[Prompt: Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?]
One of my best learning experiences is when I took a course on being a barista. I enjoyed it because I like drinking coffee and I have spent a lot of time exploring different coffee shops to try new flavors. Learning to be a barista gives me a whole new aspect on coffee for I get to see it from the inside. It solves questions like how a cup of coffee is made, how the espresso machines work, why do americanos and pour over coffee taste so differently when they are both made from grind beans and hot water, etc.
So naturally, I became so interested in this course even before it had started. And when I attended the first class I enjoyed the experience even more because I found out that the latte art and pour over coffee making has a lot to do with my education background: mechanics and chemistry, which I also enjoyed learning in high school.
Latte art is how heated milk foam interacts with espresso coffee in order to make beautiful patterns. It is more like fluid mechanics in practice. The shape of the cups and the pitchers (which are used to steam the milk) also has a lot to do with the forming of the patterns. The professionals even use 3D modeling software to figure out the best shape of a pitcher. Pour over coffee is very chemistry oriented because the barista has to experiment on the temperature of the water, the amount of water used on given weight of coffee beans, the way to pour water over the coffee grind, and the time of the brewing process, to find the best way to extract the flavor of one kind of coffee beans.
This learning experience became one of my best experiences because it is a topic that I am already very interested in and curious about, and willing to take classes on. And it is relevant to what I already knew so I could extend my knowledge on mechanics and chemistry to coffee, making it easy to understand yet challenging enough to stay focused. And throughout the course I got the answers to the previous questions I had on coffee and at the end, I got the certificates as well as skills on coffee making so I could create and explore new coffee flavors on my own.
Huatian He
Month: May 2021
Hello, I’m Huatian he, a freshman in UVic social sciences. I’m an international student from China. Because of the relationship of covid19, I’m studying in UVic in China through online courses.
I like football and history very much. Through football, I can realize the importance of teamwork. History can witness the glory and desolation of a country.
I hope I can learn different knowledge in EDCI 335. Thank you.
Huatian He
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