Featured Graduate
First of all, I wanted to say what a great time I had with Matt and Jared at the Saturday latte art class. I learned a lot and wish I could spend days just picking your brains. Overall, it was really nice to spend time with a couple of good guys who like coffee as much as I do. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to duplicate the latte art at home and I was even more nervous to try it in a regular mug instead of the saucer style cups we used at the school. Anyhow, my first attempt wasn't...
Read More... perfect, but I was still very happy with it -- thanks! ABC's and you guys are the best. I'll definitely call ahead and stop by next time I'm in town.
Jared Rennie | Talent, OR
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About the American Barista & Coffee School
ABC's was founded in 2004 by Bruce Milletto, president of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup, the specialty coffee industry's leading consulting company.
Since 1991, Bellissimo has set the standard for education and training in the specialty coffee industry. Thousands of coffee business owners have benefited from our expertise and created successful, profitable operations from single cafes to drive-thrus to major chains across the country.
Fueled by the passion of its founder, Bruce Milletto, Bellissimo has stayed on the cutting-edge of this explosive growth industry, and the company has evolved and expanded to address the needs of those entering the ever-changing specialty coffee market. The latest expansion of Bellissimo was the opening of the ABC's, where entrepreneurs from all over the world attend classes to learn what it takes to be successful in today's competitive retail specialty coffee market.
In addition to teaching entrepreneurs the fundamentals of opening a specialty coffee business, it is ABC's mission to expose students to a broad range of coffee-related equipment and products. To this end, Bellissimo enlisted the help of the leading companies in the industry, and today over 50 companies sponsor the school, allowing students to sample the best the industry has to offer.
ABC's students range from representatives of large established corporations who need to learn about coffee to entrepreneurs seeking to open their first coffeehouse. Our prestigious school draws existing retailers looking to boost profits as well as baristas looking to fine-tune their skills or prepare for barista slams.
The school's popularity resulted in a move to an expanded state-of-the-art facility in April of 2006. ABC's is located near downtown Portland's picturesque waterfront, close to the best restaurants, shopping and hotels the city has to offer.
Why ABC's
- ABC's offers a comprehensive coffee business start-up program, barista training, latte art training, a wide spectrum of classes for consumers, and specialty classes that include equipment maintenance, roasting and marketing.
- ABC's is not connected to a specific brand of coffee-related product, equipment or coffee. Unlike other schools, we teach our students on a variety of the industry's leading espresso equipment, let them work with coffee from multiple roasters and expose them to a wide range of associated products. All the training and information you receive at ABC's is unbiased and in your best interest.
- ABC's is the only school with more than 60 sponsors that rank among the leading companies in the specialty coffee industry worldwide.
- ABC's is the only school with state-of-the art facilities that include an actual coffee bar setting for "real-life" training and a sensory room, where coffee, water, milk and tea cupping classes are held.
- Portland, home to ABC's, Fresh Cup magazine, Barista magazine, Roast magazine and Imbibe magazine, is the "new" coffee capital of the United States. Portland is home to hundreds of specialty coffee operations and some of the best roasteries in the U.S. While in Portland, our students visit many of these innovative coffee shops and can see how other independents are able to succeed in a highly competitive market.
- ABC's class sessions include lectures and demonstrations followed by hands-on practice. Our small class sizes insure a personalized experience taught by coffee business professionals who have owned and operated successful retail coffee operations.
- ABC's instructors are specialty coffee industry leaders who have owned or operated multi-unit retail coffee businesses and offer students a broad range of knowledge born of decades of real-life experience.
- As an added bonus, ABC's classes feature experienced and
knowledgeable guest speakers from some of the largest and best known
companies in the specialty coffee industry.
- The price of ABC’s five- and six-day classes includes a copy of Bean Business Basics, Bellissimo’s landmark 740-page start-up/operational manual and Espresso 101,
the industry standard DVD for training baristas. The price of our one-,
three- and four-day barista classes include one of the following DVDs: Espresso 101, Espresso 501 or Advanced Barista Training: Extreme Pours.
- ABC's "train the trainer" approach gives you or a key employee the graduate level barista skills required to train the rest of your staff.
- Bring a trainer to you! ABC's trainers can travel to your location and train your staff in your café using your equipment.
