Pulling espresso
Ratio, time and taste. You’ll learn to tell a sour shot from a bitter one and adjust until it lands.
See the module ›Free online barista course, taught from a real café bar
Free course
Scotia Café is a small coffee shop in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. We took what it actually takes to make coffee for a living and turned it into online lessons you can follow from anywhere: espresso, milk, latte art, speed on a busy bar, and landing your first barista job. It’s free. No card, and nothing to buy later.
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Latte art
Heart, tulip, rosetta. Pitcher height, flow and the wiggle, slowed right down.
See the module ›Getting hired
What café owners look for, how to talk about your skills with no café on your résumé, and how to handle a trial shift.
See the module ›Where the course starts: a classic double shot
- Dose
- 18 g
- Yield
- 36 g
- Time
- 25–30 s
- Ratio
- 1 : 2
By the end of the espresso module you’ll know why these numbers move, and which way to turn the grinder when the shot tastes off.
The course, module by module
The order is the order we’d teach you in on your first weeks behind our counter. Each lesson builds on the one before it, and you go at your own pace.
Coffee before the machine
Where beans come from, what roast level changes in the cup, and why the roast date matters more than anything on the front of the bag.
Grind and dose
Setting a grinder, weighing a dose, then distributing and tamping so every shot starts from the same place.
Pulling espresso
Ratio, time and taste. You’ll learn to tell a sour shot from a bitter one and adjust until it lands.
Steaming milk
Stretching, rolling and stopping at the right temperature. Dairy, oat and other plant milks each behave differently, so we cover them one by one.
Latte art
Heart, tulip, rosetta. Pitcher height, flow and the wiggle, slowed right down.
The drinks menu
Espresso, cortado, flat white, cappuccino, latte and americano, with sizes and ratios that stay consistent from cup to cup.
Working a busy bar
Reading tickets, sequencing drinks, keeping your station clean mid-rush, and the daily and weekly machine cleaning nobody tells you about.
Getting hired
What café owners look for, how to talk about your skills with no café on your résumé, and how to handle a trial shift.
You can watch every lesson without equipment. To practise the espresso and milk modules you’ll want a machine, whether that’s a home setup or the one at work.
A café first, a classroom second
We’re an independent coffee shop in New Glasgow, in Pictou County. Teaching someone the bar from zero is part of running a café, and we’ve done it enough times to know where people get stuck.
This course is that teaching, put online so you don’t have to live near us to learn it. We made it free because nobody should have to pay to find out whether they like the job.
Straight answers
Is it really free?
Yes. We don’t ask for a card, there’s no trial that turns into a subscription, and there’s no paid upgrade waiting at the end.
Do I need an espresso machine?
Not to follow along. You can go through every lesson on a phone or laptop. You’ll need a machine, at home or at work, to practise the espresso and milk skills.
Will this get me a job?
No course can promise that, and we won’t. What it gives you is the vocabulary and habits café owners look for, so your interview and trial shift go better.
What language are the lessons in?
The lessons are in English.
Who can sign up?
Anyone in Canada or the United States who is 13 or older. If you’re under the age of majority where you live, please check with a parent or guardian first.
What do you do with my email?
We send your access link and the course lessons. Café news only if you tick that box. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and we never sell your details.