Coffee knowledge is a powerful tool that us as coffee professionals use in our day to day lives. The levels of the coffee industry are rising and consumers expect the barista to have a good understanding of the product they are selling. Recently we were contacted by a Qatar based company called Makeal, who sells speciality coffee as well as brewing equipment, who asked us to deliver SCA classes in Doha. This was somewhere that I hadn’t delivered training before, so an exciting opportunity.
Doha is an amazing city that is constantly changing week after week. There is a lot of construction going on as they prepare for the World Cup in 2022. Along with the construction comes new opportunities and this is great news for people in the coffee industry. I had previously trained a few people at the coffee school from Qatar and I had seen a big interest in coffee but after being in Qatar I could see why this coffee boom has taken off. I had the privilege of working with an amazing company called Vanguard who are the sole distributors of La Marzocco and Wega machines; and are essentially a one-stop supplier of everything coffee related as well as gelato equipment. Laura, who is Head of Training at Artisan and I were taken around Qatar by Mr Sherrif, Director of Vanguard, who spoke about the growing coffee industry and culture within Qatar. There are a lot of coffee shops serving Turkish coffee, which is quite popular amongst the locals although the third wave coffee scene has taken a big liking, which is the new talk of the town.
Coffee is the new fashion trend in Qatar, from young to old – this is the new craze. The community know a lot about coffee, from machines to good coffee roasters etc. and there is an amazing buzz about the place. We delivered training at the Education Centre in Doha, which is a great location for education and is very well fitted out. We ran a variety of SCA courses – Introduction to Coffee, Barista Foundation, Brewing Foundation, Brewing Intermediate and Latte Art. Approximately 100 students attended over the 7-day period and it was a huge success. It was an absolute privilege training classes filled with passionate students that have huge ambitions within the coffee industry. Some will go on to open cafes and others coffee schools and roasteries. We were delighted to see that all the classes were sold out, a good sign for things to come.
I think there is an exciting wave of coffee happening in Qatar and I am sure there will be some exceptional cafes opening in the near future. Next time if you are visiting Qatar, have a look at their coffee scene; you will be impressed.
Until next time.
Cheers
Dean