why we exist
Pro Baristas exists to solve two problems – the shortage of skilled coffee workers in the booming specialty sector and the desperation of unemployed young people without the skills or experience to get in the door. We're committed to the highest level of specialty coffee training (just look where our graduates work!) while insisting on opportunities for those who wouldn't normally get the chance.
small beginnings
Pro Baristas is one of many social projects operated by One Church Brighton, which aims to nurture people often overlooked by society. After nearly two decades of coffee work and writing, Ben Szobody founded the UK's first barista apprenticeship in speciality coffee in the century-old building where One Church incubates a range of charitable activities and public events. Andrew Tolley, a UK coffee pioneer and co-founder of Taylor St. Baristas, helped shape the project with substantial support from UCC Coffee, PACA and Small Batch Coffee. Laura Lumsden, a certified AST trainer, quickly joined the team to write an intensive curriculum and conduct pioneering training sessions that sought to deliver quality results alongside profound investment in individuals. One such indivudal was Xavier Armani, who was one of the first students to engage with Pro Baristas and now oversees the project. One Church provides the space, mentors and vision to take the project beyond just skills training.
moving forward
Within a year, Pro Baristas had trained more than 100 people, from hands-on taster sessions with people lacking in confidence to advanced certificate courses with ambitious career seekers intent on advancing in the field. We now engage more than 300 people each year. A wave of additional support has come from CriSeren Foundation and The Goodall Foundation to expand the concept, share it with others and develop financial sustainability. We provide training for the YMCA Downslink Group, Whitehawk Inn, LVS, St John’s College, East Sussex College and Jobcentre Plus while working with Skylark Coffee, Falcon Coffees, Square Mile Coffee, Espresso Solutions, HasBean, the Speciality Coffee Association, Coffee Doctor, BUNN and Victoria Arduino, as well as dozens of other coffee businesses.
Ultimately, we aim to connect unemployed people with productive, satisfying opportunities. These include our own pop-up coffee bars, our weekly market stall, our festival offering, and our training cafe. In 2020, we started a coffee roasting company to extend our training options and invest in producers via radical new relationships.
our team
XAVIER ARMANI
Xavier was a student in the UK’s first barista apprenticeship, run by Pro Baristas. In 2017, following graduation and inspired by the positive impact the Appnticeship had on him, Xavier launched the Pro Baristas Drop-In sessions and became the youngest SCA trainer in the world. 7 years on, Xavier fuses his coffee knowledge and experience with his passion for positive social transformation in his role as Pro Baristas’ Project Leader.
Xavier is always up for listening to people’s stories, can often found brewing siphons, and is generally woefully over-caffeinated.
Tara Greenhalf
Tara started her journey with Pro Baristas in early 2022. After managing a busy cafe for 6 years she wanted a change and to progress in her coffee career. Tara had been a coffee lover for years and was just starting out as a freelance trainer when the opportunity arose to join the PB team. Now she's loving life teaching courses and working with great people to make a positive impact!
Tara's always been keen to help people and the community, having been a scout leader for many years. She's all about providing a fun and safe environment for people to thrive in.
BEN SZOBODY
Ben has worked with and written about coffee for nearly 20 years, first as an avid hobbyist and later as a professional. He also has 15 years' experience in political journalism in the U.S. and co-published Longberry, an occasional journal of coffee, with James Hoffmann. He also speaks at coffee industry events and consults for coffee businesses.
Ben launched Pro Baristas in the One Church collaborative space as one of many experiments in engaging with groups of vulnerable people in Brighton. With this project, he's interested in provoking the coffee industry to invest in communities, changing the way a young industry hires people while opening doors for the disadvantaged and proving it's possible to brew uncompromisingly delicious coffee while remaining profoundly accessible.
LEWIS SCOTT-DYSON
Another Pro Baristas graduate, Lewis has for years worked in some of the best coffeeshops in Sussex and has acquired the highest levels of SCA barista certification there is! Joining the team in lockdown, Lewis employs his skills as a barista and a trainer to support students at the Florence Road cafe.