With over 20 years of training budding baristas under her belt, owner of Little House Coffee Co., Bunty Grech, aims to one day build a coffee empire in Penrith. But, until then, she’s starting at home.
Ever since she was young, Grech had a passion for coffee, and knew it would be a big part of her life.
Like all big dreams, she had to start small, with a kitchen of machines and no clue how to use them. Now that she’s achieved her dream, she wants to help others learn.
“We’re just all after a good cup of coffee. The whole world is after a good cup of coffee,” she said.
“The problem is, they all start out like me, with a cupboard full of coffee-making devices and no clue how to get a good coffee out of any of them.
You can buy the most expensive home espresso machine, and buy what other people have said is the best quality coffee, and all of the upmarket equipment and make it look fantastic, and still get a really bad cup of coffee because you don’t know what you’re doing.”
It’s for this reason that she started offering coffee courses at Little House Coffee Co., both for those seeking accreditation as a barista, and those who just want to make a good coffee at home.
The courses, which are taught in groups of three or four people, provide information about coffee beans, different grinds, and different coffee machines and grinders, before getting into some practical experience using the machines, whilst tasting a lot of coffee.
By the end of the course, Grech assures that participants will be able to use any machine, even if they’ve never seen the brand.
“The difference between coffee machines is the same as the difference between a Subaru and an MX-5,” she said.
“They look different, but they both have steering wheels and breaks and accelerators, and coffee machines are the same – they all work the same way, from your home espresso machine to your 3 Groups.”
Grech said that she hasn’t been surprised to see people taking the course with no intent to use it in a professional environment, with people she’s trained ranging from age 14 in school, up to retirees in their 60s and 70s. The best part is, it can also help to impress guests.
“I had people come in before Christmas and buy extra coffee because they were having visitors, and then on Boxing Day, message me and ask if they can get more, because the visitors loved it so much that they came back for a second and sometimes third cup,” she said.
“That makes me feel good, because it’s not only my coffee that they’re drinking, but I taught that person how to make it, which means they’re making it right. They’re paying attention to what they’re doing, and it’s tasting so good that people want more.”
For anyone wanting to upgrade your morning coffee at home, Grech recommends giving her course a go.
“Come and do a course!” she said.
“It’s fun, you can drink lots of coffee, and it can be very therapeutic to, on a Sunday morning, be able to roll out of bed and make a coffee and sit in the sunshine. You can do it at home, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get the really good quality.”
The next course will be held on Tuesday, February 21.
For more information, visit littlehousecoffeeco.com.au.
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.
