By Christina La Russa Education Writer Daily Breeze You stop for a cup of joe at a favorite coffeehouse. But the machine is busted. The owner will likely look for an appliance repair technician, though one probably better geared to handle a broken refrigerator compressor than an espresso machine melt down.
Students learn about coffee beans.
But sweeter times may lie ahead now that El Camino College near Torrance and a coffee giant have joined forces in a program designed to train technicians on the ins and outs of roasting, grinding, brewing, steaming and fixing. It used to be that when he hired someone in Cafe Au Lait's service department, Carlucci trained him from scratch. He spends years teaching employees about standard drip coffee devices and espresso machines and iced-tea makers. Knowing he wasn't alone, he gathered vendors and manufacturers to start a national training program for technicians. Without a band of repair technicians standing by, they do whatever they have to do to get their machines running again.