Emma
Matthew Algie is a well known face in Glasgow, but did you know that from 1864 until 1950 they were all about tea?!
Born in Greenock, Mr Algie was a grocer who sold tea and decided to blend his own and sell his own tea to the retailers of Glasgow. Then in the 50’s coffee started to creep into Glasgow and Algies started to sell this too. From the 70’s Matthew Algie started to sell coffee machines to offices, hotels and restaurants, moving away from instant to the real stuff.
Growing in 1983 to covering the whole of the UK, filter coffee came into prominence and then the first espresso machine in 1989. Other landmarks include introducing the UK’s first ever Fairtrade espresso bean in 1997, in 2003 they launched their Roasted to Order range and 1997 also introduced the UK’s first ever Fairtrade espresso bean.
In 2003 they launched their Roasted to Order range and in 2004, another UK-first: triple certified espresso that’s Fairtrade, organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Now Matthew Algie specialises in coffee and provide everything, from the machines, to the parts to training the staff.
The training day comprises of :-
- Making all the key drinks in a basic coffee menu
- Steaming milk
- Keeping your equipment clean
The course in detail
- It’s all about the coffee – from where it originated to where it is today
- Part of the process – where coffee grows, how it’s processed and roasted
- Keep it fresh – coffee shelf life and storage
- Know your equipment – what it’s called, what you need and how to use it safely
- Perfect espresso – how to grind it, dose it, tamp it and brew it
- Milk best practice – how to get the best out of milk, from store to pour
- Drinks – practice putting it altogether to make fantastic coffees
- Cleaning – clean as you go and daily cleaning advice to keep your kit healthy
Lots to keep us occupied and learning lots. I came away with a whole new respect for coffee baristas, and annoying people by watching them closely to see how they do it all.
Learning how to froth milk properly
super new machine from Matthew Algie, places the right amount of pressure without you killing your arm in the process.
learning to make a proper crema
checking the crema
proper milk art
I’ll stick to blogging!
one of the other participants attempts, a good ghost!
Excellent training, found out all the good and bad things to do, what to look out for when someone is making coffee for you as well as how to make a perfect espresso. Thankfully I mastered one art but not the foam art 🙁 Free training is available if you are supplied by Matthew Algie.
