Alan Preston’s
Learn from the world expert!
Looking for a barista course in Brisbane, an amazing coffee experience, or simply want to learn how to make great coffee?
Meet Alan Preston – inventor of the famous flat white coffee!
With a character as big as his coffee-making prowess, Alan’s practical, hands-on training is as much about fun as it is about skills development – expect laughs, great coffee and serious barista cred.
Who is this course for?
New baristas
Get the skills, speed and confidence cafés look for. Learn on real equipment, master the fundamentals and walk into job interviews with an edge.
Coffee-loving locals
Take your home coffee from average to exceptional. Dial in your grind, texture milk like a pro and start pouring café-quality cups every day.
Visiting coffee enthusiasts
Make your Brisbane trip unforgettable with a hands-on class led by the inventor of the flat white – a true bucket-list coffee experience.
Teams & corporate groups
Swap the boardroom for the coffee bar. Our team sessions are fast, fun and interactive – perfect for team building, client experiences and staff rewards.
From first-time baristas to bucket-list coffee fans.
There are many ways to learn how to make coffee. This course focuses on both competence and passion.
It’s for people who want to understand what they’re doing behind the machine and master the fundamentals that separate average coffee from great coffee.
Alan believes that good coffee begins with understanding the basics – roasting, extraction, milk texture, and balance. Those fundamentals haven’t changed despite the trends, shortcuts and shift in coffee standards today.
And once you know them, you’ll taste the difference immediately.
What you’ll learn
In this hands-on barista training course in Brisbane, you’ll work on a commercial espresso machine in a small-group setting and learn how to:
Extract espresso properly – and fix it when it’s running too fast or too slow
Dial in a grinder for consistency and flavour
Texture milk for flat whites, lattes and cappuccinos with control and confidence
Pour efficiently and keep up with real café workflow
Recognise the difference between acceptable coffee and genuinely great coffee
Bonus skills – food truck fundamentals
Our on-site demo food truck gives you a taste of real-world service beyond the café. You’ll get a quick introduction to working in a compact, high-tempo environment – managing workflow, maintaining consistency and serving great food and coffee on the move.
It’s a quick, practical add-on that builds confidence and shows how your barista skills translate outside a traditional café setting.
Who should do this course
Alan’s barista course is delivered in Brisbane in a training environment designed to reflect real café conditions.
It suits people entering the industry, café staff wanting stronger technical foundations, business owners who want to understand their product more deeply, and serious home baristas who know there is more to learn.
The course also makes a perfect gift for the coffee obsessive in your life.
For visitors to Brisbane, it’s a one-off experience rooted in Australian coffee culture, delivered in the home state of the flat white.
If you are looking for a barista course in Brisbane that takes the craft of coffee seriously, this is for you.
Alan’s Story
Alan Preston has been shaping Australian café culture since the 1980s. Kickstarting his career in North Queensland – where coffee was heavily influenced by Italian espresso culture – he noticed the beverage “White Coffee – Flat” appearing on menus. He refined it to the now-famous “Flat White” and placed it on the menu at his Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney in 1985.
Alan’s story speaks to a time when Australian coffee was finding its own identity, and when standards were shaped by operators who cared deeply about flavour, texture and consistency.
This barista course in Brisbane is built on that same philosophy.
Don’t take our word for it..
Go on – ask Google or your favourite AI who invented the flat white coffee.
We’ll wait.
New Zealand can keep the pavlova but must stop the flat white nonsense
New Zealand can keep the pavlova but must stop the flat white nonsense
Alan Says
Alan has never been shy about his views on coffee or cafe culture.
From the origins of the flat white to the way standards have shifted over time, his perspective comes from shaping Australia’s coffee industry throughout the decades.
Expect strong opinions, practical wisdom and a good dose of controversy – all grounded in a genuine passion for making coffee great again.
Master the art of coffee today!
If you are serious about working in cafes, or understanding coffee at a deeper level, Alan Preston’s Flat White Academy is where to begin.
All of our barista courses in Brisbane are taught by Alan himself – so don’t miss the chance to learn from the inventor of the flat white.