James Hoffmann was crowned world barista champion in 2007. He then went on the train the two subsequent world champions. James is now regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on coffee. That’s all very impressive, but what can you learn from the world’s best barista?
Although James Hoffmann is very skilled at making coffee, he has a skill that I believe is even more powerful.
James is an expert at engineering ENJOYMENT into an experience. Whilst interviewing James for How To Shine, he told me that making great coffee is not enough to win the world barista championship.
“The strange thing about the competition is that it is psychological for want of a better term, because it’s presentation. You are presenting your coffee to 4 sensory judges, who can’t talk back but have to listen to everything you say. Attention to detail then becomes a very personal thing. Of course there are the basics of service, how you look after them and that kind of stuff. But where the game is now won and lost, is in the way you make the sensory judges feel. Taste is largely objective. Enjoyment is highly subjective. They will all taste the same thing, but their enjoyment of it is highly malleable.”
At the first Be World Class Conference in 2011, James explained exactly how he creates enjoyment. He also described how he applies the same principles to customer service in cafes and espresso bars.
“We ran a pop up café for 3 months. It was brewed coffee only. It was just black coffee, no milk, no sugar, no espresso. It was not cheap. No take-away. The proposition was simple – come and have coffee with us. It could have been a very dry and unpleasant experience. So we spent a huge amount of time and effort on service and service training, every day. We found that a baristas tips in the UK normally are negligible, they wouldn’t buy you anything. It’s really non-existent. We had one barista that would regularly take home £30-£40 in tips. And bear in mind, we’d make ¼ of the number of drinks of a regular café.”
As the business leaders of the North East discovered, the principles that James uses within the coffee industry can easily be applied to any business.
You can find out more by reading How To Shine, watching James’ session on Be World Class TV, or even gain a unique insight for yourself by attending James’ session at this year’s Be World Class Conference.
At this year’s Be World Class Conference, James Hoffmann will be joined by
4X World Champion, Claire O’Hara,
World-record breaker, Andy McMenemy
Twice Michelin starred chef, Kenny Atkinson
and more…
Book your place now at www.beworldclassconference.com
You could even become a sponsor for as little as £250!
Find out more at http://www.beworldclassconference.com/sponsors.php?p=opps