Barista school has more than coffee brewing

NEW YORK CITY--The craft of brewing a good cup of coffee is something many take for granted. Not TampTamp.

Located on Mercer Street in Greenwich Village, TampTamp is one of the East Coast's only barista-training schools, and one of the premier programs in the country. The instructors at TampTamp are dedicated to teaching professional brewers-to-be the methods and techniques needed to create the best cup of coffee. 

"Preparation isn't easy. We like to make it look easy, but we still value the work that goes into it," said Neil Oney.

The coffee craftsman spoke with an air of excitement and pride. 

Neil Oney and Anne Nylander started the program in 2008 as TempTamp, a barista catering service, and expanded into teaching and company solutions for coffee houses. Food and Wine Magazine featured their coffee at items 19 through 22 on its "100 Best New Food Experiences." TampTamp has also been covered by the New York Times and Barista Magazine.

TampTamp's teachers consider brewing to be serious business; students enter national brewing competitions with some success. 

The name of the business comes from ‘tamping', which is the act of physically packing espresso before making the beverage. TampTamp is housed in the rented basement of a separate coffee shop, and the school's stainless steel furnishings exude practicality. 

Naturally, the smell of coffee saturates the room.

Sarah Leslie, a former student, participated in her first barista competition recently, and was proud to test her skills. Others have gone onto national contests, a few breaking into finals and one placing seventh out of the country.  

Oney has also competed, achieving eighth place with his first foray. When asked whether he would compete again, he replied, "maybe next year. Preparing is a lot of work, I spent 500 hours practicing last time."

When asked whether the school will expand to include more students Oney responded, "In the next few months we're hoping to renovate the lab." He continued, "we find that having smaller classes often grant more attention and hands-on time."

Don't look around for a TampTamp coffee house however. According to Oney, the program deals in pupils, not products.

"In the future we might sell coffee for people in offices. Right now we're focusing on things we do well."

Student Leslie had nothing but praise for Nylander and Oney's program. "I think they're both strong teachers. They know the material and are very approachable," she said.


She continued, "It [the class] was exciting. It was a lot of work and I learned a lot."

Mr. Oney also spoke on TampTamp's trek into the coffee industry. 

"Really it's not very difficult to break into the coffee community; everyone is friendly and outgoing." He added, laughing, "And they love to talk."

 

Note: The WJI Times Observer would like to thank Dawn Fotopulos of www.BestSmallBizHelp.com for this story idea.