While of course many people enjoy making a nice fresh filter coffee or simply a nice cup of instant coffee every day just to keep them ticking along nicely, we very rarely think about the difficulties involved in actually making a fine cup of coffee.

Indeed, when you head to a coffee shop you simply expect your coffee to come as requested and quietly grumble if your cortado turns out to be more of a flat white or the latte art fails to actually show any art and instead ends up a bit of a mess on top of the coffee.

After spending a morning with the incredible Paul (who can make some of the best latte art we have ever seen), we now know that not only is there a huge amount of skill involved in making good coffee, but there really is a justification as to why it is an art rather than just an expectation when it comes to making the perfect brew.

The course itself was brilliant at introducing us to the global nature of coffee, how the different roasts affect flavour, and understanding that how long you grind the beans for plays a huge part in how good (or not!) your coffee will taste. It became apparent very quickly that despite thinking we could nail it easily, it became one of those challenges you had to master in order to actually end up making a decent cup of espresso that you could drink!

After (eventually) getting the grind right and getting the espresso to pour for the perfect length of time, it was then on to Paul’s speciality of getting the latte art right. Again, the skill involved in knowing when to lift a cup, how to ensure the milk has the right consistency, and making sure you know when to give it that special tap just so you stand a chance of creating some special latte art is a skill all by itself. For us, it means that when we now ask for a babycino for our little lady, we know that it isn’t just a cup of warmed milk she is being given!

Suffice to say, my latte art may well have needed a bit more time and learning, but the whole experience was brilliant fun, very informative, and capped off by some truly great coffee – with some of it even coming from our own hand after the words of wisdom and guidance we received! If you are looking for a great team building event, a treat for a coffee lover you know, or you just want to learn how to make great coffee, then the 200 Degree classes in Leeds are great value and well worth booking onto.