"It's all about the art," stated Sam, co-owner of 13th Street's Everyman Espresso and sometime-judge of New York's Citywide Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) for latte art competition.
In a city filled with specialty coffee choices, the average consumer could have witnessed the attention to detail in the above-average baristas' artwork when sparring (and spilling) for the much-coveted 1st place of last night's TNT at Joe on Waverly Place. Topping each latte were shapes of rosettas, leaves, hearts, waves and a number of combinations. Working frantically under the pressure of a freshly-pulled espresso shot, steaming the milk to perfection and the catcalls of co-workers and competitors, Will Gross of 13th Street's Joe stormed the competition and made away with a cash prize and shiny, new coffee bean grinder. Owners of Joe and host of last night's throwdown, Gabrielle and Jonathon Rubinstein, matched the prize money with a donation to the Haiti earthquake relief fund.
With 24 contestants, some boasting more than a dozen years experience in the coffee industry, pulling shots and frothing the foam, the intensity was as overwhelming as the caffeine (and beer) consumption. Every participant was top-notch. According to judges Sam and Amanda (Director of Coffee at Joe), the artistically-shaped milk foam of a freshly-poured latte should sport the following characteristics: definition of lines, contrast of colors, symmetry, detail, difficulty of shape and use of the space on top of the cup that runneth over.
The specialty coffee collective, a loose affiliation of New York's cafe owners, believes in the importance of a good cup of java. "I think the purpose of latte art is glorification of the bean," said Jessica Bertin, manager of 13th Street Joe. "It makes you stop and pay attention to what you're consuming. It draws your attention to the quality of the beverage."
In a city filled with quality everything, last night's contest was just the icing on the coffee.
**This special feature was written by Annabelle Oh. Thanks, Annabelle!
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