude common trends
in coffee education, which are growing quantity of coffee schools and higher importance of understanding consumer
behavior and including it into the courses. It is a fact that coffee education is now an imperative part of being a suc-
cess coffee industry professional, as long as we have a desire to never stop growing and develop our community coffee
education will continue to get better and evolve.

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