IBCA has been teaching our one-of-a-kind and original coffee technician and preventative maintenance courses since 2010. With over 62 years of combined espresso-coffee-tea- brewing and grinding equipment experience, IBCA is the perfect place for coffee technical training. 

Our courses are perfect for students ranging from baristas, café managers and owners who wish to perform their own internal preventative maintenance and service for their single locations, multi locations and chains as well as restaurant equipment service companies, HVAC companies and more who wish to enter the world of coffee machine technician to add to their portfolio. As well as people from inside and outside of the coffee industry who see a gap in the industry and need for more qualified and trained technicians who wish to start up a coffee technician service company. 

We have trained hundreds of successful students that have become up and coming techs, and you can trust that no other Academy in the world will offer you the quality and level of training you will receive at IBCA. 

We have designed our programs to be taken in two levels. We offer a three-day course that is designed for café owners, operators, maintenance outfits who want to have a good grasp on the workings of espresso and grinding equipment.  
We also have a complete five-day course designed for those who wish to dive deeper in the full repair, refurbish and maintenance of coffee and espresso equipment.  

General Maintenance and repair— three DAY—SPECIALTY COURSE OFFERED ONLY AT IBCA 

Day One:  

This level is designed for the aspiring technician, service company wishing to add expresso technician services, café owner who is extremely technical, in house service team, to learn how to maintain and repair your coffee equipment, water system and calibrate your equipment with understanding of, setting and calculating brew ratios, reading TDS meters and calculating results in order to understand how to properly calibrate your coffee/the client’s coffee to the equipment in order to produce optimum balance of both strength and extraction for the perfect cup. 

•History and orientation to Espresso 

Day Two: 

In Advanced Tech course we will cover everything in Day One of our 3 Day class however we will dig a lot deeper and add the hands on break down and rebuilding of a filter coffee/tea machine and grinder. Including the following.  

• Grinder Set Up & Calibration 

• Program & adjust a commercial grinder 

• Understand different grinder types & technology 

• Perform proper cleaning and maintenance  

• Calibration of grinder for type of brewing 

• Troubleshooting  

• Espresso Extraction and Machine Calibration 

• Brew ratios and expresso extraction 

• TDS and Brix measurements & calculations  

• Traditional 9 Bar  

• Pressure profiling & temperature surfing 

• Extraction time vs weight  

• Diagnosing extraction issues and correcting them 

• Programing and calibration of dose buttons 

• Water Quality & Filtration 

• Test & measure water 

• Understand water treatment options 

• Identify water related equipment issues 

• Select appropriate filtration solutions  

• Prevent scale and mineral build up 

• Improve coffee quality and taste through proper water management  

• Preventative Maintenance  

• Routine espresso machine maintenance  

• Group gasket & shower replacement 

• Steam wand, seal & gasket replacements 

• Grinder burr replacement & maintenance  

• Cleaning procedures & proper supplies needed 

• This first two days is taught by Patrick O’Malley 2015 AST of the year. 

Day Three & Four:  

In Advanced Tech course we will cover everything in Day three of our 3 Day class however we will dig a lot deeper and add the hands on break down and rebuilding of espresso equipment. 

This level is designed for the aspiring technician, service company wishing to add expresso technician services, café owner who is extremely technical, in house service team, to learn how to maintain and repair your coffee equipment, water system and calibrate your equipment with understanding of, setting and calculating brew ratios, reading TDS meters and calculating results in order to understand how to properly calibrate your coffee/the client’s coffee to the equipment in order to produce optimum balance of both strength and extraction for the perfect cup. 

• Espresso Machine Systems 

• Water supply & pathways 

• Hydraulic systems & pressure regulation 

• Pumps, valves, injectors, & nozzles 

• Flow meters & expansion valves 

• Boilers & boiler systems 

• Single boiler vs. multi-boiler systems 

• Temperature & pressure control 

• Electrical & electronic controls 

• PID vs. thermal pressure regulation 

• Electrical Systems & Troubleshooting 

• Read & interpret electrical schematics 

• Understand AC/DC circuits power distribution  

• Work with relays, heating circuits, & temperature controllers 

• Understanding electric control boards 

• Understand power management systems 

• Apply electrical safety practices 

• Installation, Startup, and Calibration 

• Equipment installation 

• Water & drain connections 

• Grinder calibration 

• Espresso machine calibration 

• Boiler startup & bleeding procedures 

• Testing equipment after installation 

• Installation tools such as scace 

• Health & installation considerations 

• Verify machine performance 

• Hands-on Service & Diagnostics 

• Identify failed components 

• Troubleshoot hydraulic problems 

• Diagnose electrical failures 

• Replace components 

• Perform testing & calibration 

• Work with electrical control systems 

• Understand AC/DC systems, power management, and temperature control 

• Apply preventative service procedures 

• Receive a complete list of resources for supplies, parts, & tools 

By the end of the course you will be able to: 

• Understand how commercial espresso machines & grinders operate 

• Diagnose hydraulic, electrical, mechanical, &electronic problems 

• Fix & replace parts 

• Installation & calibration of espresso machines & grinders 

• Test & evaluate water quality & filtration systems 

• Perform preventative maintenance & replace service components 

• Measure & adjust extraction using tools such as TDS & Brix meters 

• Troubleshoot equipment systematically & confidently 

• Verify machine performance after service, installation, or repair 

• Learn to properly estimate repairs & set prices for reselling repaired machines 

Your training Doesn’t Stop at the Classroom 

The objective of this course is not to simply teach you how espresso equipment works. It is to give you the practical foundation to service equipment confidently in the real world – whether you’re maintaining equipment in your own café, working as an in-houser technician, joining a service company, or building your career as a coffee equipment technician. 

9:00 AM Preventative Maintenance 

We will cover common failure points, routine maintenance, water quality and testing procedures, filtration types and replacement, cleaning procedure and supplies, scale prevention and equipment longevity.  

10:30 AM Installation, Start Up and Calibration 

Equipment installation, grinder calibration, machine calibration, water and drain connections and installation, full emersion boiler bleed, testing and health code compliance.  

12:00 PM Lunch 

1:00 PM Hands-On Service Training 

Hands-on diagnostics, repair, replacement of failed components, testing, calibration, electronic control boards, AC/DC Systems, power management and temperature control. Overview of advanced espresso machines.  

3:00 PM Final Review and Assessment 

Being proactive and upselling water filtration systems, review of key concepts, diagnostics procedures, service practices Q7A as well as written and practical exam. 

Three Day IBCA Training Objectives 

Understanding Espresso Machines Hydraulic Systems, Read and Interpret Electrical Schematics, Diagnose Hydraulic and Electrical Faults, Perform Preventative Maintenance, Properly Install and Calibrate Espresso Machine and Grinders, Repair and Verify Machine Performance, Apply Systematic Trouble Shooting Technics with Confidence.  

Day IBCA 5 Course // $2,820 including all materials 

Hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm