Coffee made simple (not really)

Looking for a coffee shop in Hanoi is not difficult, but searching for the ‘right’ coffee shop to work for took some time. Initially, I considered taking a barista course for beginners but I’m a practical person, opposed to the theory approach. Starting from ground up has always been my approach to just about everything new, even if it means getting my hands dirty. So fast forward to some weeks searching and some friends kept suggesting a shop called ‘Simple Coffee’. NOTE: I was newly blogging my visits to Hanoi coffee shops at the time (Instagram @brakesnbakes if you want to check it out). My friends said their coffee was great and I should check it out for my blog.

So I looked into Simple Coffee and found they were very different. They are a social enterprise dedicated to selling fair trade coffee from Vietnamese farmers, partners of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, believe in vocational training for young adults with intellectual disabilities and being environmentally conscious. I used to work for a social enterprise IT company back in London for over 7 years and I absolutely love the social enterprise business model, so finding one in Hanoi was a bit surreal.

It was a long shot, but I sent Simple Coffee a message via their FaceBook asking whether they did barista training (and if they would take me under their wing). Few days later, met the amazing owners and not long afterwards, I was accepted to start the Barista 101 internship consisting of 100 hours training in shop. To say I was happy was an understatement. I was ECSTATIC! My barista journey was about to unfold and the real test yet to begin. Over the next few posts, I’ll be sharing my experiences and feelings during my time working as a beginner barista, and where I’m at now with my barista journey. Come along and join the ride!