I’m barely back from the amazing 2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo and touring that city’s vibrant coffee and food scene and find myself already making plans to go back to Australia.  That’s right, I’m excited to announce two new Sydney Q Grader courses and at least one new Q Grader Calibration course in Sydney this year.

For anyone who may have missed this year’s show and 2013 World Barista Championship be sure to check out Sprudge.com’s wrap-up of the finals and see my view from the show floor in in this summary from M.I.C.E. exhibitor Single Origin Roasters.  From all those international visitors whom I spoke with at or after the event, it was clear that this year’s expo has put Melbourne on the map as possibly the world’s #1 city for coffee. Really.  Loosely paraphrasing one respected industry figure, “there are a number of cities like Portland, San Francisco, New York, London, Seoul, Tokyo, etc. where you can find a great cup of coffee but none like Melbourne where it’s hard to find a bad one.”

The Sydney Q Grader courses will be held at Single Origin Roasters‘ brand spankin’ new SCAA Certified Lab:

  • July 29 – August 3
  • October 14 – 19

…and at least one Q Calibration course:

  • July 27

The Q courses are priced at A$1895 + GST and will be among the first courses worldwide to follow the enhanced Q 4.0 course format and testing standards (e.g. 6 days, not 5).  The calibration course (A$350 + GST) is a one-day program that is required every 36 months to retain active status as a Q Grader.  If you obtained your Q Grader license in 2011 or earlier, you must attend (and pass) 2 of 3 coffee flights given in a calibration course in order to remain a Q Grader.

You can learn more about the courses at Single Origin Roasters and how to register from their website, which I understand will allow you to register and pay online in the near future too.

Contact us about future courses

See you back in Australia soon.