Coffee Roasting, Business and Barista Training Bundle (7days) - Flexible Scheduling

Prerequisite: No prior experience required.
Typical class time: 10:30 am to 5 pm (varies by course and location).
Location: Flexible scheduling. This bundle allows you to mix and match CBI labs. You may complete the Business & Barista portion at any CBI location, then travel to Vancouver to complete the roasting course when you’re ready. All roasting instruction is completed in Vancouver.

This 7-day bundle of classes brings together our most important courses with a bundle + save price to give you a clear pathway on how to open and run your own coffee shop and roastery. You can choose to take the classes all at once, or spread them over time—there is no time limit.

Once you complete your purchase of this bundle, please send us an email to let us know which class dates best suit your schedule. We will assist you in choosing dates from our online calendar here.

Prefer fixed dates in Vancouver?
If you’d rather take all seven days together as a scheduled Vancouver-based course, with every class held at our Vancouver lab, you can view our Vancouver 7-Day Bundle with published dates →

Coffee Roasting Level 1 Curriculum:

Learning to roast coffee successfully requires mentorship over a period of time, varying from a few months to a few years with many trials and errors. In spite of that fact, we can teach you the fundamentals of coffee roasting, safety procedures, simple maintenance, and coffee fundamentals in a weekend. Anything beyond that is not realistic in a weekend course. This course is a hands-on experience of coffee cupping, tasting, roasting, and barista fundamentals to ensure your roasting business success.

Some of the topics covered during Day 1:

• Canadian market share
• Differences between artisan and commodity coffee
• Principles of roasting
• Biology of tasting and the coffee tasting wheel
• Cupping, tasting espresso, calibration, and discussion
• What is the #1 seller in coffee shops?
• Roasting differences for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Wave coffee
• Myths and stereotypes around roasting for espresso, batch brew, pour-over, and filter coffee
• Thermocycling

Roasting is about developing flavour, not colour. If you cannot taste your mistakes, you will never make the appropriate corrections to your roast. Tasting is fundamental to all culinary arts, and roasting is a culinary art.

Some of the topics covered during Day 2:

• Espresso variations
• How to track a roast
• Philosophies of roasting
• How to choose a roaster
• Main types of roasting machines
• Different ways to develop a roast
• Freshness standards

Some topics covered during Day 3:

• Profile roasting
• Decaf
• Terroir & processing
• Green coffee defects

Throughout the three days, the roasting instructor will provide an overview of operating a coffee roaster, temperature-time profiles, roast breakdown, and how to adjust for different outcomes. Each student will be guided through multiple roasts individually and in groups, with time for questions and discussion throughout.

You will be given samples of your roasted coffee to take home with you.

Opening a Coffee Business Curriculum:

This course is designed to help you plan, design, and critically think through the process of opening your own café.

Business is far more complicated than in past decades. You are now competing against independent operators and large coffee-chain businesses that use sophisticated data and analytics to compete.

We teach you how to manage risk and increase your chances of success by focusing on the science of business, rather than relying solely on gut instinct.

This course is designed to accelerate your project, preparing you to move forward with confidence—whether you are starting a new café, purchasing an existing business, or navigating operational challenges.

Some of the topics covered:

• Your competitive advantages
• The Canadian coffee market
• Customer expectations
• Specialty coffee
• Quality control
• Service models
• Vision
• Competitive intelligence: what to look for and what to avoid
• Menu and equipment decisions
• Choosing equipment suppliers, espresso machines, and roasters
• Finding a location and working with contractors and trades
• Marketing, promotions, holiday planning, and branding
• People management and staff training
• Managing your numbers

Barista Levels 1–4 Curriculum:

These classes build from foundational skills through advanced bar flow, taste development, and latte art. Together, they create consistency, efficiency, and confidence behind the bar—essential for professional café operations.

Registration: Pre-registration required; no drop-ins.

Class sizes: Small, hands-on classes with ample individual instruction.

Private groups: Weekday and weekend private training is available upon request.

Included with your class:

• Printed student manual, study guide, and certificate of completion
• Free membership to the Wholesale Student Buying Club ($799 value)
• Lifetime Alumni membership and benefits