Our passion is to provide the best barista courses and coffee training in Melbourne.
Whether you’re looking to become a barista or a seasoned professional, our barista courses are designed to elevate your skills and inspire a commitment to excellence. We also believe that anyone can brew exceptional coffee at home with the right guidance. A lot of our courses are suited to home coffee enthusiasts who want to replicate café-quality coffee in their kitchen or office, helping you achieve professional standards from the comfort of home.
Barista Trainers
CHARLES SKADIANG
Our director, Charles has over 20 years of experience in the coffee industry and previously worked with Dukes Coffee Roasters as their head trainer and barista. In the 8 years he was there, he oversaw their in-house coffee program and was involved in the setup and training of most of their wholesale accounts. This involved training thousands of baristas and developing one of the most efficient and quality-focused coffee bars in Melbourne. Over the years, Charles has competed in various regional and national competitions, most recently winning the South Regional Brewers Cup in 2016. He has also competed and regularly placed in the top 3 of various barista, latte art and brewers cup championships since 2009.
Since founding MCA, Charles has consulted or collaborated with various industry leaders including Oatly, La Marzocco, Riverina Milk, Wood and Co. Coffee, Slayer and Waterman Business Centres.
| LinkedIn Profile |
JUSTIN YAP
Justin has spent the last 15 years working at the highest levels of the specialty coffee industry. He has been a Head Barista and Trainer at several top Melbourne cafes, a despatch manager and Roaster at Dukes Coffee and is a certified Q Grader. On top of that, Justin is a seriously accomplished and talented musician. His band, Rambal even won the Group of the Year award at the 2018 Australian Blues Music Awards. Justin has been our full-time barista trainer at MCA since 2023 and has experience training thousands of people over the years.
JADE JENNINGS
Jade comes to us with a wealth of experience and achievements in the coffee industry. She has worked in countless different roles, most notably as the National Training Manager for Veneziano Coffee Roasters. She is also the 2 time South Regional Barista Champion and runner-up Australian Barista Champion in 2016. On top of that, Jade is also a wonderful mum to 2 beautiful kids. She has worked at the highest levels of the specialty coffee industry over the years and is one of the most experienced barista trainers in Australia.
MURTAZA PISHORI
Murtaza first came to us as a student back in 2021 when he did the Barista Masterclass. Over the years he has gone on to work at some of the top cafes and roasteries in Melbourne including Padre, Industry Beans, Nigel and the Lilydale General. This led him back to us where he is now managing the coffee bar at our Ringwood location and training people on how to make delicious coffee. This is a testament to our dedication to creating future pathways for baristas and producing the best coffee professionals in the industry. Besides working at MCA, he also runs his own green coffee business importing high quality Yemeni coffee and has a coffee brand and trailer called Continuum Coffee.
REUBEN DOUGLAS
Reuben has been working in hospitality since the age of 13 and is a true professional within the specialty coffee industry. He has worked at some of Australia’s leading cafés, most notably as Venue Manager at Dukes Coffee Roasters and as Operations Manager and Head of Coffee at Bearboy Espresso.
He is deeply passionate about people, music, and education, and is always striving to push the boundaries of excellence. Reuben brings a wealth of experience, technical expertise, and a diverse skillset to the team at Melbourne Coffee Academy.
Coffee Training Academy
One of the most exciting parts of our training academy are our locations. We are situated within Waterman Business Centres in Collins Street Melbourne, Caribbean Park Scoresby and Eastland Shopping Centre Ringwood. This is home to hundreds of other tenants and small businesses, which means the courses are held within a public space, simulating the realities of a cafe environment. This cuts to the heart of what we are about - practical, highly focused coffee training that delivers practical competence in real-life situations.
