Hands on the machine
Theory supports practice, not the other way around. You dial in, steam, and recover mistakes on the bar you will work on.
Our story
Why we keep the room small
Dark Beans started as a specialty café at Balaju Chowk — a corner of Kathmandu where Ring Road traffic is constant and regulars know how they like their milk. By 2022 we were training staff in-house and realised the gap in the city: plenty of places teach a weekend latte-art pose, fewer teach the full rhythm of a busy bar.
So we formalised two programmes on the same equipment we use for service. The Full Course is for people entering coffee work. Special Barista Training is for baristas who already know the basics but need reps on espresso and steaming under supervision. Both cap at four students so the instructor can stay at your shoulder.
Lead training is run by Dipendra Bista - twelve years with Starbucks, two-time regional barista champion, and still behind the bar here. The café keeps us honest: if a recipe or workflow does not work when guests are in line, it does not stay in the curriculum.
You cannot correct someone’s tamp from the back of a classroom. We built the academy the way we would want to be taught.