I am finally getting around to posting how the Charlotte SCAA Skill Building Workshop and Barista Bash/Latte Art Throwdown went. I can't believe it's been a week already. The Skill Building Workshop part of the weekend went really well. We had attendees from as far away as Maine, and they were a great group to work with. The weekend started with a great duo of cupping classes from Andrew Miller with Cafe Imports. He is absolutely one of the most knowledgeable people in coffee, hands-down, and his classes didn't disappoint. Renee Espinoza from Coffee Masters out of Chicago helped out! Afterwards, some of us all went out to dinner at an Irish pub downtown.
We had the espresso classes on Saturday, and I think they went really well. We had the help of Lydia Troxler, Brent Hall, and Mary Schroeder from Counter Culture, and Nick Guidry from Stockton Graham. A really good set of classes, and the attendees really enjoyed themselves, and got alot out of it.
Saturday night, we hosted the first Southeast Barista Bash and Latte Art Throwdown. We had some of the best latte art talent in the room. Lem Butler DJ'd an amazing set of music, and showed incredible skills on the turntables. Ben Helfen of Octane Coffee MC'd the Throwdown part of the night. We had some great local pizza, and some great local microbrews from a great brewery out of Winston-Salem. When it came time to see who was competing, the list looked like this: Alex Medina and Shannon Hudgens from Coffee and Crema in Greenville, SC; Brady Butler from Coffee Garden in Charlotte, Bart Shaw from Ashland Coffee in Ashland, VA; Adam Minton from Higher Grounds in Boone, NC; Michael Buerl from Dilworth Coffee in Charlotte; Brent Hall from Counter Culture in Charlotte; Lem Butler from Counter Culture in Durham; Ellie Matuszak from Coffee Solutions in Los Angeles; Ben Szobody from Greenville, SC; Ben Helfen from Octane Coffee in Atlanta; and myself from Dilworth Coffee in Charlotte. (I actually just competed because with objective judging led by Tony Riffel from Octane-Atlanta, I just wanted to see what I could actually do. And, I just wanted to have fun, and since I didn't think there was a chance in Hades I would even come close to most in the competition, I didn't really even try that hard.)
The competition was great, with several people stating they hadn't really steamed on the Rancilios before. Shannon Hudgens held the lead most of the night. Somehow, I managed a good couple of pours, pours that really scored well, and I took the lead. Then, Mr. Millrock Latte Art Champion himself Ben Helfen went. He poured what I thought was two really good pours, the last one an almost perfect rosetta. But, when the dust settled, I somehow came away the winner. It's funny, because I remember at the beginning of the night telling Brent Hall that I was going to compete because in latte art, we all have a good day, and we all have a bad day, and you never can tell till you pour. I had a good day. If we did it again today, I am positive the results would be different, but it sure was fun. So, I have a brand new Rancilio Silvia on my kitchen counter, and couldn't be happier, despite the fact I still can't believe it.
It was so good to see so many excellent SE baristas in the room, and it reminded me of what I love about this community. It's so cool to see. I will do it again next year, for sure. (And hopefully, more people will show up, we won't have baristas who drink a little too much stout, and the community will be even bigger.)
We had the Latte Art Workshop with Ellie Matuszak on Sunday, and Ben Helfen and I helped. The class was great, and several people really picked it up and ran with it. Bart Shaw from Ashland Coffee was pouring tulips in macchiatto cups, amazing.
So, to wrap it up, this was a great event all the way around. We raised some good money for Socially Conscious Coffee and Blood:Water Mission. We met a lot of really cool people, and saw some old friends. We also started something that hopefully will build to continue the momentum of great coffee, crema and community. A special thanks to Lem Butler for DJing. Ben Helfen for MCing. Tony Riffel from Octane Coffee, Nick Guidry from Stockton Graham in Raleigh, and Jay Gestwick from Dilworth Coffee in Charlotte, for judging. And Renee Espinoza, Brent Hall, Lydia Troxler, Mary Schroeder, and Brady Butler for helping with the classes. Also to Sandy May, our president, for seeing the value in the whole event and supporting it 110%.
The Video of the Throwdown is here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7742755330408091423&hl=en
(I recommend watching it in Original Size.)