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 café owner, barista, in house service team or QC team, to learn how to care for 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 

•Water simplified: Types of treatments for water, how to measure and test water and find the perfect solution to help with protection of your equipment and optimize the taste of your coffee. 

•Hydraulics simplified Theory: Types of hydraulic systems, single boiler, duel and multi-boiler. What the variables we have to control extraction and how to use them to optimize flavor and extraction of your coffee. In the Five-Day you will do a deeper dive with more hands on. 

•Extraction: Students will learn how to create brew ratios for filter coffee batch brew, espresso and learn to read TDS, Brix, how to calculate results, adjust with available variables to calibrate equipment upon install, after service is complete, or day to day operations. 

•Grinders: Students will learn how to program, set, adjust coffee grinders, you will learn the different types of grinders and the pros and cons of each system, along with what is the best solution for each intended use. How to clean, maintain and perform general PM of coffee grinding equipment for optimum performance and prevent future issues. 

•Espresso Machines: What is the goal, traditional 9 Bar? Pleasure profile? Temperature surfing? Time? and the Science behind espresso extraction. 

• Testing and analyzing water, overview of types of water filtration systems 

• Preventive Maintenance, replacing group gaskets, showers, burrs, steam wands and seals. 

• Filter Coffee and Iced Tea Machines and Grinders, Programing, Setting Trouble Shooting 

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

• Recourse Guide  

Day Two:  

Day two will be a comprehensive study of the espresso machine taught by Matthew Malinka. Matt is managing director of service at Infusion Distribution (formerly Espresso Italia) with 20 years of espresso and coffee machine experience. Matt is responsible for keeping our Café locations running as well as keeping our wholesale clients’ machines up, running perfectly and efficiently.  

Starting at 9AM Matt will lead you through the espresso machine from top to bottom. Starting with the Hydraulic circuit and system, he will guide you though the entire water pathways from the source to the final beverage.  

You will study the Water Supply. Pressure Regulation, Pump (s) One Way Valve, Injectors and Nozzles, Flow Meters, Boiler (S) Expansion Valve, Group Heads, Steam and Hot Water Circuits and the complete function of each hydraulic component within a traditional espresso machine. 

11:00 AM Review 

Open discussion and questions period. We will cover common Hydraulic failures, go over troubleshooting, technics and pro tips. Diagnostic procedures, including common problems that can occur, how to fix them and how to prevent them from occurring,  

12:00 Lunch Break 

1:00 PM Electrical Systems 

A comprehensive instruction on Espresso Machine Electrical Systems. Reading of Diagrams, Electrical Safety. AC/DC Circuits, Power Distribution, Relays, Heating Circuits, Temperature Control’s, Electronic Control Boards, Power Management, and Diagnostic of Electrical Failures.  

Day Three: 

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.  

l Day IBCA 3Course // $1,795 including all materials 

Hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm