Marlene Durand is a passionate entrepreneur from Hot District, Lamphun, Thailand, known for her warm smile and an even warmer dream. Her vision is to open a Home Café where people in her community can discover and appreciate the world of specialty coffee, moving beyond simply drinking coffee to truly understanding it.

Surrounded by the mountains of northern Thailand, Marlene manages her family's longan and date palm orchards. Today, her passion has expanded to coffee, and she is planning to cultivate coffee on her own land, creating a farm-to-cup journey that reflects her dedication to quality and sustainability.

To prepare for this next chapter, Marlene chose Thailand Barista School's Private 1-on-1 training. She valued the privacy and personalized learning experience, where every question could be asked openly and every lesson could be tailored to her goals. This focused approach allowed her to build a solid foundation with confidence and clarity.

"It was absolutely worth flying here. The knowledge is incredibly comprehensive, and the food is amazing!"

At Thailand Barista School, we believe that every student has a unique story and a unique destination. Our role is to provide the scientific knowledge, practical skills, and personal guidance that help transform passion into expertise.

We look forward to seeing Marlene's Home Café become a place where her community can experience the true value of specialty coffee, from the farm to the cup.

I’m Aum, originally from Kalasin, but I’ve been living on Koh Phangan for many years. Together with my sister, we run several businesses, including car rentals and pool villas. Coffee has always been a dream of mine, and now it’s finally becoming a reality.

The café is almost ready. Before opening, I knew there was one thing I couldn't compromise on, knowledge. I wanted to learn the right way before serving my first cup of coffee. Most of our customers will be visitors from Russia and Lebanon, so I want to make sure they receive the best experience from day one.

I always believe that learning is the first step, but it has to be with someone who truly understands the subject.

That is why I chose Thailand Barista School and Dr. Bay.

The course gave me much more than coffee recipes. I learned the science behind coffee, practical barista skills, workflow, extraction, and the standards required to build a professional coffee business. Every lesson was clear, practical, and immediately applicable.

I can honestly say I have no regrets. Everything I learned here will be part of my café when we open. It has given me confidence to start this new business with the right foundation.

If you're thinking about opening a coffee shop, my advice is simple: don't rush into buying equipment. Invest in knowledge first. Learning from the right instructor will save you time, money, and many costly mistakes.

Thank you, Dr. Bay and Thailand Barista School, for helping me take the first step toward making my dream café a reality.

For Abdullah Alsayed, coffee is more than a passion. It has become an important part of his family's business and a vision for the future.

While his family has long been involved in the seafood import industry, Abdullah developed a deep interest in specialty coffee. Over the years, he has traveled throughout Thailand many times, especially to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, where he discovered the quality, diversity, and potential of Thai coffee.

Today, Thai coffee is increasingly popular among customers in Saudi Arabia. To meet this growing demand, Abdullah partners with coffee roasters in Thailand, who roast and export coffee directly to Saudi Arabia. He has also established his own coffee shop, Coffee Bank, where he continues to introduce high-quality specialty coffee to his local market.

However, Abdullah soon realized that building a successful coffee business requires more than simply buying and selling coffee.

"I came here because I want to communicate my requirements accurately and professionally. Speaking the same language as the roaster is essential. It prevents misunderstandings and ensures the coffee is roasted exactly as I expect."

During his training at Thailand Barista School, Abdullah focused on coffee science, roasting terminology, and the technical language used throughout the coffee supply chain. His goal was not to become a professional roaster, but to become a knowledgeable coffee buyer, café owner, and business partner who could confidently work alongside coffee producers and roasters.

Another part of the experience left a lasting impression on him.

"What I truly appreciated was that Dr. Bay understood and respected my dietary requirements and religious practices. Even though we come from different cultures and beliefs, I always felt comfortable and respected throughout the course."

For Abdullah, learning coffee was about much more than technical knowledge. It was about building confidence, developing professional communication, and finding a learning environment founded on mutual respect and cultural understanding.

Muslim-Friendly Training

At Thailand Barista School, we respect cultural diversity and religious practices. We provide a welcoming, Muslim-friendly learning environment where students from around the world can focus on learning with confidence and peace of mind.

This week has been one of the most exciting weeks at Thailand Barista School as we welcomed three coffee professionals from three different countries to join our Q Grader course.

Before this class began, Dr. Tana had the opportunity to attend the All About Q program in Korea, where he met Peter, one of the key developers behind the new Paradigm 4th Value Assessment (CVA). The experience reinforced an important idea: modern coffee evaluation is no longer just about finding defects. It is about understanding the true value of coffee through structured, objective sensory assessment.

This week's students represent three very different parts of the coffee industry.

• Adwaith Menon
  Head Roasting , Barista, Slake Coffee, Lyon, France

• Abdullah Alsayed
  Coffee Bank Owner, Saudi Arabia

• Wipha Sangnanok
  Founder, Sanatan Coffee, Thailand

Although they come from different countries and different backgrounds, they all share one goal: to become better coffee evaluators.

The Q Grader program is much more than learning how to cup coffee.

A professional coffee evaluator must understand how to identify defects, recognize non-uniformity, follow international cupping protocols, and apply proper cupping table etiquette. Every decision must be objective, repeatable, and supported by evidence rather than personal preference.

Throughout the six-day course, Dr. Tana and Mr. Pat, both Authorized SCA Trainers (AST), guide students through every assessment panel in detail. Rather than simply explaining what to do, they focus on why each evaluation exists, what the objective of each panel is, and how experienced Q Graders make consistent decisions.

Students spend intensive hands-on sessions covering topics including:

• Main Taste Identification

• Olfactory Recognition

• Cupping Assessment

• Sumatra Test

• Green Coffee Grading

• Roast Defect Evaluation

• Extrinsic Assessment

• Calibration Techniques

• Professional Evaluation Methods

What makes this course different is that we don't stop at the official curriculum.

At Thailand Barista School, we believe that passing an examination should never be the final goal. The real goal is becoming confident enough to evaluate coffee in the real world.

That is why we have added five additional practical training tables beyond the traditional CQI learning standard. These extra sessions are designed from years of teaching, roasting, sourcing, and evaluating coffee, helping students develop deeper sensory skills and stronger analytical thinking.

Our philosophy is simple.

The more knowledge you gain, the more confident you become.
The more practical experience you receive, the better decisions you can make.
And those skills stay with you long after the certificate has been earned.

If you are looking for a Q Grader course that focuses not only on passing the exam but also on building real professional capability, we would be delighted to welcome you to Thailand Barista School.

Behind every successful coffee business is someone who never stops learning.

Pui Wipha Sangnanok is the driving force behind SantanaKoff and one of the pioneers of Sanatana Coffee. What began as a single café in Muang Thong Thani has now grown to two branches, with an ambitious goal of expanding to 10 branches by the end of 2026.

Pui has been learning with me for a long time. Her journey at Thailand Barista School has included Brewing, Sensory Skills Foundation, Green Coffee, CVA, and several other specialty coffee courses.

This week, she returned once again to strengthen her sensory foundation before taking the Q Grader course next week.

When I asked why she keeps coming back, she smiled and said:

"Every time I come back, I enjoy it. I gain so much knowledge, and the food is always amazing!"

Then she added something that meant even more to me:

"What I learn here goes far beyond the textbooks. Teacher Bay teaches the reality of coffee. Coffee changes every year. Sensory evaluation is essential. Understanding where a coffee stands in terms of quality, and knowing how to improve it through roasting, is far more valuable to my business than simply memorizing theory."

That is exactly why sensory education matters.

Coffee is not a fixed recipe. Origins change. Harvests change. Processing methods evolve. Markets change. If we cannot accurately evaluate coffee, we cannot consistently improve it.

To anyone serious about coffee, my advice is simple:

Come and learn.

YouTube is a fantastic place to get started, but it cannot teach everything. Many of the most valuable lessons come from years of experience, real-world problem solving, and thousands of cups tasted over time.

As an instructor, my commitment is simple:

I teach everything I know, because your success is the true measure of mine. ☕

Ploy Tassanatarn, a cabin crew member at Thai AirAsia, is someone who continues to invest in herself beyond her main profession.

After many years of working as cabin crew, Ploy is still actively flying. But whenever she has free time, she continues to seek new knowledge and develop new skills for her future.

Before joining Thailand Barista School, Ploy had already studied and passed wine assessment training, and she has now achieved Level 2.

For her, learning SCA Sensory Skills is another important step. It helps strengthen her sensory ability in both wine and coffee, two different fields that share the same foundation: the ability to observe, describe, compare, and understand what we taste.

Sensory learning is not only useful. It is also enjoyable.

Knowledge plus enjoyment can sometimes open a new door in life. One day, this journey may turn a cabin crew member into a true sensory specialist.

Who knows? ☕🍷

For more than 13 years, Siew Cheng Chew has built a successful career in real estate, helping investors from Singapore purchase and manage rental condominiums in Thailand.

Although coffee was never her profession, it was always part of her daily life. Like many coffee enthusiasts, she bought coffee beans, experimented with brewing methods, and learned through trial and error. Yet one question remained unanswered:

"Is this coffee actually good?"

Or more importantly,

"How do I know what I'm tasting?"

That is why she chose to begin with SCA Sensory Skills.

As her trainer, I can confidently say it was the right decision.

I often tell my students:

If you don't know how to taste coffee, you won't know how to make coffee.

Before learning brewing techniques, roasting profiles, or espresso recipes, you first need to understand what defines a quality coffee according to internationally recognized standards.

The word "good" is not based on personal opinion. It can be evaluated through sensory analysis using a common language and established criteria.

The word "delicious," however, belongs to Affective Assessment. It reflects personal preference, and there is no right or wrong answer.

Sensory training is more than learning how to taste coffee. It provides the foundation for understanding coffee, communicating its characteristics, and making informed decisions throughout the entire coffee value chain.

Congratulations, Siew Cheng Chew, on this important milestone.

Every great coffee professional begins with the same first step:

Learn to taste before learning to make. ☕

For Nawid Ramazan, a young Canadian with a deep appreciation for nature, Krabi is more than a travel destination. Its limestone cliffs, sea breeze, warm sunlight, and peaceful atmosphere have become a place where he envisions building a meaningful future.

Beyond his passion for outdoor adventures, Nawid embraces a vegetarian lifestyle, believing that true well-being comes from caring for both personal health and the world around us. Living with intention and compassion shapes many of his daily choices, including the coffee he drinks.

Coffee has always been an important part of his life. His dream is simple yet inspiring: to open a small café in Krabi where visitors can slow down, connect with nature, and enjoy thoughtfully prepared coffee in a relaxed environment.

To turn that vision into reality, Nawid chose to study the SCA Barista Foundation and Intermediate courses at Thailand Barista School. Through structured training, hands-on practice, and a scientific understanding of coffee preparation, he is building the skills needed to transform passion into craftsmanship.

Every student arrives with a different story. Nawid arrived with a dream carried by the wind and the sea, seeking not just to make coffee, but to create moments of happiness for others.

Coffee is more than a beverage. It is happiness you can drink.

Aung Zeyar Oo, a young man from Myanmar and a student in Austria, carries a simple but meaningful dream. He wants to master the art and science of coffee, then return home to open his own café in Mandalay, sharing knowledge, craftsmanship, and hospitality with his community.

Mandalay is more than just a city. It is a place filled with history, culture, warmth, and timeless charm. Its streets, traditions, and people create an atmosphere that captivates both visitors and those who call it home. For Aung, it is where his future belongs.

Learning Brewing is not merely about following recipes or pressing buttons on a machine. It is an art where every variable is guided by human hands. Grind size, water temperature, pouring technique, extraction time, and attention to detail all come together to create a perfect cup. The brewer becomes both an artist and a scientist, shaping every sip through skill and intention.

At Thailand Barista School, we are proud to be part of Aung's journey, helping transform his passion into expertise and supporting his vision of bringing exceptional coffee culture back to Mandalay.

Mr. Boss from A-arabica first connected with Thailand Barista School after attending my seminar and expressed a strong desire for his team to gain deeper knowledge in coffee sensory evaluation.

Through this learning journey, we had the opportunity to share the experience of coffee assessment based on Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) standards, including the application of the new evaluation framework, Coffee Value Assessment (CVA).

Coffee tasting begins with one essential word: Flavor.

Flavor is composed of three interconnected elements:

Aroma + Taste + Touch.

Before we can evaluate intensity or quality within each component, we must first understand how these sensory dimensions work together to shape the overall coffee experience.

The value of coffee is closely tied to the evaluator's precision, calibration, and sensory accuracy. The ability to identify Non-uniformity and Defects remains at the heart of professional coffee assessment. This process requires disciplined sensory skills, including Triangulation techniques and the practical “In and Out” testing approach, asking a fundamental question:

"Does this cup remain consistent with the first cup?"

Throughout the course, Mr. Boss demonstrated strong sensory capability and a clear understanding of coffee differentiation and evaluation skills. His performance reflects both the dedication expected from Thailand Barista School students and the professional standards upheld by the SCA.

We are pleased to see his continued growth and commitment toward deeper coffee understanding and sensory excellence.