The ONLY Coffee Making Training Institute Specialising in Helping the Domestic Coffee Machine Users Create Cafe Style Cappuccino At Home...

How was Home Barista Institue Born?

Ricky and Rita began their hospitality careers as the owners of a café in a Melbourne suburb called Kensington. It was here, that they discovered their talent and passion for creating wonderful coffees.

Rita and Ricky then moved into the heart of the Melbourne city, where they established Knock Box, an espresso bar specialising in coffee and baguettes. However they were faced with fierce competition and the challenge to stand out from an immense crowd of coffee destinations. All too familiar was the story of a $1.50 latte that cured the “need for caffeine” but left an awful taste in the mouth and needed three sugars to become drinkable. Realising they are different because of their knowledge and their passion for a great coffee, Ricky and Rita began running interactive ‘coffee appreciation’ courses in their city cafe. These courses were aimed at educating people on how to tell the difference between a good and bad one, what makes a beautiful coffee, how to extract the perfect espresso, texture silky creamy milk, and coffee art.

The response was overwhelming. People poured in from all over Melbourne to learn. This included people who were passionate about coffee, to those wanted to learn more about the coffee art, to those were thinking of buying a domestic machine and those wanted to gain better results at home. Some students even include café owner operators.

Ricky and Rita realised that they had tapped into a massive gap in the market. They realised that people wanted to buy and learn how to use a domestic machine. But which type? What brand? How to create café quality coffees?

Ricky and Rita, no longer able to meet the demand for courses at Knock box, were inspired to find their niche in the domestic coffee market, which is a purpose built coffee retail and training facility. That’s how Home Barista Institute was born. It is currently situated at 229 Victoria St, West Melbourne, on the doorstep of the Melbourne CBD and within a stone’s throw from Victoria Market.


What makes Home Barista Institute Unique?

Home Barista Institute is the first ‘one stop’ establishment where customers can:

•   Learn the art and science behind quality coffee at home using domestic espresso equipment.

•   Receive fully interactive training on various types of domestic coffee machines.

•   Obtain expert help in purchasing affordable commercial quality domestic machines and accessories.

•   "Test drive before you buy" demo machines in the training facility.

•   Learn the skills of the barista through a range of professional courses.

•   Purchase hard to find professional coffee accessories such as tampers, knockout tubes, milk temperature thermometers, coffee storage canisters and machine cleaning kits etc.

•   Visit an "in house" cafe and sample our own blends of coffee first hand.

No longer will the customer’s only option be a mass- produced chain store, where they would take home an expensive machine with a complicated manual and with absolutely no coffee training. No one else provides such a comprehensive range of services available to people who wish to uncover the mysterious secrets that has become the art of making excellent coffee.

What is Home Barista Institute’s Vision?

Setting the coffee standards by teaching the domestic market how to appreciate the process quality coffee is made; how to produce quality coffee by using domestic coffee machine correctly; Raising the coffee industry standards by offering coffee lovers the opportunity to learn, improve and share their coffee experiences.