We had barista from A&E, 1369, Diesel/Bloc 11, Hi Rise, Simon's, Espresso Royale, Bonhoeffer's, Cafe Fixe, Amherst Coffee, Formaggios, as well as Taste and barismo! I hope I am not leaving anyone out but that's what I remember after that crazy night. Quite a few crews showed up in force putting to shame those who snubbed the invites.
Rene from Hi-Rise brought lemon Meringue pies, Gus of Toscanini's dropped off a special coffee ice cream, and Zack from 1369 came bearing gifts with a special bottle of Bourbon. The pourover bar was well manned and a big thanks to Ben Chen and Chris for offering our coffees up. A heaping big thanks to Fazenda for donating the tampers. That added a lot to the event and was very generous. A big thanks to High Lawn milk for donating a few cases of their 100% Jersey milk and sending out a rep to attend the event. I guarantee a few shops are taking a long look at upgrading their dairy to a local quality focused farm like High Lawn after this.
The place was really packed and a big thanks to the staff at Taste: Jason, Jamie, Clare, Logan, and of course Nik. It was a big mess to clean up, a lot of things to keep track of and they did a great job. Professionals to the letter.Out of 20 some competitors (Nik will update this in detail later) in the latte art throw down, the six finalists were:
Jess (Diesel)Ethan (A&E Roasterie)
Clare (Taste)
Emily (Diesel/Bloc 11)
Simon (Simon's)
Nik (Taste)
The overall winner was Emily (pour pictured at left) who took home a pour over kit from barismo and a red powder coated tamper from Fazenda. Second went to Clare, who took home a Rosewood handle tamper from Fazenda. The most creative award went to Simon who took a bumper tamper from Fazenda back to his shop.For those curious, the winner of Kranky's latte chug contest was Logan (Taste) who took down a 12oz latte in 3 seconds flat.
I was very happy to see our community come out and represent. It is already making a difference and bringing new ideas to discussions on everything from milk to gear and of course, the coffee.
