Tech Talk: How to Become a Service Technician

Coffee service tech Kelsey Browning answers questions about her start in her career, navigating a male-dominated sector, and more.

BY KELSEY BROWNING
FOR BARISTA MAGAZINE

Photos courtesy of Kelsey Browning

I spent 15 years slinging caffeine and keeping a busy café organized and functioning properly.

Having to deal with equipment emergencies as a manager introduced me to this line of work, where I quickly learned that, oftentimes, malfunctioning equipment (and the crises that accompany it) can be avoided by regular preventative maintenance. Since making the transition from manager to technician, I can now see the gaps in knowledge that I was missing.

I am thrilled to be answering questions about the career transition and what it was like in my (women-sized) shoes.

Q: I’ve been working as a barista for five years, and I love the coffee industry—but I need a change. I’ve always been fascinated by coffee equipment. How does someone become an equipment service technician?

Kelsey Browning: This is a great question, and one that does not often have a linear answer. There are many pathways, but for a person to succeed in being a good technician, they must be a good problem-solver and want to use that skill to help others. If this sounds relatable, then researching local tech companies is a good next step. As a barista, do you know the technician who comes to service your equipment? Ask them if they need help. Ask them if you can shadow for a day to see what being a field tech is like, and if it’s something you’re really interested in. It is a huge investment of time and resources for a tech company to take on an apprentice. Both parties should be all in.

There are two incredible programs an aspiring technician could look into as well: Trail Blaze Coffee Academy in North Carolina, owned and operated by Brady Butler, and Workbench Coffee Labs in Missouri, owned and operated by Marty Roe. Both offer courses that are not manufacturer-specific, but instead focus on the fundamentals like electrical, hydraulics, and preventative maintenance, i.e., things that can be applied to any machine.

Manufacturer training can also be a useful tool to understand a particular brand and answer questions that relate specifically to certain models or features. If you are connected with a tech company, they should know who to contact at the manufacturer to check when training occurs. Sometimes these training sessions are free to attend but require flight and hotel if you don’t live in the area. I am lucky to live near Seattle, where Synesso, La Marzocco, Slayer, and Nuova Simonelli are all in pretty close proximity. I highly suggest visiting more than one manufacturer if you have to fly in for it!

Q: The coffee industry is pretty male-dominated, and the equipment service tech segment is even moreso. As a woman, have you faced challenges because of your gender, and if so, how have you worked through them? Any advice to share?

KB: I’ve actually been very lucky and supported in this industry. My boss, Byron Betts, owner and lead tech of Harmony Coffee Service, has always believed that more women belong here, and he wanted to be a part of making that happen. He saw value in my previous experience as a café manager and knowing the other side well enough so that when it came to being tech, I could communicate with our clients with understanding and empathy.

When I started as a tech, I was invited to a private Discord group for independent technicians called the Service Layer, where I was treated with respect and accepted as an equal. In this group, I can read conversations about troubleshooting on equipment and gain a deeper understanding of foundational principles that I can apply in the field. Any time I have had a question, I have been met with great advice and problem-solving techniques.

The support I have received has made me a much more confident technician. When I show up for a service call, I carry this confidence with me. I am also not afraid to say that I don’t know something and need to do a little more research and/or ask colleagues for help. I think that builds even more trust with clients. My advice for any female technician starting out is to find support that believes in you, regardless of your gender. Show up in spaces like you belong there, because you do. Women are just as capable in this industry as men are.

Q: What were your first few years like as a technician, and what helped you the most?

KB: Starting a new career was terrifying and really challenging at times. I didn’t have a mechanical background. Not only did I need to learn about hydraulic systems, basic electricity, and water quality, but I also needed to learn how to properly use tools. I am telling you, I started from square one, but I have a really great mentor, someone who continues to teach and challenge me.

For my first six to nine months, I shadowed Byron on every service call. I watched how he handled emergencies as well as his routines of performing preventative maintenance. Once I started getting the hang of it, we would tag-team each call. He could see how I was performing, and I knew he was there if I needed help or had any questions.

One of the things that helped me the most was repetition. Doing preventative maintenance over and over again really helped me become more familiar with the patterns and symptoms a tech might see that the barista might not. Also, using the manufacturer-recommended preventative maintenance checklists to ensure each task for a service call is complete is really helpful. Other things I still find useful are looking over parts diagrams to see how components fit together, trying to trace the water pathway in a machine, and disassembling a part to understand how it actually works.

The Service Layer has also had a really huge impact, and has kept me grounded when I have questioned what I am doing. Advice I found in our Discord group early on that stuck with me the most is “be where your hands are” and “slow is fast, and fast is slow.” I repeat these words often to remind myself to stay present in what I am doing. These tiny boxes we stick our tools in have the power to kill us, and we must respect them.

Q: What’s a problem you see over and over that could be avoided with better education?

KB: Two things come to mind immediately, the first being a general lack of cleanliness. Most common issues that we see are due to a lack of routine cleaning and neglect of best practices—for example, low pressure in one steam wand but not the other. This is usually due to a clogged steam tip or steam wand from not purging the wand. Purging before and after steaming is very important. You do it before so the stagnant water in the steam wand does not get introduced into the fresh milk, and after so the milk that was just in the wand gets purged out, which helps to avoid clogs.

Another example is an overflowing drain box, usually due to baristas pouring unused milk down the drain grate. Coffee grounds stick to old milk, creating a sludge in the drain line. It doesn’t take long for the drain to clog up. Don’t pour milk down the grate!

The second common problem is lack of water filtration. It’s astonishing how quickly bad water can destroy an espresso machine. Water chemistry is complex, and certain components react with certain metals in harmful ways. This can lead to corrosion in a very short period of time, causing weak spots in pipes and fittings and eventually leaks. Each espresso machine manufacturer has different parameters for acceptable water, and they will vary because the machines are made of different types of metals. Some have copper tubes and boilers, others stainless steel, and some a combo of both.

What I would want every espresso machine owner to know is that water filters are not one-size-fits-all. Your water needs to be tested to see what components are actually in it before the proper filter can be determined.

Q: Speaking of water, does your rainy Pacific Northwest climate play a role in the issues you see?

KB: Climate and where water is sourced will always play a role in what you see in an espresso machine. In our service area, a few towns have notoriously hard water, which shows up as scaling issues inside the equipment. Customers in these areas who choose not to have water filtration often deal with leaks, malfunctioning valves, and machines that need replacing sooner than expected. These are the customers who call us with the most emergencies.

A water filter typically lasts six to 12 months, depending on the quality and volume of the incoming water. Customers who don’t have proper filtration in these areas often need to replace their cartridges much more frequently, which can be very costly. For these customers, we urge them to consider a reverse osmosis (RO) system, a large upfront investment, but one that offers the ultimate control over water quality. An RO system usually pays for itself in the first year or two.

This article originally appeared in the April + May 2026 issue of Barista Magazine. Read more of the issue online here for free.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Browning (she/her) is an espresso technician and office administrator with Harmony Coffee Service in Skagit Valley, Wash. She is a dedicated member of the Service Layer, a cooperative of independent technicians working together to raise the standard of espresso equipment service. Kelsey also manages Service Layer’s social media. Learn more at theservicelayer.com, and follow on Instagram @servicelayer. 

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