This event has been in the planning for a few months now, and having received sponsorship from Mercanta Coffee, Reg Barber, Espresso Parts, Espro, J. Farina, as well as several other boutique tamper makers, the most exciting of which is the custom brand of UK Latte Art Champion, John Gordon, Gorilla Tampers, of which we have the first in the US! The event is being hosted by Safehouse Coffee and Tea and dirtyCup.com at 109 South Hill Street in Griffin, GA.

We have an illustrious field of coffee professionals coming down to participate which is exactly what is needed in the pursuit of finer equipment. In our searches, all of the tamper reviews we have found have been along the lines of “yes, this tamper is pretty,” and “oooh, shiny!” Well, shiny does not necessarily make my pucks drier or my shots tastier. To remedy this, we will be approaching the tampers through several hard parameters so that when finished, each tamper will have a score that represents its ability to help you produce a higher quality of espresso.

We will be taping the whole process and culminating with a round table discussion of the hows and whys of the scoring process. We’re not here to poo-poo anyone’s work, but we certainly want to give illumination to why the best are the best. I even have a suspicion that we will find a boutique tamper or two that are as good if not better than the industry standards that we all know and love.

Afterwards, of course, there will be a latte art throwdown ($5 buy in) with the cash going to the winner and prizes for the top three. It’s going to be a good time. As a roaster, I have set aside a few exceptional coffees to roast for the event and to have the diversion of some filter brew tastings. Our doors are open to all during the event and there will be lots of free espressos and capps for those spectators smart enough to come hang out – you could have a capp made by an industry champion – why would you miss that?

The Tamper Review and Throwdown Royale will be on Saturday, January 23rd at Safehouse Coffee and Tea, 109 South Hill Street, Griffin, GA, 30223. The tamper assessment will begin at 6pm and the throwdown will follow after (remember the $5 buy-in!). Jacob Orr and David Fountain are hosting an after party just one block down from the shop – crash if you need to.

And oh yeah, Motivated Mice Productions will be shooting the whole thing in HD, so put on your swellest duds – see you there!