The Third Throwdown

The story of Josh Flail is one of success combined with disappointment. Capturing 3rd place multiple times is sure to solidify one’s reputation as a heavy hitter, but for Josh, that wasn’t enough. He wanted more…

And at the Third Throwdown, he got more. He got a TNT victory and a spot for his name to be on TNT banner for all of time.

Here i am handing him his winnings, while we both make goofy faces.

The Second Throwdown

What an exciting week this was! The Primavera crew returned again all the way from Birmingham, and Brett was looking to defend his title. And for a good of half the competition, his name was in the number one spot on the leader board. It was……. until the last competitor of the evening, Octane’s own Matt McDaniel managed to slip into first, topping Brett by a mere 2.5 points. For those who don’t know, the order in which the competitors pour is picked at random, but we couldn’t have picked a more exciting conclusion if we tried!

Thanks again to everyone who came out this week! Here’s our new champion Matt, with his $90 worth of winnings.

Awesome!

This is what it’s all about!

Minor Rules Update

So our first TNT has come and gone, and it was amazing. Thanks again to everyone who came out and traveled both short and long distances. It was great to see the new and familiar faces all hanging out together and sharing a common bond of love for coffee. M’lissa and I are extremely pumped and grateful.

As it was our first official time of going through the whole thing, we learned a great deal about how the whole process flows, and we wanted to clarify a few things that we didn’t clarify as much the first week.

First off, we’re adding the following section in the Rules: “In order to participate, the competitor must have experience with espresso preparation and the equipment used to do so. In addition, the competitor must have experience pouring milk based beverages.” There will be a person at all TNT’s to show people how to use the La Marzocco Linea that Octane has, but we just want to put that in the rules so people aren’t caught unaware when they come out and realize what will be required of them to pour a latte.

There’s also one more addition: “If the competitor is not happy with his or her pour, then the competitor can choose not to submit it for scoring, by notifying an officiator.” In throwdowns all over the world, it is perfect acceptable to dump your own pour if you’re not happy with it. We’ve all screwed up pours before, and even the best have dumped theirs at some point.

We also wanted to highlight this section: “A selection of mugs will be provided for the competitor to choose from, but the competitor can bring his or her own mug of choice, as long as it is solid and non-patterned and has no logo or brand.” If there’s a mug you practice with, feel free to bring it! I know that when i pour latte art, there’s a specific kind of mug i like best and i get my best results with, and we want to encourage you to pour your best possible.

We’re going to have the rules printed out next time for everyone to have, but we want to strongly encourage you read the Rules post on this blog before coming out next Thursday. There’s a lot of useful information and tips to help you do your best pour possible.

The First Throwdown

We had a great turnout for our first event! Thanks to everyone who drove out, especially those who drove the distance (2 cars full crossed a time zone) to make it to Octane! Five different coffee roasters were represented that night: Counter Culture Coffee, Batdorf & Bronson, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, Primavera Coffee Roasters, and Fountain City Coffee! This is what it’s all about, getting everyone together to meet and mingle!

Our first winner and the first name on the banner goes to Brett Burton from Primavera Coffee Roasters in Birmingham, AL! He took home the prize of $80 and an iPod Shuffle (donated by our platinum sponsor, Ripple!).

First Official TNT this Thursday!

Hello, friends! Start practicing your latte art pouring skills, because this Thursday (3/20), it’s finally here! We will be holding our first official Thursday Night Throwdown at Octane at 9PM. For the official rules (which you are encouraged to go through), check out the Rules post. It’s going to be awesome! There will be an iPod Shuffle in the pot this Thursday too! But more on that later…

Here’s the general idea. At 8:00, an announcement will be made to come sign up. You’ll pay 5 bucks, and you’ll receive a number which will correspond to your name. You’ll be able to sign up until about 9. There’s a limit of 20 people, though, so be careful not to wait until the last minute. At 9, the throwdown will commence. You’ll want to keep an ear open, and try to be up by the counter about 1 or 2 numbers in advance. But we’ll call out your number to let you know what’s going on. The reason you’ll be audibly referred to by your number is because the judges will be not far from everyone, and will be able to hear names, if we call out names there could be questions about the judging being slanted, and we want the judging to be without bias. (On a side note, if you’re interested in judging, be at Octane around 8:20 or so for a calibration, you’ll earn 10 bucks in Octane credit for judging!)

Moving on…

You’ll get 3 minutes to have a completed drink on the submission saucer (that’s a weird name). You can pull multiple shots, but in my personal experience of ‘throwing down’ you probably won’t need to adjust the grind or anything, even though you’re allowed to if you want.

Once you pour, and you put your drink on the submission saucer, a photo will be taken, and then an officiator (probably our beloved M’lissa) will carry the drink to the judges, who will judge it based on the judging criteria, which is in the official rules.

The person with the most total points wins the pot. And this week, our debut week, an iPod Shuffle will be thrown in to the pot from one of our sponsers, Ripple!

And that’s not all. While your money you won will be spent before you know it, you will be forever immortalized on The TNT Latte Art Champs Banner.

Isn’t it rad? I’m super pumped about the banner… In any case, see those open rectangles? Each week the winners name will be put in a square, along with the date of their victory. It’s like the Stanley Cup! Only plastic… and with stickers for the names instead of being engraved…. and not a trohpy….. but still rad, right?

So come out and have some fun and get to know your fellow baristas/coffee enthusiasts. It’s going to be super fun.

The Gist

Thursday Night Throwdown, TNT, is a community building event held weekly at Octane Coffee Bar and Lounge in Atlanta, GA. 5 bucks to enter, one latte to pour, winner takes the pot.

We want to create a special hour that breaks shop and roaster boundaries to bring people together. We hope to meet to people, make new friends, and share our love for coffee.

Swing by the shop around 8 if you want to compete and by 8:30 if you’d like to participate as a judge. We’ll have a giant screen set up so that all can watch and see a running scoreboard of who’s in the lead.

Octane is located at 1009b Marietta St. NW at the intersection of Howell Mill.

The Rules

Rules and Procedures for TNT

A. Competitor Signup

• Limited to 20 competitors
• The 20 are determined by first come/first serve. If there are people still wanting to compete after the 20 spaces are filled, then they will be signed up first for the following week. If they do not show up, then at 8:45PM the following week, there slot will be up for grabs.
• In order to participate, the competitor must have experience with espresso preparation and the equipment used to do so. In addition, the competitor must have experience pouring milk based beverages.
• Sign-up begins at 8:00PM by way of an announcement.
• 9:00 is the cut off time. If a person is not signed up by 9:00PM, then they will not be able to compete.
• At the sign-up, the competitor will give their name, and be assigned a number, and will pay their $5.

B. Competition time/Competitor requirements

• Competitor will have his or her number called, and must be available and ready to compete while the number that is 2 before them is currently competing.
• Competitor will have 3 minutes total behind the machine. This is includes optional prep/grind adjustment. It is not necessary to fill the whole 3 minutes.
• Competitor can pull as many shots as he or she wants within the 3 minute time frame.
• Each competitor will get one pitcher of milk, and only one opportunity to steam.
• Spilled milk will be handled case by case.
• A selection of mugs will be provided for the competitor to choose from, but the competitor can bring his or her own mug of choice, as long as it is solid and non-patterned and has no logo or brand.
• Espresso and milk are provided, and those are the only choices. Competitors MAY NOT bring their own espresso or milk.
• The latte art must free pour, no etching or sauces allowed. Only ingredients will be espresso and milk.
• Once the drink is poured, competitor will place it on the designated saucer to be photographed. After it is photographed, it will be carried by one of the officiators to the judging table.

• If the competitor is not happy with his or her pour, then the competitor can choose not to submit it for scoring, by notifying an officiator.
• If the competitor spills the drink on the way to being photographed, he or she does NOT get another chance to pour again.
• If the officiator drops the drink on the way to the judges or the judges knock or spill it before they can score it, the drink will be judged from the photograph.

C. Judging

• The drinks will be judged in 4 categories.
  • Balance & Symmetry
    • Dividing lines are clean, even, and show no signs of hesitation.
    • Individual elements work well with and compliment each other. There is no sense of awkwardness.
  • Color Infusion & Definition
    • The contrast between the whiteness of the foam, and the darkness of the crema
    • The intention of the design is obvious and clear
  • Use of Space
    • The design fills the cup with in an appropriate and pleasant way
    • The design neither crowds the cup, nor leaves it feeling empty or unfinished
    • There is a harmony between the size of the cup and size of the design
  • Overall Impression
    • Drink is free of spill marks and cup is appropriately full of liquid
    • Size of cup
    • General aesthetic appeal
    • Subjective appreciation

• Each of the 3 judges can award up to 6 points in each category, giving the possibility of a perfect score in a category being 18, and in perfect score in all categories 72.
  • Judges can award 1 to 6 five points. 0’s are not allowed.
  • The scale works as follows:
    • One point = Acceptable
    • Two points = Average
    • Three points = Good
    • Four points = Very Good
    • Five points = Excellent
    • Six points = Extraordinary

• In the case of a tied total score, the competitor with the highest Overall Impression score will be declared the winner.