It wasn’t as obvious to everyone, but at the FNT at Octane during the SERBC weekend, i was stressed out, tired and may have snapped on a few people. David captured my mood in photographic form, and looking back now, it was pretty funny how grumpy i was.
Anyways, we had over 40 competitors, (more than f%*#ing Millrock), and our beloved judges Rob, Margaret, and Byron with the endurance of Navy Seals, judged all of them. We did a slightly different format this time. In order to get through as many competitors as humanly possible, we only posted pictures, and no scores. We had an awesome scorekeeper, Lindsey, who did all the math for us and after all 40 something competitors had gone, the top 5 scores went on to a finals round. Anyone who made it into the finals walked away with a ton of prizes from Batdorf and Bronson, Counter Culture, Swiss Water Decaf, Ripple, and more!
Here are some pours from the first round.
A kick ass pour from Jared Sinclair, who also competed in the SERBC. It has been said this pour was a very “Ben Helfen-eque” pour. I have to slightly agree. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing though.
Danielle Glasky, my buddy and future SERBC champ, with a slightly washed out pour, but still very pretty.
Even out of focus i can spot a Josh Flail pour out of a line-up!
Brett Burton, multiple time TNT champ
Jonathan Pascual’s pour a bit off center, but great definition. Judges liked it.
My buddy Katie Duris nearly overflowed the cup. And it was all i could do to not spill it on the way to the judges table.
Travis Edwards, SERBC finalist, with one of my favorite pours of the night. the design didn’t quite fill the cup, but still very lovely.
Will Shields with a lovely rosetta.
My flash screwed up the fact that this is SICK heart by Juliet Han.
Dale Donchey, my buddy and 3rd place at SERBC, with some kick ass definition and more leaves than i can count.
Despite spillage, a man know as “The Cho” added a little love in the corner, and the judges loved it.
In a move that shocked the entire ATL, my dear dear friends M’lissa Muckerman and Chris Owens surprised us with a visit right in the middle of FNT! M’lissa was peer pressured into pouring, and although not her best, still beautiful as all Muckerman pours are.
After the first round the top 5 scores were for pours belonging to Juliet Han, “The Cho”, Jonathan Pascual, Jared Sinclair, and Dale Donchey. The finals were intense, and the pressure got to some…
Jonathan’s pour was great, but in the finals it was only enough for 5th.
Juliet tried to recreate her heart from the first round, and came close, but it was only enough for 4th.
“The Cho” attempted to mix it up a little, and surely scored some Overall Impression points from the judges, but only enough for 3rd.
Jared, barista for less that a year, despite a little bit of symmetry issues had an obscene amount of leaves on the rosetta. Bad ass. Very good score, but only enough for 2nd.
By far the finest pour of finals, Dale Donchey snagged 1st along with an iPod Shuffle, Espresso Quest book, over $200 from the pot, and t-shirts and cups coming out his ears. Third in SERBC, winner of the largest FNT or TNT ever… i’d say my buddy Dale had a pretty awesome weekend.