About the Canadian Barista Institute

Coffee is a trillion dollar industry with a concentration of this wealth in large corporations. The quality of that coffee is most times poor. Coffee is for every person and an everyday beverage. Quality does not need to be sacrificed.

We want to redistribute this wealth to the grassroots and teach quality to both the consumer and all points of the supply chain.

Our founders started as business consultants in the late 1980s and soon became the sanctioned organizers of all Canadian Specialty Coffee competitions from 2003 to 2015. By the early 2000s they had expanded into coffee education, and today the Institute operates four Labs across Canada.

We host hands-on barista training, business as a science seminars, gelato and ice cream classes and coffee roasting classes, integrating global issues into all of our content. We are devoted to demystifying coffee and to providing training in communities of all sizes, so that all people have equal access to education. Our trainers maintain an unbiased, authentic approach and possess both the knowledge and passion to work with any brand or equipment.

The founder of the Institute started as an early coffee fanatic in the early 1990s. Along with other coffee explorers he found an outlet in a text based news group called Alt.coffee. This newsgroup was the genesis of problem solving, sharing data and insights into solving the mysteries of coffee. A great deal of what is common knowledge today was developed in those early days in alt.coffee. Some of those early explorers moved on to Coffeed.com and HomeBarista, and some went offline as they matured and put coffee on the back burner.

The revival of quality artisan 3rd wave coffee in the early 2000s brought many people back to the industry. The formation of the Institute's core philosophy and mission statement has its roots there: a quest to share knowledge and motivate people to do greater things in coffee. We also aim to inspire people to find success in career, business and wellness, and to contribute positively to their family and society — all while serving a great cup of coffee and giving back to the community.

We are tired of seeing people invest in franchises, buy dying cafés at a discounted deal and take classes from unqualified schools. We prepare our students properly for the moment they make their investment in the coffee industry as a barista, roaster, baker or business owner. We don't short change anyone. We don't want to hold this as a dark mystery or keep it secret. We want to share it with you, one cup at a time.

Vision Statement

We envision, in every village, town and city, unique, sustainable, independently owned and locally operated coffee businesses providing top rated customer service, fresh high-grown specialty arabica coffee and fresh foods to their local community.

Mission Statement

The Canadian Barista Institute is a social enterprise that universally empowers people economically and socially through coffee education. We strive to change the public conversation through research and discussion about coffee, and to challenge conventional beliefs and practices for the betterment of the industry — uncovering and sharing the real truth of coffee. We aim to convert and inspire people from all walks of life into “freshness”.

Our Teachers

Our teachers come from all walks of life and from all corners of this planet, yet they all have one thing in common – they are custodians of coffee culture who want nothing more than for Canadian coffee culture to prosper. These teachers help develop a comprehensive plan to grow our collective principles on a local and national level.

Between them they bring over 65 combined years in specialty coffee. They are competition baristas, national head judges, certified educators, entrepreneurs and business consultants with a lifetime of executive experience. We don't publish individual bios and we don't build the school around one name — whichever Lab you train at, you are taught the same curriculum to the same standard. That is what makes us a school rather than a personality.

The standard never changes. The teaching does. Every class is tailored to the people in the room — the barista starting out, the owner opening a second location, and the student who flew in from another continent each leave with what they came for.

And they do fly in. We teach more than how to pour a heart: if you are opening a café, sourcing green, or fixing your margins, that expertise is in the room too. Our alumni have gone on to open coffee businesses in countries around the world — you can see where they have landed on our alumni map.

Maintaining impartiality, our teachers possess the expertise and enthusiasm to work with any equipment or brand without bias. Across our four Labs, students have left us over 1,025 five-star Google reviews — and we only started asking in 2017.

We Believe…

• In opportunities for all people regardless of age, gender, colour, race, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status.
• In the promotion of teamwork, and the belief that what groups and society can achieve as a whole is greater than that which can be achieved by individuals.
• In the country of Canada, its tradition for entrepreneurs, and the proud and successful representation of this tradition around the world.
• In the value of hard work, determination, the pursuit of excellence and success in all activities.
• In the development of life skills which will benefit students throughout their lives.
• In coffee as a state of mind and way of being that doesn't conform to rigid rules — teaching you why you perform an action, rather than memorization.