The barista jam was a hit, but the latte art throwdown was a monster.

We figure about 50 people showed up from all over the Northeast, representing every state but Vermont (what’s the deal Vermont?), and everyone was ready to throwdown. 21 people competed, making the final pot $105, plus these awesome custom designed tampers from Reg Barber thrown in for good measure:

Anne was the M.C. and started off the evening with a quick latte art demonstration and how-to. Afterwards, she let people who wanted to pull some practice shots and get used to the machine a bit.

I (Neil) went first because I signed up first, and poured a really nice rosetta. It held up as number one for quite a long time, until Nik Krankl’s (Of Taste Coffee, Newton MA) turn, then he poured a beautiful tulip. Rounding out the top three was Jess Rufo, owner of Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield, MA.

Then we had finals to determine who wins the coveted golden tamper. I went first, because, again, I signed up first, and poured the middle of the three pours below, then Nik poured that tulip on the left, and Jess the one on the right.

Final? Nik #1, Jess #2, and Neil #3.

But what was really great about the night wasn’t who won, but how many people showed up to see it. The real goal of the evening was to get more of these events together and get baristas from the Berkshires talking to each other about coffee. So I hope that all the baristas who showed up on Thursday will do another Thursday Night Throwdown really soon.

Also, thanks to our judges, Matt Lamb of Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and Barth Anderson of Barrington Coffee, who took the job way more seriously than I expected and did a really great job. Also thanks to Highlawn Farm for providing us with two cases of milk for the throwdown!

so intent, I couldn’t even get them to pose for a picture.