Military to Civilian Training

Our military to civilian training includes certified instructors who provide comprehensive transition, career and entrepreneurship training. In partnership with the Institute for Military Families (IVMF), we are able to give our veterans the training they need ro start

ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING

CAREER TRAINING

Coffee Training

Each student will go through comprehensive and SCA certified coffee training. 

This course lays the foundation for all subsequent G.I. Joe Coffee House (GIJCH) classes and is a great way to “get a taste” of the GIJCH curriculum. Coffee Introduction is designed for newcomers to the coffee industry and will teach you all of the basic, essential coffee knowledge. It will cover a broad overview of coffee. Perfect for the person who would like to explore what direction they wish to take their education within the Specialty Coffee Industry. When combined with GIJCH’s specialty add-on courses, you will be well on your way in your specialty coffee skills and knowledge.

FOUNDATION:
This is a full day course designed to introduce core barista skills to people with no previous barista experience. Successful candidates should be able to simply calibrate their grinders and make espresso, cappuccino, lattes, and steam milk to core standards.

INTERMEDIATE: 
During the first part of this intensive training class, you will learn about coffee history, green coffee, roasting, grinding, brewing, extraction and preparation, milk, water, service skills, presentation, cleaning and sensory technology. The second half of the class is spent in the practical espresso stations. This is where you get hands-on experience with grinders, grinder adjustment, espresso machines, extraction, and pulling the perfect espresso shot. Not only will you learn about milk, steaming and texturing, but you will practice it on the spot by preparing the perfect traditional espresso, cappuccino and latte. The class will be concluded with time learning the basics of latte art.

PROFESSIONAL: 
Similar to the Barista Skills Intermediate Course, except this class goes deeper into the coffee world from coffee history, green coffee, green coffee retail, coffee added value labels, certifications, roasting, grinding, brewing, extraction, preparation, milk, water, service skills, presentation, cleaning, maintenance, sensory cup technology, health and coffee. You will then spend the second half of the class refining your skills on grinding and extracting as well as milk texturing, followed by a practice session to hone skills in latte art.

This course teaches the importance and interaction of all grinding and extraction methods, as well as brewing styles typically used in the coffee industry. You will acquire the skills necessary for the preparation of coffee with respect to all of these methods. With your improved skills and knowledge, you will be able to determine what factors are important for each brew style and quality. At the end of class, you will reproduce and evaluate each brew method studied. This course is also excellent preparation for the Green Coffee class.

In the Professional class, you will use your previous knowledge to come up with brewing methods that best suit your style and unique needs.

  1. FOUNDATION
  2. INTERMEDIATE
  3. PROFESSIONAL

The Green Coffee course covers everything about the unroasted or immature coffee bean, which is the actual “seed”. You will learn significant background on the science and history of green coffee, as well as botany, agronomy, processing, storage, decaffeination, and grinding. You will gain an understanding of how these factors affect the cup and taste of coffee.

All three levels of the class will cover to differing depths the fundamental principles of green coffee by analyzing its process from the producer to the roaster.

Professional will provide substantially more information regarding the financial and commercial mechanics that are applied to the specialty coffee industry, including the local, national and global sales systems.

  1. FOUNDATION
  2. INTERMEDIATE
  3. PROFESSIONAL

FOUNDATION 
The focus of this class is to get some basic impressions and physical understanding of the product and roasting process. You will learn how to and practice distinguishing between green coffee and roasted coffee, identify the change in roaster flame control, repeat the process of timing a roast temperature evolution, learn how to weigh and record the moisture of green and roasted coffee, and identify the first crack.

INTERMEDIATE 
In the Intermediate course, you will learn how to easily identify the color range of roasted coffee beans and understand the cup result with different roast profiles. You will be taught the steps required to install a coffee roaster, including different heat, energy sources, and materials needed for a professional roaster. You will be guided through the roasting stages, physical reactions, chemical reactions, browning process, and how different environmental conditions can affect the roast. By the end of the class, you will be able to determine different defects of the roast, how air quality can affect roasting, maintenance of the machine, and how to stop a possible roaster fire. Finally, learn about different types of roasters and we will give you the tools to setup and design a typical micro roasting facility.

PROFESSIONAL 
The Roasting Professional Level class takes a more practical approach than the Intermediate Level, thus taking you further into the world of roasting. More time will be spent in actual roasting sessions. You will roast three batches of the same coffee to a predetermined color range, getting within ten points as a target. You will learn to identify coffee roasted at different times and temperatures in a cup tasting session. We will dive deeper into the science of coffee, the chemical makeup of coffee, and chemical reactions of roasted coffee. At the end of the course, you will have the ability to profile roast.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of formal coffee analysis. You will develop keen sensory skills, formal cup tasting protocol, and proper terminology used in the coffee industry. We cover everything from setting up the preparation of a cup tasting with proper tools and utensils to the weights, grind, and measurements used with formal cup tasting protocol. You will learn to use your sensory perceptions and proper terminology that is used by experts in the industry.

  1. FOUNDATION
  2. INTERMEDIATE
  3. PROFESSIONAL

Q Cupping Essentials teaches you the fundamentals of cupping. This course covers how to utilize both the Specialty Coffee Association and the Coffee Quality Institute’s cupping forms, as well as how to use sensory skills to evaluate the coffee. You will learn every step of the cupping process including weighing, grinding, table setup and pouring water. No previous knowledge or experience is required, as the course is focused more on learning and less on testing.

You will find this course most useful if you work as a roaster and you want to leave your mark on the coffee industry. Benefit from the years of experience with blend development by working directly with our top SCA Certified Roasters to create your own custom coffee blend. 

The world of coffee goes beyond just caffeinated drinks to delicious alcoholic beverages flavored with coffee. There is a fine balance to mixing coffee and alcohol and you will learn the art of mixing the two in this course. We cover far more than the well-known coffee cocktails like the Irish Coffee, and you will walk away with a menu of coffee cocktails to offer at your coffee house.

If you want to impress with more than just the taste of your coffee, come learn the art of latte art. Latte art goes back centuries and continues to be loved by coffee consumers worldwide today. This course will teach you the fundamentals and allow for time to practice what you learn. By the end of the course, you will have the knowledge to make any latte art design by etching or free pouring. The skills you leave with will set you up to perfect your latte art with regular practice. This course is a great addition to the Barista Skills Course as well as the Brewing Course.

Coffee Business Training

Opening a coffee shop is a big investment, so take the time to protect yourself. We will teach  you how to do things right from day one and avoid needing to play catch-up later.

Design
Learn how to design your coffee shop to reach peak efficiency while avoiding costly injuries. Stand apart with your unique aesthetic and vision.

Hiring and Management
You’ll walk away with techniques to find the right people and develop a team who will help make this whole thing possible. Recruit, develop, retain.

Budgeting and Finances
See how to develop and price out a menu while controlling waste and operating expenses. Generate crucial reports and insight so that you always know where you business is at.

Profitability and Growth
We will help you create straightforward, actionable plans to attract more customers and leverage diverse marketing channels to grow your brand. Become an ultra-successful single location business or prepare to expand to multiple locations

RESOURCES

  • BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE
  • EMPLOYEE HANDOOK
  • OPERATIONS MANUAL
  • ONLINE BOOK LIBRARY
  • DVDS
  • ONLINE REFRESHER COURSES

Multiple Retail Sales Units

You will benefit from having the flexibility in starting small and growing your own portfolio of state-of-the-art coffee kiosks. Our sales units are designed for efficiency and high profitability. Our veteran-run logistics team will ensure you receive the freshest products when you need them. Using a sophisticated monitoring system, our sales and product management team will alert you that you need to put in your orders and we make it easy with “auto-shipping” so you can concentrate on running your business.

Sizes of Kiosks: 10 Ft, 20 Ft, and 40 Ft.

Learn more

Exclusive Franchise Program

What is a Franchise?
A franchise is a legal relationship where one party, called the “Franchisor”, grants to the other party, called the “Franchisee”, the right to develop, establish, and duplicate the operations of the franchisor’s business.

ALL VETERANS RECEIVE A 15% DISCOUNTED FRANCHISE FEE!

What you will receive:

  • Trademark License
  • Franchise Agreement
  • High Quality Products
  • Ongoing marketing campaigns (local and National)
  • High quality and durable sales unit (kioss, trucks, and coffee houses)
  • Comprehensive and certified coffee and coffee business training
How you’ll benefit:
  • Established brand;
  • Proven business concept and operating model;
  • Established operating policies, procedures and standards;
  • Lower statistical risk of failure;
  • Immediate momentum on opening through established brand equity of the franchise;
  • Established customer base of the franchise;
  • Training and ongoing support from the franchisor;
  • Shared marketing costs with the franchisor and other franchisees;
  • Support in difficult times from the franchisor;
  • Ongoing product and service innovation;
  • Increased buying power via the franchise group;
  • Easier to obtaining finance from banks and other lenders; and
  • Increased chance of a successful sale of the franchise upon exit.

RESOURCES

  • BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE
  • EMPLOYEE HANDOOK
  • OPERATIONS MANUAL
  • ONLINE BOOK LIBRARY
  • DVDS
  • ONLINE REFRESHER COURSES

Franchise Business Financing

View our list of financial partners, their commitment to our mission will help you achieve the goals you have set out for yourself in the coffee industry. In addition, there are financial partners who have special programs for the Military Family Community as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us immediately.

The SBA offers a variety of loan programs designed to assist veterans in acquiring capital to start, grow, or succeed in business. Online training courses and counseling are delivered through our network of experienced resource partners to help veterans become lender-ready. Veterans play an important role in stimulating economic growth in local communities. To encourage lending to veteran-owned small businesses, the SBA is providing a reduction in certain loan program fees.

Providing “fee-relief” on small-dollar SBA guaranteed loans reduces barriers for veteran-owned small businesses so they can access capital and create jobs. The SBA utilizes a credit scoring model to help reduce underwriting costs and processing time.

To learn more about the SBA Veterans Advantage Fee Relief initiative, please contact your local SBA District Office which can be located online.

Program Overview sheet, download

For more information, click here

Another SBA loan program that’s a good choice for veterans is the SBA Express Loan program. SBA Express Loans are a subprogram within the 7(a) loan program, offering loans up to $350,000 and fast approval decisions.

Both veterans and non-veterans can apply for SBA Express Loans, but the SBA also offers the Veterans Advantage program for these loans—through which it waives the upfront guarantee fee for veterans who qualify. Normally, this fee is 2% to 3% of the loan amount. Veterans, reservists, national guard members, and spouses are eligible to have the fee waived.

The Veterans Business Fund (VBF) is an up-and-coming resource for veterans who are seeking funding to open or expand a small business or purchase a franchise business.

This 501(c)(3) nonprofit relies on donors to provide funding for VA business loans at favorable terms. According to the site, this small business loan for veterans will be non-interest bearing to the extent permitted by law. The loan terms are for a period of five years or longer.

Veterans won’t be able to finance their business entirely through VBF, as the program will offer loans only in conjunction with the business owner’s personal equity. Generally, the applicant must bring 50% of their own funds to the table, and VBF will extend the remaining half as a loan.

Learn more

Accion is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small businesses grow and thrive, particularly those in underserved markets—including women, minorities, and veterans.

Through Accion, you can quickly and easily apply for a loan, whether online, in-person or over the phone.

With Accion, you can access loans of up to $1 million, with interest rates varying based on your qualifications and location.

Overall, Accion has flexible requirements and can work with startups, businesses with average credit, and those within a variety of industries. Accion is also a particularly noteworthy microlender if you’re looking for a smaller amount of financing.

Moreover, Accion can help you connect with peers, local organizations, and banks to help you through your financing and general business processes.

Learn more

INQUIRE ABOUT JOINING US

Schedule a Private Consultation about getting involved in the G.I. Joe Coffee House Program.