Bob Shallit: They'll teach you to use your bean

Sacramento BeeJuly 2, 2009

Sean Kohmescher, who has opened two Temple Fine Coffee and Tea shops in the capital, will offer gourmet coffee classes this fall with a three-level certification by the Barista Guild of America.

Coming soon: an institution for latte learning.

Local coffee entrepreneur Sean Kohmescher is opening the area's first barista training school this fall.

The mission is to "raise the standards" of coffee preparation locally, says Kohmescher, who owns two Temple Fine Coffee and Tea shops and is an officer with the Barista Guild of America.

The classes, to be held at the Temple site at 29th and S streets in midtown Sacramento, will be open to anyone interested in learning the finer details of coffee and espresso preparation, Kohmescher says. Fees are yet to be determined.

Students could spend as long as a year completing a three-level certification program being finalized by the guild. (See details at www. baristaguildofamerica.net)

Is all that training necessary? Just to make a cup of coffee?

Dumb question, says the plain-spoken Kohmescher.

"That's as funny as somebody saying, 'I cook at home, so why do I have to go to cooking school to be a chef?' " he says.

Becoming a certified barista is no different from becoming a wine connoisseur, he says. It requires education and training.

Kohmescher's curriculum will include coffee bean selection, roasting and grinding techniques, milk steaming and artistic pouring.

Kohmescher believes in bringing out coffee's true flavors not "masking" the taste by over-roasting or mixing in lots of sugary additives.

He disdains the "chain" shops, which he says automate the coffee-making process and water down the taste.

And claiming those coffeehouse employees are baristas, he says, "is like saying they have a chef at McDonald's."

Getting Fresh

British-owned grocery chain Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets is still holding off on its long-planned move into Northern California.

But we're told the company has completed a 750,000-square-foot warehouse in Stockton to serve that future expansion.

The location is at 4650 Newcastle Road in an industrial area near Stockton's municipal airport.

Fresh & Easy a division of Tesco PLC has never disclosed the warehouse site and a local spokesman remained vague about it Wednesday.

"We haven't made any comments regarding our distribution operations," says Brendan Wonnacott.

Fresh & Easy currently has 120 stores in Southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

As for Northern California, Wonnacott says the company has no timetable to start its expansion. "Given the current economic climate, we have to be prudent," he says.

Faster, faster

Life imitated art this week during rehearsals for the California Musical Theatre's upcoming production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

Onstage, in a famously funny scene, the actress playing Millie took a pre-employment test in shorthand given by her ridiculously fast-talking, prospective boss.

Sitting in the empty theater, Danuta Stuart executive assistant to CMT boss Richard Lewis was furiously taking down every word on her memo pad. In real shorthand.

It was Lewis' idea. "I was just wondering if she could keep up," he says of the all-in-fun test he assigned his long-time secretary.

Lewis was impressed by her near-perfect performance.

Stuart, who learned shorthand at age 13 in her native Liverpool, England, says she felt "tested to the hilt."

She missed only a couple words of the hyper-speed dictation, but adds, "nobody speaks that fast" in real conversation.

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.

• » Read Full Story