Header CTA Button

Coffee Skills Series

Coffee Skills Series

Build Skills.
Gain Confidence.
Elevate Your Coffee Game.

The Coffee Skills Series is the foundation of our hands-on education - a set of essential workshops we bring to every Coffee Fest to support skill development across the specialty coffee community.

Led by Coffee Fest’s experienced training team and trusted partners, these workshops focus on real-world techniques - from espresso and milk to sensory analysis, cupping, and brewing mastery.

Each session is offered in a small group format to ensure personalized instruction and direct interaction with trainers. These experiences are designed to help you strengthen your skills, expand your knowledge, and bring better coffee back to your business.

Whether you're behind the bar, leading a team, or refining your palate, at Coffee Fest you’ll find targeted, practical training to support your next step in coffee.


 

CHICAGO 2026 COFFEE SKILLS SERIES SCHEDULE

Loading
01:00 PM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    60 mins
    New to espresso or still building your confidence on bar? This hands-on, small-group workshop will walk you through the essential steps of dialing in for a balanced, flavorful shot. Designed for begin ...
02:30 PM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    150 mins
    Taught by our Latte Art World Championship judges, this 2.5-hour small-group workshop offers intensive instruction on the core techniques of crafting espresso-based beverages. You'll receive personal, ...
03:00 PM
  1. Cupping Corner
    120 mins
    This beginner-friendly course introduces the fundamentals of cupping, the coffee industry’s standard for evaluating coffee quality. You'll learn what cupping is, why it’s used across various sectors o ...
08:00 AM
  1. Roasters Row
    120 mins
    Led by Anita Tam, owner and founder of Slow Pour Supply, this workshop teaches the essentials of brewing coffee using the pour-over method. Using equipment consistent with contemporary roast profiles, ...
  2. Cupping Corner
    90 mins
    Blending coffee is both a science and an art. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore how individual coffees interact to create balance, complexity, and consistency in the cup. Working in small team ...
  3. Latte Art Venue
    120 mins
    Ready to pour your first heart? This beginner-level workshop introduces budding baristas to the building blocks of free pour latte art. Taught by our LAWCO (Latte Art World Championship Open) judges, ...
08:30 AM
  1. Meet at Registration
    90 mins
    From trends and recipes to efficiency and profits, you will learn how to create and implement a successful energy program. We will share data on the latest trends and help you understand how to best m ...
  2. Tech Lab
    90 mins
    Join one of Synesso's senior technicians for an in-depth training designed to elevate your espresso machine installation skills. This session will provide essential knowledge and practical guidance to ...
  3. Connections Lounge
    90 mins
    Textures, layers, and inclusions are currently leading the charge in signature drink innovation. From silky cold foams and decadent cream tops to vibrant fruit purées and playful, crunchy inclusions, ...
09:45 AM
  1. Cupping Corner
    120 mins
    This sensory session guides participants through a curated cupping flight that follows coffee through time - from its earliest traditions at origin to its modern expressions shaped by engineering, cul ...
10:15 AM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    90 mins
    Alternative milks have gone from a popular trend to absolute necessity in the past few years, and their unstoppable rise has resulted in many barista designed dairy milk alternatives that are easily s ...
12:00 PM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    60 mins
    Barista Workflow and Efficiency is an interactive 60-minute workshop crafted for baristas, managers, and cafe owners eager to build a faster, smoother coffee bar operation. This class dives deep into ...
02:00 PM
  1. Cupping Corner
    90 mins
    From co-ferments to infused lots, coffee processing is entering a bold new era—one that’s redefining how we think about flavor, quality, and innovation. In this tasting-focused workshop, you’ll explor ...
08:00 AM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    150 mins
    Taught by our LAWCO (Latte Art World Championship) judges, this 2.5-hour small-group workshop offers intensive instruction on the core techniques of crafting espresso-based beverages. You'll receive p ...
  2. Cupping Corner
    120 mins
    Evaluating coffee’s sensorial qualities is a skill that one develops over time, but just how does one begin to develop these skills? In this workshop, you will learn the basic theory behind taste and ...
  3. Tech Lab
    120 mins
    Join us in the Tech Lab for a hands-on introduction to grinder fundamentals. This workshop covers how grind size impacts flavor, how to dial in for different brew methods, and how to troubleshoot inco ...
08:30 AM
  1. Meet at Registration
    90 mins
    Dive into the essentials of crafting trending tea beverages with a strong focus on matcha. This interactive workshop starts with tea basics, and from there we explores what makes quality matcha, prepa ...
11:00 AM
  1. Latte Art Venue
    60 mins
    We all know the recipe: 18 grams in, 36 grams out, 30 seconds. It works great... until it doesn't. When you put a bright and complex single origin coffee in the grinder, that tried-and-true formula ca ...
11:45 AM
  1. Cupping Corner
    120 mins
    Este taller de cata se realizará en español - una oportunidad para catar y compartir en nuestro idioma. Este curso introductorio te enseñará los fundamentos de la cata de café, el método estándar de l ...
02:00 PM
  1. Cupping Corner
    90 mins
    Do you really know what “washed,” “natural,” and “honey” mean—and how they differ from newer terms like anaerobic, carbonic maceration, or double fermentation? In today’s rapidly evolving coffee lands ...