Top Six Reasons To Attend Camp Pull-a-Shot

From the great Mid-Atlantic Chapter Representative Julie Housch:


  1. become a better barista.

You’re not going to be shooting espresso from your fingertips by the end of the your stay (maybe you’ll feel like you could, though), but by attending Camp Pull-A-Shot you’ll have the opportunity to attend classes, group sessions, mini-competitions, and be around so many things barista that you will come away with at least ONE thing learned. Will it be how to brew a better cup of coffee? Proper dosing? Perfecting a latte art pour? How to get more tips from a customer? What different coffee tastes like? What Santa Barbara looks like? I’m pretty sure I could list an entire page of things you could potentially learn at Camp Pull-A-Shot. And if you have already mastered these things that I’ve listed or could potentially list then you can freely enter into a battle of wits with me wherein you’ll learn how stubborn I can be. SEE WHAT I DID THERE?

  1. get certified

The Barista Guild offers TWO levels of barista certification right now. Attend Camp Pull-A-Shot and have the opportunity to take BOTH certification exams. Yes, from zero to two could be you!

why get certified?

  1. Demonstrate your knowledge of industry standards.
  2. Contribute to legitimizing your job as a coffee professional/barista.
  3. Expanding the pool of legitimate coffee professionals/baristas.
  4. To possess a measurable skill set that you can to add to your resume and/or provide as a reason your boss should give you a raise (for reasons listed above and beyond).

  1. save money.

If you were to get level 1 and 2 certified at another time it
would cost you $625 - that's not including meals and lodging and grand ol' time!

We understand that you’ll probably have to take time off from work, travel, and pay for camp. We hope that your boss or roaster or coffee patron will help you cover these costs, but even if you’re footing the bill yourself the total Camp Pull-A-Shot value is more than the amount of money you’ll be spending.

The bare-bones equation:

+

Level 1 & 2 Certification Tests

3 Nights Lodging

All Meals

2 Group Lectures

1 Camp Tournament

Perks & Surprises

$550

Yeah, you expect me to say priceless. And, yes, the experience will be.

But it’s only $550 for Camp Pull-A-Shot.

Do the math.

I mean, could you really stay anywhere for three nights and feed yourself and do some activities for less than $600? And I don’t mean sleeping on your friend’s couch, either. We’re not asking you to do that.

  1. meet baristas, build barista community, hang out with baristas.

This assumes you enjoy being a barista, think other baristas can be pretty fun people, want to be a better barista, want other baristas to be better, too, and want to pursue this over three days with lots of barista tools and knowledge laying around, and, hey, conveniently sans customers? (not that customers are bad, more that you won’t be expected to make them a latte when you’re trying to work on your tamp)

  1. camp out.

The photos speak for themselves here (http://www.elcapitancanyon.com - click on the photo link, or just google map the place and view “more photos”), but, this isn’t Camp Beverly Hills. Or Camp Firewood. Or any fearsome summer camp you may have attended. It’s Southern California in October. Where most places are starting to feel the frost, you’ll be able to feel sand between your toes and see the Pacific Ocean, and maybe work on that barista tan just a little bit. Oh, and there are fire pits and s’mores kits.

  1. have fun.

See #4.


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