Coffee School: Introduction to Espresso

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Description

Ready to become your favorite barista? New to espresso or looking for a refresher? Coffee School presents Intro to Espresso — training designed specifically for you, the home barista. This self-paced online course will give you the tools, tips, and tricks to confidently work your equipment and make great espresso.

This course is included at no extra charge with all espresso machine purchases.

30-day love it guarantee

Home espresso is a big investment, and we want you to be 100% in love with your new setup. That's why we offer 30 days to return your machine if it's not the right fit. While return shipping and a small restocking fee are your responsibility (unless there's an issue with the machine, in which case we'll cover everything), we'll make sure the rest of the process is smooth and simple.

Shipping & returns

In-stock items ship within 1-business day.

Free shipping on orders over $75. To be eligible for free shipping, the final order amount, after applying any discounts, including rewards points, must exceed $75.

Returns are accepted up to 30 days from the date the order was delivered. Smallware items must be unused. Open Box and Certified Pre-Owned are non-returnable.

Need to Know

Clive Coffee's Introduction to Espresso is a self-paced online course designed to teach home baristas the fundamentals of pulling exceptional espresso. Whether you've just unboxed your first machine or need to refine your technique, this course covers everything from espresso history to dialing in your grinder, distribution, tamping, and taste evaluation.

What You'll Learn

  • The history of espresso and key brewing principles
  • How to pull the perfect shot and evaluate extraction
  • Dialing in your grinder for optimal results
  • Distribution and tamping techniques for even extraction
  • Espresso recipes and drink foundations
  • Coffee storage and best practices for freshness
  • What properly extracted espresso should taste like

Course Details

After enrollment, you'll receive an invitation to access the course on Teachable, our learning platform. The curriculum includes one hour of in-depth video instruction with optional captions, downloadable practice sheets, supplemental resources, and an exclusive offer for a one-on-one Zoom coaching session with a Clive barista trainer. The course is yours to keep forever—learn at your own pace, revisit lessons anytime, and build confidence behind the portafilter.

What You'll Need

  • Espresso machine
  • Burr grinder
  • Tamper
  • Scale
  • Fresh whole bean coffee
  • Optional: microfiber towels, knock box, tamping mat

Introduction to Espresso is part of Clive Coffee's commitment to education, equipment, and ongoing support—everything you need to master home espresso from Portland's espresso experts.

The Clive Difference

At Clive, we're not just selling coffee equipment — we're your long-term partner in the craft. Every machine we carry is hand-selected by our team of espresso obsessives, backed by real-world testing and years of industry experience. We offer unbiased guidance, lifetime support, and a genuine love for helping you find the setup that's right for you. From your first question to your thousandth shot, we're here.

Reviews

Comprehensive introductory espresso course praised for clear instruction and helpful content. Customers said it's "great for beginners" with "easy to follow" videos. Many appreciated the included 1:1 coaching session. Some felt content was too basic or similar to free YouTube resources. Technical access issues reported by few shoppers.

  • What a fun and tasty experience! Made me ready as soon as we had the machine!
  • Provides great information and are trustworthy experts. Teaching is easy to understand.
  • A positively world-class experience. Every person pulling espresso shots should take this class.
j
jeri r.

I learned my barista skills on the street. Taking Introduction to Espresso up-leveled my understanding of the skill one-thousand fold. Highly recommended!

j
james V.

it nice to get started

L
Larz

Doesn’t work i can’t access it

S
Sorangel G.
Amazing machine

Amazing machine

M
Miguel G.
Great for beginners trying to

Great for beginners trying to understand more about higher level coffee stuff

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Scott C.
Wow! Can’t say enough about

Wow! Can’t say enough about Clive School! What a fun and tasty experience! While we waited for our Ride to be delivered, having the school available kept me busy and made me ready as soon as we had the machine! I still have to take advantage of the live course, but I’m saving that for when I’ve perfected the basis and will be needing someone to show me just how far I can take it! Looking forward to seeing and tasting where that might be!

J
Jerry A.
Wonderfull

Wonderfull

J
Justin F.
I wasn’t making espresso before.

I wasn’t making espresso before. Thank you for getting me on track!

T
Tracie I.
Clive provides great information and

Clive provides great information and are trustworthy experts. Their teaching is easy to understand. Watching anything video Clive puts out there is very helpful. Love the Clive team.

Z
Zachary W.
Great introduction to espresso. It

Great introduction to espresso. It was all I needed to get my new machine up and going.

R
Ramona B.
Great way to get started

Great way to get started with my new machine!

B
Bernard W.
View them all. Keep it

View them all. Keep it up

N
Neal B.
I think it provides a

I think it provides a great crash course for new espresso owners, who has gone through hundreds of hours of James Hoffman videos/books like myself.

M
Marybeth J.
REALLY well done. Great videos

REALLY well done. Great videos and interesting and helpful topics. This really helped me with my new espresso machine and grinder!

N
Neal D.
I found the Coffee School

I found the Coffee School very helpful and found the information directly impacted the way I brew espresso.

A
Alexis S.
Really Helped me with the

Really Helped me with the basics

M
Michael G.
A great primer, and a

A great primer, and a necessary first step before taking the highly recommendable Advanced course.

D
Diane L.
I like going over to

I like going over to catch things I have missed. It helped me tremendously

H
Harvey R.
Taught me some stuff I

Taught me some stuff I didn’t know.

D
David V.
Love Clive’s classes. The intro

Love Clive’s classes. The intro class cleaned up some bad habits for me and improved my game. But the advanced class was a game changer. Stick it out. It is worth it.

M
Maria R.
Fantastic course! It is my

Fantastic course! It is my first 'manual' espresso machine and the course really help me with very clear instructions and step by step details on how to prepare my coffee. It was so helpful! Thank you so much Clive Coffee.

M
Matthew

Decent for intro, nice to include but lots of this is easily accessible via YouTube or Instagram.

A
Andrey R.
Not bad but YouTube has

Not bad but YouTube has all these same type of videos

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Thomas D.
I was skeptical at first

I was skeptical at first about the class but could not have been happier with the class! I recommend this to everyone who is new to espresso!!

J
Justin F.
Well produced but not a

Well produced but not a vid I really needed. Plenty of instruction on YT. Clive should just release these on YT to build the brand.

A
Angel

Very easy to follow class. Super beginner information, but useful when just getting started. It really sets the foundation that eventually leads you straight down the rabbit hole that is espresso

A
Angel

Very easy to follow class. Super beginner information, but useful when just getting started. It really sets the foundation that eventually leads you straight down the rabbit hole that is espresso

P
Pradeep N.
Really helpful course if you

Really helpful course if you are a first-time owner of an espresso machine

N
Nathan

Unnecessary for me but cool

N
Nathan

Unnecessary for me but cool

J
John N.
The content and delivery is

The content and delivery is great, but I'm most of the way through and there are very few actual videos of baristas doing the work done in a zoomed in, instructional sort of way. I'd really like some videos showing good/bad outcomes, sounds, etc layered with the voice track.

A
Andrew J.
Helpful if an absolute beginner

Helpful if an absolute beginner

K
Kevin D.
Included in my purchase which

Included in my purchase which was a really nice gift. I knew absolutely nothing about espresso and this got me up to speed quickly. Easily paced and the quizes ensure you pay attention.

S
Srinivas

Succinct and informative