I have always wanted to take a group of undergraduate students to Vienna. I love the city and its coffee houses, even though some of the old establishments are more interesting because of their history not because of the superiority of their coffee! I am an educator at a liberal arts college who has always wanted to share his love for coffee with students. My college has a four-week term that is dedicated to experiential learning and that students take outside of their major or minor, enabling them to explore subjects that don't fall within their disciplines. I have decided to offer my next term on coffee culture, and it seems to be finally happening in early 2016. Our group of approx. 15 seeks to explore coffee from a variety of different angles.

My idea has been to find a nice independent place in Vienna that is younger (as opposed to the slightly staid Viennese tradition), preferably third-wave (loosely meaning: serving fresh and not overroasted coffee) and open to sharing their knowledge with a bunch of curious well-behaved undergraduates. I myself and one of my students are well-versed when it comes to coffee exploration. We are true coffee geeks of many years and would like to cultivate the palates of the other group members (who have an interest in coffee but have probably never been exposed to a quality beverage). We want them to truly discover the beverage and the magic it holds. With that in mind, we would love to create some sort of workshop setting in Vienna that would allow us to experiment with coffee and learn about roasting and brewing methods, presumably with the guidance of the owner(s). There would be, of course, financial compensation for someone who'd be willing to entertain our project.

For those who know Vienna it will be clear that aside from its loveliness, the traditional Viennese coffee house culture will not be accessible for such a project. From my own experience, they love regulars and tourists in their sitting area but are not really enthralled with the bean itself. Also, they are mostly unfamiliar with the American liberal arts and have a hard time believing that one could come to a coffee house to pursue study of coffee in an academic context.

Thanks to BuckleyT's earlier post on the Viennese third wave coffee scene! Buckley, if you read this, do you have a recommendation for me what cafe to approach?

I could certainly make some cold calls and shoot some emails to fish for responses. If anyone has a pointer, though, I'd really appreciate it as I could then pinpoint my search.

Sorry Bak Ta Lo and BuckleyT for my late reply. This sounds like excellent advice! Thank you. I haven't contacted her but will do so very soon.
Looking at her training facility, this look amazing. She's got some interesting equipment!

Well, I had a nice initial contact with Johanna and had then inquired about setting up actual workshops. I haven't heard back since and will be happy to wait some more. However, if the Vienna School of Coffee falls through, does anyone have a backup recommendation?

BuckleyT, you posted a list of new third-wavish Viennese coffee houses. My idea was to try those next and see. Did any of these places stand out as open to turning into training ground? The typical staid and traditional coffee house will not be the right place to do what we want to do (nor would their owners probably entertain any such thought).