A Scottish coffee roaster has hailed the launch of a beginners’ barista course for young people.

Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters said no experience is required as it announced the launch of The Coffee Academy 2024, dedicated to supporting young people in rural Scotland into the speciality coffee industry.

Administered by the youth work charity Project Northern Lights and funded by The Basil Death Trust, the academy is offering eight fully funded places to young people between 16 and 24 on a three-month mentoring programme.

Paula Simpson, the co-ordinator of this year’s Coffee Academy, said: “We are thrilled to be running a new look Coffee Academy this year with all training delivered in-house by Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters. This course is open to all and designed to encourage young people with no previous experience to develop their skills and employability in the coffee industry and beyond.” 

The programme, now in its third year, includes four days of training and follow-up volunteer experience in partner cafes. Students who successfully complete the course will be awarded an Introduction to Speciality Coffee and Barista Skills certificate from Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters.

The training course will run from October 14-18, 2024 and will cover all aspects of speciality coffee with a core practical focus on barista skills. All the training will be held at the Glen Lyon Coffee Roastery in Aberfeldy and topics covered will include:

  • An introduction to speciality coffee including origins, varietals, processing and shipping.
  • Meet a coffee producer and/or importer who will explain the challenges of growing and selling coffee.
  • A practical introduction to coffee roasting.
  • A journey into the world of sensory exploration in coffee. 
  • Understanding and experimenting with different coffee extractions.
  • Barista skills and getting to grips with espresso machinery. 
  • Customer service and team-working in a hospitality setting. 

Project Northern Lights is now looking to recruit eight students for this year’s programme. No experience is required and we only ask that applicants are between 16 and 24 years old. There is an informal selection process and all prospective students will need to meet the project’s co-ordinator. 

“The Academy is a fantastic opportunity for young people looking to get into the working world, or for a change in direction,” said Ms Simpson. “Skilled baristas with an inside knowledge of the speciality coffee industry are increasingly sought after in hospitality and beyond.”

Applicants can come in person to a drop-in open day at the roastery on Saturday August 17 or arrange for a remote Zoom chat with the co-ordinator directly.

Contact academy@glenlyoncoffee.co.uk

Major new Scottish openings hailed by burger giant

Burger King UK today highlighted a raft of openings, including new restaurants in Scotland, as it unveiled a 30% surge in total annual revenues to £381.8 million last year and revealed it had bounced back into operating profit.

It reported a 3% rise in sales on a “like-for-like basis”, adjusting the figures to remove the impact of value-added tax relief in place in the first three months of 2022. Burger King UK said it had achieved “strong profitable growth”, with operating profit of £13.4 million “due to revenue growth from existing estate and new restaurants, together with good cost management”. This compared with a loss of £20.7m in the prior year.

Market crash?​ Why predicting short-term financial market moves is difficult

This article appears as part of the Money HQ newsletter.

Last week will provide a good case study into why predicting short-term market moves is so difficult. 

The week started with all eyes on Central banks, as investors waited for an expected interest rate cut in the UK, and to hear what the US Federal Reserve was planning.

The Bank of England duly did its part, as it cut interest rates for the first time in four years last week. This had been widely expected for some time and, as such, the move didn’t elicit a huge change in the FTSE 100. With inflation challenges remaining, future reductions are likely to be gradual.

This decision also came on the back of new Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlining her initial findings from her first few days in the job. In this time, she says she has found a multi-billion-pound black hole in UK finances that will need paying, though this has been challenged by her predecessor Jeremy Hunt. In other words, we are likely to see some form of tax increases in October.