-UDC at Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management, Lainchaur,  Nepal

Silver Mountain School of Hotel Mangement is a brainchild of four like-minded hotel educators. Silver Mountain School takes pride in giving world-class hospitality education offering first ever four years Bachelors Degree in International Hospitality and Tourism Management with affiliation from Queen Margaret University, the UK in Nepal. Silver Mountain SHM aspires to provide the finest facilities and infrastructure for its students within the premises for hospitality’s core subjects. The entire infrastructure is laid as per the International standards for training hospitality personnel. A full-fledged and fully functional training hotel within its premises gives students a taste of hospitality from day one. The school envisions and strives to match theoretical knowledge with practical implications. Silver Mountain School HM is the first Hotel Management school to receive the license from Ministry of Education and Sports to run and award the four years Bachelor Degree in International Hospitality and Tourism Management from Queen Margaret University, UK. Silver Mountain SHM’s programs are equivalent and approved by the Curriculum Development Centre of Tribhuvan University (T.U.) for the first time in Nepal. Besides, academics, Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management also introduced Coffee University in Nepal as ‘Universita Del Café, Nepal’.

The scale of the “coffee phenomenon” is so huge that it can be compared to the most widely consumed drink in the world: water. Just think that in one year, we consume 242 thousand million liters of bottled water and 161 thousand million liters of coffee. It is a center of excellence created to promote, support, and communicate the culture of quality coffee worldwide, through training. The need for coffee is not far behind the primary necessity of drinking water. According to recent research, 2.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed in a day. It’s never been easier to choose quality. Coffee has always been rare and a cut above the rest of the beverage worldwide. But in countries like Nepal or Bhutan, where tea used to be more preferred, coffee has become another prevalent beverage over the years. One of the reasons most likely being the thronging tourists from all over the world, who know well the taste of premium, finely brewed specialty coffees and high demand the need for this artisanal, addictive beverage. It is a special meeting place where not only coffee and hospitality professionals but also enthusiasts, people who are curious about coffee, and aspiring coffee connoisseurs can share in the passion for knowledge that distinguishes illy caffè, a leader in Italian espresso for over 80 years. The size of the “espresso wonder” is so huge to the point that it can be compared with the most consumed drink in the world: water. Simply imagine that in the coming year, we will consume a total of 242 thousand million liters of filtered water and 161 thousand million liters of espresso. It is a focal point of brilliance made to advance, bolster and convey the way of life of value espresso around the world, through preparation. The requirement for espresso isn’t a long way behind the essential need for drinking water. As per an ongoing examination, 6 billion cups of espressos are consumed every day around the world. We can agree on the fact that coffee has been proven as an essential part of the culture of hospitality worldwide and not just limited to Europe or America. The very act of preparing, offering, and drinking a cup of coffee among family, friends, and colleagues on a regular basis has been regarded as a shared gesture or even a social ritual that has turned a simple act of consuming a beverage into creating interpersonal relationships and special moments in one’s life. It’s never been easy to choose quality. Coffee has always been rare and has been chosen above the rest of beverages, worldwide. But in countries like Nepal or Bhutan, where teas are favored more, coffee has taken over as the prevalent beverage over these past years. One of the reasons for coffee is that tourists from all over the world, know well the taste of premium, finely brewed specialty coffees and high demand the need for this artisanal, addictive beverage. It is a special meeting place where not only coffee and hospitality professionals but also enthusiasts, people who are curious about coffee, and aspiring coffee connoisseurs can share in the passion for knowledge that distinguishes illy caffè, a leader in Italian espresso for over 80 years.

UNIVERSITA DEL CAFFE (UDC):

Sharing Coffee Culture and Knowledge 

The inspiration for Università del caffè (University of Coffee) came from the important vocation, that illy coffee has always supported and emphasized, which is the promotion of coffee culture in the world. It started with its first location in Naples, Italy in 1999 which then later moved to the coastal town of Trieste with its current headquarters still located there along with its factory. Today, there are more than 29 branches worldwide, and among the 29 branches, Università del Caffè (UDC) in Nepal is the 28^th one which is located in Kathmandu at Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management. Each of the branches of UDC believes in being a center of coffee excellence as well as an international hub of knowledge and training where coffee growers, coffee experts, baristas along with coffee lovers of all kinds can come and meet, creating a coffee community wherever they are in the world. For 18 years since 2000, UDC Trieste and worldwide have together trained more than 200,000 coffee professionals, consumers, and producers all around the world. Similar to the partnership of Illy’s UDC in North America with the esteemed International Culinary Center (ICC) in New York and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena, UDC Nepal has partnered with Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management in Kathmandu to offer all-inclusive courses created to improve knowledge about the coffee production process, promote and increase the culture of fine coffee. Università del café’s international course has been structured differently according to the qualifications and requirements of its attendees. For example, for professionals in the hospitality sector, the training is intensive, with more focus on hands-on coffee preparation and practical ways to enhance the customer experience as a whole. Additionally, they are also taught how to develop their own menu, and how to manage their own bars/cafes. UDC provides guidance, develops, and improves the illy supply chain through training and communication on the culture of quality coffee and of purity. The Università del Café’s training activities have been designed to offer all professional courses to work and develop the concept of the coffee production supply chain, for both ill customers and others. It is the chance to grow and improve the level of quality at every single stage in their various areas of expertise. It is a principled circle of knowledge, a flair for understanding the market, focusing on the creation of value, through growth, sustainability, and transparency, by expanding the scope of its intervention from its relationship with professionals to direct sharing with our consumers. The graduates and professionals in the coffee supply chain are recognized as the most leading authority in sharing knowledge applied in the coffee world. The courses are methodized with core parts customized exclusively for people with different qualifications and needs, thus catering from connoisseurs to professionals working in the food and beverage industry. The program offerings will prepare attendees with best practices and tools to develop and improve their competency in coffee, and to extend their theoretical and practical based- knowledge of the whole process; from the bright red cherry to the best espresso in a cup and the aroma. This way, besides spreading the culture of coffee and quality and in addition to the projects of sustainable development put into practice in the various producing countries, the Università del Caffè participate in consumer awareness training, creating a community for coffee lovers and connoisseurs able to stimulate and cherish the commercial reach of products of excellence. Sharing the aim and compensation of the headquarters with the branch offices gives effect to economic growth and professional development, while at the same time ensuring the current monitoring and the maintenance of quality standards. Being a barista is an art, access to coffee that goes beyond professionalism. The pleasure of serving and connecting with people, the passion for quality, and the search for details make a barista a key figure for consumers. This is why the Università del Café has expanded the offer for training and development, introducing courses in technical training on the preparation of coffee, topics that study in-depth, and the management of the commercial activity in relation to people, employees, and customers. The Università del Café’s discovery courses are aimed at managers and owners of bars, restaurants, and hotels, tourism entrepreneurs, and groups and associations wishing to offer their customers the opportunity to experience high-profile learning firsthand. These courses are an opportunity to share a passion for excellence with your own consumers, by giving detailed and transparent confirmation of what motivates your choice of prepared or distributed products. These courses aim to help people understand, discover and verify what “quality” actually means in the world of coffee. The educational approach, designed to make the technical jargon accessible and user-friendly, seeks to engage the participants with the tasting of the products and various preparations. A prestigious international training center dedicated to Illy café’s customers and the sales network in Italy and overseas, but equally open to all bar, restaurant, and hospitality professionals who desire to improve their knowledge of coffee and the coffee products, with topics ranging from the preparation of beverages, to process management and the promotion of coffee in the business world. Being a barista is so much more that goes beyond professionalism, it is an art form itself similar to being a chef or a wine sommelier. The things that make a barista one of the key figures for consumers range from the knowledge of their art, their interpersonal skills, and their passion for quality till the very end of every tiny detail.

EVENTS BY UDC, SILVER MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT, Nepal

Sula Jatra Event (Sula Wine Fest)

The Sula Wine Festival was held on 12^th May 2018 (happens once in every two years) in Kathmandu. The event was a big hit among the young crowd with more than 500 visitors at the fest. UDC is in the market among such crowds who are interested in coffee along with wine.

Celebrity Coffee Session

On June 1^st 2018, UDC, Silver Mountain SHM, hosted a celebrity coffee session with Mr. Swoopna Suman with 10 of his lucky fans for a meet and greet. The fun-filled event started with a quick coffee lesson by UDC, Silver Mountain School and slow preparation demos and tastings using the single origin coffee from Ethiopia and Brazil, followed by latte art challenges where participants got to make their own latte with the guidance of the illy baristas. The event ended with a Polaroid session, sponsored by Vespa Nepal, where the fans individually got an autographed copy of their Polaroids with Mr. Suman. Since the higher levels of qualities are achieved in the production, transformation, and promotion of coffee, UDC makes sure that their suppliers, employees and customer’s technical and operational support, through its companionship in the market. Last but not least, ‘Drinking and preparing a coffee are everyday activities regulated by shared gestures and rituals that urn the act of consumption into opportunities of conviviality and interpersonal relationships or more simply, that allow you to enjoy one of life’s pleasures. So prepare and drink your coffee, with pleasure starting from today because if you live your coffee, you deserve a lesson.’