DMV Coffee

May TNT: Baked & Wired

Jonathan Riethmaier — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:45:08 +0000

Mark your calendars, boys and girls, because we’re heading to Baked & Wired on May 9 for the next installment of Thursday Night Throwdown! Fresh off DC’s epic victory over Chicago in the April TNT, we’re ready to showcase the District’s best once again in a battle for barista supremacy.

This month’s TNT will feature a DJ, crazy good baked treats, the extraordinary Miles Deniro Drag Queen Emcee, a few tricks and surprises, and all the wonderfulness you’d expect from the Baked & Wired crew.

And BIG THANKS to the May TNT sponsors: MadCap Coffee, Trickling Springs Creamery, Crystal Press, 9:30 Club, Howard Theatre and District Bean.

Baked & Wired (Georgetown)
1052 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

Download this flyer

April TNT: DC vs Chicago

Jonathan Riethmaier — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 02:52:01 +0000

The April edition of Thursday Night Throwdown is coming up, and we’re hella thrilled to be working with the folks at New Gotham Coffee in Chicago to setup a DC vs Chicago TNT! Both cities will host concurrent events, with finalists battling it out via webcast.

The DC competitors will get their pour on at The Coffee Bar, a relatively new addition to the area coffee scene located in Shaw. The Chicago gang will be pouring at Metropolis Coffee.

Sign up starts at 8:30 p.m., and pouring begins at 9 p.m. It’s $5 to pour, and free to spectate and cheer on your DC buds. This is a BYOB event.

The Coffee Bar
1201 S Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
thecoffeebardc.com

And big, big, BIG thanks to Meghan Lattimore for contributing this month’s flyer. Meg is a DC-based graphic designer and regular at The Coffee Bar.

Counter Culture Coffee to Host Cup Tasters Challenge (3/15)

Jonathan Riethmaier — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:04:34 +0000

It’s shaping up to be a nice week for coffee pros, with two great events back to back. The March TNT is Thursday, March 14, at Pitango Gelato in Penn Quarter. Then be sure to stop by the Counter Culture Coffee training center on Friday night for an epic Cup Tasters Challenge. The event will be held simultaneously at Counter Culture Coffee’s eight regional training centers, and the overall winner will be elegible to compete at the U.S. Cup Tasters Championship this April at the SCAA conference in Boston.

The format is straightforward. Participants will navigate a series of coffee sets, each with two identical brewed coffees and one different coffee. The idea is to be the fastest and most accurate in identifying the different coffee. There’s a $5 participant fee, and the competition roster will be capped at 30. Other training centers holding current events include Ashville, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Durham, New York and Philadelphia.

Cup Tasters Challenge
Counter Culture Training Center
Friday, March 17, 7-10 p.m.
1840 Columbia Rd, NW, Suite 203

Additional details are on the Counter Culture Coffee website, and the event’s Facebook page.

March TNT

Jonathan Riethmaier — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:48:43 +0000

The March Thursday Night Throwdown is coming up this March 14 at Pitango Gelato in Penn Quarter! Sign up begins at 8:30 p.m. and the pouring action starts promptly at 9 p.m. You know the drill: $5 to pour, winner gets the pot and bragging rights. This is a BYOB event.

Pitango Gelato
413 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Big thanks to Pitango for hosting, and for Counter Culture Coffee and Trickling Springs Creamery for sponsoring the event. And thanks to the Pitango staff for supplying the flyer for this month’s TNT.

Download this flyer

February TNT Recap

antajuanscott — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:00:37 +0000

February 14th, Valentines Day, Tryst opened its doors and heart to host the months Thursday Night Throwdown. Our Judges were January TNT winner Trevor Corlett, Tryst Barista Yuki, Counter Culture’s Bryan Duggan and DC’s own Matthew Lesko. The night started with love on the mind but latte’s from DC’s growing coffee community became the focus.

The board was filled with regular Throwdowners but some new names were made during this competition. We saw amazing pours as always but the stars of the night was hearts, especially with the second round dedicated to the style of art.

We saw some great pours but it was Mo of Buzz and Camillo of The Coupe that were to battle it out in the final round. When it was all said and done Camillo was the victor and is now the current holder of the COVETED TAMPER TROPHY.

We would like to thank our Sponsors Tryst for being our gratious host and Tia for her super coordination skills. Counter Culture Coffee for providing beans, Trickling Springs for the uncious milk, 9:30 Club for providing the winner with tickets to Balkan Beatbox.

Our Next TNT is Scheduled for March 14th at Pitango Penn Quarter. See you there!

As stated before all pours in TNT’s count toward the District Cup Finals. Here is the current standing. Points are added from previous TNT, This is the total points for those WHO poured in February. * Denotes Three points for judging.

1 Point

Lenore’
Austin R.
Chrissy A.
Whit
Omar
Tareka
Alan
Rachel
David S.
Fredis
Tom
Amy J.
Sarah

2 Points

Amanda R.
Ezzat
Emily
Mike (Tryst)
Mia
Tyne
Veronica
Josh

3 Points

Adrienne
Selina
Bryan D.*
Yuki*

4 Points

Chris V.
Faith

5 Points

Mike S.
Russ

6 Points

Camillo
Mo

7 Points

Amanda

8 Points

Donte

9 Points

Trevor*

(Quick note: to dispute or otherwise correct a point total, send an e-mail to tntwdc@gmail.com)

February TNT

Jonathan Riethmaier — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:22:07 +0000

The February Thursday Night Throwdown is coming up this February 14 at Tryst in Adams Morgan! Yep, that’s Valentine’s Day, so bring your sweetie (or find one there!), and bonus points will be awarded to anyone dressed as cupid. Sign up at 8:30 and pouring starts at 9 p.m. ($5 to pour). Winner gets the pot, all the barista glory they can handle and will be blessed with love and happiness in all their endeavors.

Tryst
2459 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Thanks to Tryst for hosting, New Belgium for providing drink specials, Counter Culture Coffee for the beans, and Trickling Springs Creamery for delicious milk. Much love to all of our TNT sponsors!

If you want to help us get the word out, please share the following graphics and flyers. You can also Tweet us at @TNTWDC or chat it up on Facebook.

Feb TNT Flyer
Feb TNT Promo Graphic (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

And humungous thanks to Tryst’s very own Joshua Copeland for contributing the artwork for this month’s flyer!

January TNT Recap

antajuanscott — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:28:06 +0000

January’s Thursday Night Throwdown kicked with old faces in new spaces. Our host was Room 11, with its newly added cafe. With a hopper full of Vigilante Espresso and a refrigerator filled with with Trickling Springs milk it was ready to go down. Our judges, former 2012 Throwdown winners Travis Beckett (Peregrine) and Mike Sammartino (Dolcezza) alongside Eric Barth (Room 11) had their work cut out for them as the theme of the night seemed to be take no prisoners!

(Big thanks to Alia Khayrullin for the photos above!)

As the night progressed we saw some great art from crowd favorite Tryst and its big Barista family, but it came down to Donte Gardner of The Coffee Bar whose tulip execution propelled him into the final pour and Trevor Corlett of Madcap Coffee whose has an arsenal of art that is truly respected.

One of several great pours from Trevor

The final pour was a toughy even for these two experienced Baristas. The challenge was to use skim milk poured into a steam pitcher. While it was a close call, the victor of the night was Mr. Corlett of Madcap who walked away with the coveted tamper trophy, the cash pool and a gift certificate from Room 11.

TNT January was a great way to start off the year. Big thanks to our host Portia and the Room 11 team, sponsors Trickling Springs Milk and Vigilante Coffee and everyone who came to take part in the evenings event. The next Thursday Night Throwdown is at Tryst, Febuarary 14!

All TNT’s will count towards this years District Cup in December. Here is the current standing. (* Denotes points for Judging)

1 Point

Joshua C.
Ben K.
Hope D.
Gabriele
Chrissy R.
Mo
Yuri
Mia
Cait
Abbey S.
Ezzat
Liz
Amanda R.
Portia
Borja

2 Points

Jonathan R.
Samuel
Russ
Taylor
Evan
Bailey
Dawn
Adrienne

3 Points

Michelle
Colin
Kelly
Patrick
Travis B. *
Mike S. *
Eric B. *

4 Points

Amanda
Matthew

5 Points

Donte

6 Points

Trevor

(Quick note: to dispute or otherwise correct a point total, send an e-mail to tntwdc@gmail.com)

New Barista Challenge Set for Jan 17

Jonathan Riethmaier — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:47:13 +0000

In case you’re itching for coffee competition in between the January and February TNTs, you can feed the beast next week at the Iron Tamper Competition. Those familiar with the Iron Chef shows already know the concept. Two baristas will be paired as a team and competitors will be introduced to three mystery ingredients. Choose one or more of the ingredients as part of an espresso-based concoction that’ll be reviewed by a panel of judges. There’s a $5 entry fee, and the winning team splits the pot.

It’s a pretty neat format, brought to DC by Batdorf & Bronson’s Jason Dominy, whose been running the event in his hometown of Atlanta and elsewhere. B&B and host-shop The Coffee Bar are the event sponsors.

Iron Tamper Competition
Thursday, January 17
7-10 p.m.
The Coffee Bar
1201 S Street, NW

You can see some additional details over at District Bean or the events Facebook page.

January TNT

Jonathan Riethmaier — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:30:53 +0000

New year. New venue. We’re ready to roll.

Come on out January 10 to Room 11 for the inaugural TNT of 2013. We’re kicking off the new year right – pouring a little latte art, enjoying a drink or two and chillin with some of the best folks around. Sign up at 8:30 and pouring at 9 p.m. ($5 to pour). Winner gets the pot, some bonus goodies and reigns supreme over latte land until the next TNT.

Room 11
3234 11 St. NW
Washington, DC 20010
(11th & Lamont St. NW)

Room 11 is a first-time host, and we’re excited about convening in their recently expanded space, which is detailed extensively here. Room 11 will also be more than happy to sell you a delicious beverage, so no BYOB. Sponsors for the January TNT including Vigilante Coffee Company and Trickling Springs Creamery.

If you want to help us get the word out, check out the following links for flyers and graphics. As always, you can Tweet us at @TNTWDC or chat it up at the Facebook Group.

Jan TNT Flyer PDF (also available here as PNG)
Jan TNT Promo Graphic PNG (for Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

And huge thanks to barista/artist Hope Glastris who contributed the TNT artwork this month!

Happy New Year from DMV Coffee!

Jonathan Riethmaier — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:00:31 +0000

As 2012 comes to a close, we’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season, and take this opportunity to share a few updates about DMV Coffee and the monthly Thursday Night Throwdowns. But first we must acknowledge the talented trifecta of Judith Mandel, Bryan Duggan and Christy Baugh who have been such excellent stewards of barista competitions and events in and around the District. As announced during the December TNT at Big Bear Cafe, they’re now passing the baton, and we look forward to continuing the good name of DMV Coffee and TNT Washington, DC, through the coming year and beyond. If you happen to bump into Jude or Bryan or Baugh, be sure to drop a kind word for all their hard work. Baugh, as many now know, is heading to North Carolina, though she’ll be near to our hearts.

With that said, here’s a quick glance at the folks now entrusted with TNT Washington DC and DMV Coffee. Don’t hesitate to reach out to say hi or inquire about happenings in the coming year.

We’re kicking off the New Year with a TNT at one of DC’s newest coffee operations, Room 11 in Columbia Heights. Room 11 has agreed to host on Thursday, January 10. Additional details will be posted to DMV Coffee.com soon, but mark you calendar for what’s sure to be a stellar event. As always, 8:30 to sign up and 9 p.m. to pour. Thanks so much to Room 11 for hosting. We look forward to seeing you there!

Also, we’ll be continuing the District Cup into 2013. If you’re not familiar, the District Cup is an overall points competitions that will be tracked throughout the year. In 2013, all TNTs will be part of the District Cup competition. A winner will be crowned at the end of the year and will receive heaps of praise and as well as a bounty to be determined. Congratulations to Travis Beckett of Peregrine Espresso for his overall victory in the 2012 District Cup!

That and much more is on the way. We’re also confirming locations for future months, so if you’d like to host a TNT please contact any one of the team to get things started. E-mails can be sent to Trevor, Jonathan, Antajuan, Chris or Colin.