February’s TNT has been POSTPONED due to all the snow that’s been accumulating, sorta melting, etc.
We’ll update the flier soon, but mark your calendars and keep practicing for TNT on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH. We’ll still be at the Counter Culture Training Center and the times and rule switch-up will remain the same, too.
Hope to see you there. In the meantime enjoy the snow and stay warm!
things to know:
NEW MONTH, NEW RULES, NEW CHALLENGES:
Head-to-head brackets!
There’ll be a designated shot-puller pulling one pair of shots split into two cap cups. The head-to-head baristas will steam their own milk and pour a single-shot cappuccino for judging. Winner advances to next round. There’ll be a time limit, TBD.
and now you know.
RSVP via Facebook here: http://bit.ly/tntdc-feb2010
I missed January’s TNT cause I was sick. I heard it was amazing with cake shaped like a latte and a crazy draw-your-number-and-what-you-pour kind of twist. Here is a link to see some pictures of the event… Baked and Wired.
In the end, there was a tie for 2nd between Mick Miller from Open City and Ken from MidCity with Grant MacHamer of Peregrine taking 1st.
Heads up because its February and TNT is scheduled to happen at the Counter Culture Coffee Training Center on the 11th. This will be a head to head match up with some interesting requirements of the baristas. All I can say is practice your caps! Quickly. More info to come from the facebook thing and from here.
To recap this past TNT from December, I shall begin with an apology for being so late in posting: I am sorry.
TNT December brought out some awesome coffee folk who came for cookies and friends and competition. This was, I think, the biggest event yet in terms of overall attendance and competitors. There was a cookie throwdown and everybody was allowed to vote for their favorites! This was DELICIOUS!
David Fritzler was making amazing eggnog on site with a little help from CCC’s Alex Brown. It was sooooo gooooood!
There was lots of PBR to go around thanks to TNT’s new friend, Dan VanHoozer. Thanks, Dan. There were also tons of PBR prizes along with a few other goodies- Top five all got a bag of Counter Cultures Holiday Blend and a PBR can/stein conversion kit. Check out the beer tree and the sweet prize table…
here is third place…
second place…
… and first place!
The latte art battle was amazing! Pour after pour were solid, but we kept waiting to see ‘The One’. For a while, I thought this one may take it all. Will Shields layed this out…
Returning champion, Liz Fedden, poured this…
Not enough to capture it this time…
Our final three were all new to the winners circle this evening.
Travis Beckett took third with this well balanced pour- he was not officially bar trained yet (but has worked in coffee before). Good job, Travis!
Collin put this in front of us. Its in a 3oz cup or less. The color and definition blew the judges away. It scored enough to take second!
and, finally… 1st PLACE!!! Maura Ourand poured the jaw dropper of the evening. Outstanding, Maura! Reminiscent of the big, sweeping leaves that DNF would pour, Maura roles her own unique style in to the pattern seen here…
Here is a shot of the winners showing off their hot schwag from PBR!
This was an amazing evening that went well past midnight for some of us. There was even a sleep-over at the training center!
Thank yous to all the competitors, spectators, cookie providers and judges!
Super thanks to David Fritzler for the killer cocktails!
Huge thanks to Dan VanHoozer and PBR!
This was the last TNT for TNT committee member, Julie Housh. Julie has done an incredible job building up TNT in D.C. with great photos and friend gathering PR. She reached out to the D.C. coffee community and pulled so many new faces in and has grown this family to rent-a-park-out reunion size. Thank you, Julie! We miss you.
TNT January will take place at Baked and Wired on January 14th, 2010. Sign ups at 8 and pouring at 9. Cant wait to see you all in this new year!
Time for the annual Holiday TNT showdown, coffee people! This one promises to be awesome with our new PBR sponsor providing beverages, a best cookie competition, a secret cocktail concoction and a new trophy that will be awarded to the champ!
Its all going down at the CCCDCTC on December 10th with sign ups starting at 8 and pouring beginning at 9. If latte art isnt your thing, bake your best cookie and bring a list of ingredients to post with them because we are having a cookie throw down. Thank you, Katie Duris, for this idea from last year! If you dont want to bake, come out to eat, drink, be merry and party with the D.C. coffee community.
On a real down note for the TNT committee, we will be losing our esteemed photographer, tech guru and TNT propaganda distributer- Julie Housh. This is her last TNT in D.C. as she is packing up and heading to some island to drink pina collada lattes out of coconuts- lucky! So, come out to wish her well and say ‘goodbye’.
I am going to scramble my bottom off to come up with a trophy that I have had on the brain for months, but never built. The idea is that this trophy will be held by the monthly champ at his/her shop (or office, or home, etc.) for a month, returning to the next TNT to be passed on to the next champ. I would love to have small name plates made that can be attached to the trophy that will state the champs name and the month/year won. Kinda like the Stanley Cup. But its for TNT. And its gonna be GOLD!
If anyone would like to be a judge for this TNT, please send an email(tntwdc@gmail) or comment on the facebook thing. Cookie throwdown will determine a champ through silent voting- most votes wins.
Big thanks to Grant Machamer for the killer flier for this one! Siiiiiick!
See you there!
November’s TNT took place at Mid City Caffe and was quite delightful. This is the layout that greeted us as we entered…
Lovely and tasty! Thanks Mid City! You all way out did yourselves for this event. I had quite a different view of TNT this time around as I judged along with Meredith ‘Death’ Taylor and Guillaume Bernardeau. Guillaume was shooting photos while judging and did a great job with both. Thanks, Guillaume!
Wow, we look stiff and serious. Actually we were drawing stick figure flip books in this picture.
On to the event.
TNT’s very own planner/photographer/tech for the weberlinks Julie Housh was in the top three after this one.
While some first TNT timers threw down also.
Rasheed’s pour…
Rasheed is busy opening a shop and says he hasnt poured in over a year. Not bad for being out of the game for a while.
Patrick, our first competitor from Bourbon came out to throw down.
Shannon from Chinatown stepped up…
With both Ken and Kyle of Mid City representing that evening…
In the end, someone who has almost always placed in the top three, but never quite taken it all, put down what was easily the best pour of the night! So, leading up to our new champ…
Rachelle from Peregrine Espresso took third with this…
Nick Cho took second with this (love the texture and delicate ‘foxtales’!)…
And Liz… Outstanding!
1st prize was a bottle of Dogfishhead Red and White (one of my favorites) that Liz quickly handed off to Nick- her heart was set on the coveted TNT D.C. bracelet! and, probably, the cash.
Nice job, Liz!
Thank you to all the competitors that came out! Huge thanks to Mid City and team for the venue and refreshments. Julie, for MCing, photo-ing and cup carrying- you rock! ‘Death’ and Guillaume thanks for the judging.
Stay tuned for an upcoming recap of the D.C. vs NY Throwdown! It was a media extravaganza!
ten dc baristas face off against ten nyc baristas…live!
RSVP – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178075807922
Competing for DC: tim (pure brew), travis (chinatown coffee), will (chinatown coffee), maura (peregrine espresso), jeremy (peregrine espresso), meredith (peregrine espresso), grant (peregrine espresso), lana (big bear cafe), nick (wrecking ball), and danielle (peregrine espresso)
NYC info – http://www.tamptamp.com/blog/?p=139
Can’t make it? Follow us the day-of:
Twitter - http://twitter.com/tntwdc
Flickr Photostream – http://www.flickr.com/groups/tnt-dcvnyc/
Live Video Stream – url tbd
questions? tntwdc@gmail.com
See you there!
This Thursday, the 12th of November come out and throw down at Mid City Caffe! Sign ups start at 8 and pouring begins at 9.
Also, the following Thursday will be the New York vs. D.C. City smack down hosted at Peregrine Espresso! Come out and support O.N.C.! The event should begin around 9pm with pour-offs starting between 9:15 and 9:30.
An extraordinary event took place this past October the Eighth when a bunch of good sports sporting lip hair (that tended to travel) showed up at Chinatown Coffee Company for the 1st Anniversary of TNT D.C. There was press, pizza, hair, beer, birthdays, cupcakes, icecream and a qualifier for a throwdown vs. our latte artist counterparts in New York City.
Even a latte was spotted with a sweet moustache in the crowd…
So the attire was upper lip hair- it moved a bit…
Well, tonight served as a qualifier for a head to head with NY, so lets have a look at the top ten this evening… in no particular order…
The peoples pours featured in the top ten are as follows (again, in no particular order):
Tim, Travis, Will, Maura, Jeremy, Meredith, Grant, Lana, Nick and Danielle.
This crew is supposed to go on to rep O.N.C. against NYC in a throwdown that will tentatively take place on the first Thursday of November.
The top three this month were-
Lana…
Nick…
and Jeremy…
3rd, 2nd and 1st respectively.
3rd and 2nd prize were a t-shirt and mug from Peregrine Espresso, while 1st prize was given by Max and Katie of Chinatown Coffee… can you say ‘Dom Perignon’? WOW! Thanks, Chinatown!
Huge thanks to our judges- Ryan Jensen of Peregrine, Trish Rothgeb of Wreckingball and Bethany Sterner!
Also, thanks to the Washington Times for coming out to journalize the TNT, Chinatown Coffee Company for hosting a great event, Julie Housh for Photos, Meredith Taylor for scoring and enforcing, Mick Miller for being the most amazing space user of a pizza box ever!
The next TNT will take place on November 12th at Midcity Caffe! Be there…
I always enjoyed that ‘oct’ is (maybe Latin?) 8 and this TNT is on the 8th of ‘OCT-ober’. I suppose you could say that about other months and their corresponding days that fit with their (Latin? again…) months. Like, November 9 and December 10 and so on.
Ok, back to TNT!!! This will be our celebratory TNT as it marks Washington D.C. TNT’s first Anniversary! Cake and ice cream-YES! Feel free to bring gifts, as long as they’re really expensive. Also, this is a ‘Moustache’ party. This means, break out your best eye liner pencil (sharpie works great), make a faux one and glue it on, or start growing it! Must have moustache to enter, though, you can probably get one at the door. This is to kind of go with Halloween since its in October and all.
Now, for the best part of this shindig: Chinatown Coffee rocks two espresso machines, but instead of head to head bracket action, we will feature fast paced, two at a time pours with scores! The reason for this you wonder? Well, we want to be able to get as many competitors through the session as possible because the 10 highest scores are going to be representing D.C. baristas in a big way. At a date and time to be announced (in November) the top 10 are going up against New York City’s finest latte artists!!! Friggin sweet… This will all happen via the interwebs- streaming, uploaded photos to be scored by off-site judges and stuff.
So, to sum it all up: Chinatown Coffee Company on October the 8th. Sign ups will begin at 7:30pm with competition beginning around 8:30pm. Grow some lip fuzz and come out to celebrate TNT D.C.’s Birthday!!!
