Frequently Asked Questions

Our Technician Training Foundations camp introduces four essential subject areas: hydraulic systems, electrical systems, preventive maintenance, and water treatment. It includes three Specialty Coffee Association Coffee Technician Program Foundation-level course certificates.

This camp provides a solid foundation of knowledge of the components, systems, and operating principles of coffee equipment. During the week, learners will practice the skills necessary to complete equipment installations and perform a basic preventive maintenance visit.

Intermediate Diagnostics and Repair builds on the knowledge of coffee equipment parts and proper system function introduced in Technician Training Foundations, developing basic troubleshooting and parts replacement skills. During the week, learners will learn even more about part and system function and failure. We’ll spend several hours diagnosing common espresso machine malfunctions and replacing common parts. Learners will also practice using hydraulic, electrical, and parts schematics, and troubleshooting with a multimeter.

This comprehensive 2-1/2 day long class includes many concepts and skills that are essential for creating great coffee and cafe environments.

Introduction to Coffee discusses how every step of coffee’s seed-to-cup journey affects the finished beverage. Barista Foundation is a full-day barista training class where students learn the recommended process for brewing espresso, adjusting an espresso grinder, steaming milk, and making various espresso-based beverages. Brewing Foundation provides lots of hands-on time brewing and tasting filter coffee. Learners will leave this course being able to properly use various brewing devices.

Many students join our classes to help them plan, open, or run coffee businesses. Here are some classes we recommend:

Anyone who plans to serve espresso drinks should take our hands-on Barista Foundation course, which covers the fundamentals of making common espresso drinks. If you’d also like a broader understanding of coffee, including how it’s grown and roasted, how to taste and discuss coffee flavors, and some fundamental brewing concepts, we suggest also taking Introduction to Coffee. For businesses that plan to brew coffee by the cup using manual brewing devices or want to better understand how to make their brewed coffee taste better, consider adding our Brewing Foundation course.

Many future café operators choose to take all three classes, which we offer as our Barista Skills Camp.

Cafe operators who plan to work as baristas should consider building even more efficiency, speed, and proficiency by also taking our Barista Intermediate course.

Maybe. Coffee Technicians Program Foundation-level classes are meant to be introductory classes. Their goal is to help start someone on the path towards becoming an espresso machine technician.

While we often discuss a few common ways parts and systems can fail, we do not discuss diagnostics, troubleshooting, and repair – all critical skills for technicians. Those topics are the focus of our Intermediate Diagnostics and Repair class. Though students that are already familiar with mechanics tools and have worked as a technician with other types of equipment may find this class is sufficient to begin working safely as an espresso machine technician, most students would benefit from additional training and hands-on experience.

Becoming a fully capable espresso machine technician also requires a significant replacement parts inventory, all necessary tools, an appropriate liability insurance policy, as well as some working experience. Becoming a technician is a journey with many steps.

No. An independent professional certification program for espresso machine technicians does not yet exist.

Though the SCA is an independent non-profit trade organization, Coffee Technicians Program certificates are not like ASE certification for automotive mechanics or CFESA certification for commercial foodservice equipment technicians. For that reason, Learners who complete CTechP classes should not advertise themselves as “SCA Certified Technicians”.

Learners who complete all class activities and pass both the written and hands-on practical tests will receive SCA digital certificates of completion for each class. We encourage the Learners who have earned these certificates to add that to their resumes and LinkedIn profiles.

For more information about professional certifications, check out this article on Indeed.com: What Are Certifications? Definition, Benefits and Types | Indeed.com

Students do not need any prior mechanical or coffee experience to join CTechP Foundation classes. These classes were created to introduce fundamental equipment knowledge and skills to Learners with and without previous equipment or technical experience.

We’ve welcomed students with many different backgrounds into our camp. Past students have included: baristas looking to grow their coffee careers, employees of coffee roasting companies interested in supporting their customers’ equipment directly, employees of multi-unit cafes that want to support their own equipment, and folks that have never worked in the coffee industry.

Prospective students that are new to coffee should consider taking an introductory barista class (like Espresso Fundamentals for Technicians) beforehand to get a better idea of what is involved in the preparation of espresso beverages.

The SCA requires that students complete either Barista Foundation or an approved equivalent before signing up for the Barista Intermediate class. We’ve found this recommendation to be wise.

What does “an approved equivalent” mean? Many organizations introduce fundamental barista skills in their own non-SCA classes. If you’ve completed a class that covered espresso preparation, grinder adjustment, milk steaming, and drink building, contact us to discuss whether jumping directly into the Barista Intermediate class might make sense for you.

Though some material for some classes can be delivered online, all of our SCA courses are meant to be taken in person. The SCA requires completion of several hands-on activities and practical tests for all Coffee Skills Program Intermediate and Professional classes, and all* Coffee Technicians Program classes.

*Authorized SCA Trainers with active Barista and Brewing module licenses may be eligible to complete the CTechP Water & Preventive Maintenance Foundation class online. Please contact us to discuss.

We will provide all the tools and equipment necessary to complete classroom activities, including multimeters, steaming pitchers, and tampers. We also provide a selection of safety glasses and work gloves for students to use during CTechP classes.

Learners that would prefer to use their own multimeter, steaming pitchers, tampers, safety glasses, and/or gloves during class are welcome to bring them.

We do measure water samples during Technician Training Foundations. If possible, students should bring a 2-3oz sample of unfiltered water from their cafés to measure and analyze.

Barista Skills Intermediate and Professional classes include opportunities to work with single-origin coffees. Students are welcome to bring a bag of their favorite coffee and/or a coffee they’ve found challenging to work with in the past.

Students associated with a business are also welcome to bring a sticker to add to our alumni wall.

Experienced espresso machine technicians describe the path to becoming a tech as a lifelong journey. Though receiving Coffee Technicians Program Foundation certificates is an excellent first step, it usually marks the beginning of this journey, not the end. There are a few steps a new tech can take after completing Foundation Camp to practice their new skills and gain more experience:

• Find level-appropriate opportunities to work on coffee equipment
• Find and rebuild an old espresso machine
• Connect with a mentor, ideally a more senior technician
• Join our Intermediate Diagnostics and Repair class (ideally about 3 months after completing the Foundation classes)
• Attend a manufacturer-specific training class

Technician Training Foundations is a comprehensive class that introduces a large amount of information in a relatively short period of time. Because of that, we recommend students plan at least several weeks to put those foundation-level knowledge and skills into practice before returning for Intermediate Diagnostics and Repair.