Seattle, WA. -- Michaelo Espresso, Seattle-based importer of La San Marco and Cafina espresso machines, has completed a major contribution to the B.E.S.T Certification Program by delivering a superautomatic espresso machine technical training guide.

The Beverage Equipment Service Technician, of America Training Certification Program, or BEST, is the first of its kind in the U.S. and was designed to prepare participants for employment and/or certification in the specialty beverage industry. Sponsored by El Camino College in Long Beach, California and Specialty Coffee Association of America, BEST is currently developing an espresso machine training program to compliment their already established brewing equipment course. Michaelo Espresso has high hopes for the BEST Program to provide the industry with a dependable level of technician training that will promote higher standards in the service community.

Michaelo joined the BEST curriculum steering committee in February of 2004 and pledged to contribute the superautomatic espresso machine portion of the training program which focuses on teaching general maintenance and repair as well as advanced diagnosis and troubleshooting. The content addition by Michaelo is one of the largest of the nearly 20 specialty coffee companies to participate in the BEST steering committee.  Michaelo President, Michael Myers attends the planning meetings and feels strongly about supporting BEST.  Everything we do to help educate and improve the level of training of espresso technicians will come back to us by improving the (specialty coffee) industry. In their twenty-one years of selling and supporting espresso machines, Michaelo has developed a comprehensive training program of their own to enhance the abilities of technicians who work in their large national network.

Paul Flynn, Michaelo Espresso s lead superautomatic technician, is working on the curriculum material, which is derived from years of service in the field and thousands of hours of technical research and development of their Swiss superautomatic, the Cafina c60. Flynn, who has trained hundreds of service technicians across the U.S., feels Michaelo Espresso s contribution to the BEST program is a natural extension of the company s existing training program and an excellent use of their in-house technical resources.

Michaelo Espresso will continue to work with BEST through the completion of the espresso equipment curriculum, which should be available to students in a traditional classroom format or online early in 2005.


Michaelo Espresso has served the specialty coffee industry with only the finest espresso machines and grinders, custom-built espresso carts and kiosks, and nationwide service since 1983, with more than 6,500 customers in the U.S., Canada, Korea, China, Taiwan, England and Mexico.

For more information, please contact Tammy McKenzie of Michaelo Espresso at 206.695-4950, tmckenzie@michaelo.com or visit Michaelo Espresso s Web site at www.michaelo.com.