Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share a series of upcoming classes in Seattle that focus on making espresso and steaming milk at home. We're continuing our Barista Basics Class, and are happy to announce we've added a Milk Basics & Latte Art class into the mix.

Classes usually fill up quickly, so if you're in Seattle and are interested, be sure to check out the Events page (http://home.lamarzoccousa.com/events/) on our site and get your name in.

Be on the lookout for additional classes in other cities around the US in the future.

A bit more on each class:

Barista Basics Class:

Join us for our Friday morning Home Barista Basics class at the La Marzocco USA showroom in Seattle. Making espresso at home can be intimidating, but by understanding the basics you will learn to fall in love with the ritual of being a barista in your home. A professional barista will teach you how to make your favorite drinks on the La Marzocco GS/3 and the Linea Mini.

Here are the topics that we will cover:

Targeting your ideal espresso
Basic Espresso Theory
Hands-On Espresso Brewing
Hands-On Milk Steaming
You don't need to have past barista experience, just a passion for espresso and the coffee making ritual. We're looking forward to hosting you.

Milk Basics Class:

Join us for our Home Milk Basics Class at the MiiR flagship store in Seattle. Adding steamed milk to espresso can make or break a drink, but by understanding the basics of milk steaming, you'll learn to balance temperature, texture, and consistency to ensure you're adding the best milk possible to your espresso. A professional barista will teach you how to make your favorite drinks on the La Marzocco Linea Mini and GS3.

Here are the topics that we will cover:

• Milk Basics & Taste
• Milk Steaming
• Latte Art Technique

You don't need to have past barista experience, just a passion for espresso and the coffee making ritual. We're looking forward to hosting you.

Suggested Prerequisite: Barista Basics Class

Sign-up now: http://home.lamarzoccousa.com/events/

That Linea Mini looks great in white.

Any chance you'll put together a video of some of the more interesting bits and post it online?

Absolutely-we're always working on new content. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?

Nothing too much in particular, but videos showing the new home machines and "home barista" techniques might be good to add to your video lineups. I didn't see anything like that on the LaMarzocco youtube account.

For beginners: Everyone always has questions about how a shot should look when it starts, how long to pull, how much to pull and what that means to the flavors in the cup. A whole video on how to handle the loads and adjust the grind/load/flush/pull to obtain an excellent shot.
(Yeah, that's what people go to real training for, but beginners love to see demos from pros and on the machines they long for.)
Introduction of the new scales would be good if that's pertinent to the discussion.

Ubiquitous milk steaming and pouring hints on the new machines would be a good thing too.

I think if you can get people with less experience pulling better shots it will move more machines. There are many great cafes around these days, but chances are the one closest to you isn't great and if you can pull a better shot on your own... Buy a La Marzocco and be happy!
(I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing your Linea Mini will do a fine job of pulling great flavors from some great SO beans, so put those into the mix on your demos. SO can be so much more interesting than a chocolate bomb blend, and your testers might be won over by that too - no need to keep them separate from milk either.)

Too bad I'm not in Seattle! I'd definitely sign up.