#TNTNW has moved!

All #TNTNW news and updates will now be posted on Espresso Parts’ Social media feeds. We’re consolidating things to make sure #TNTNW is getting out to the most amount of people. We will still leave this site up for nostalgia but moving forward all event recaps and updates will be post to Espresso Parts’ outlets. Have a radical day!

Twitter: @EspressoParts_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/espressopartsnw
Wordpress: https://www.facebook.com/espressopartsnw
Instagram: http://instagram.com/espressoparts

TNTNW at Torque Coffee

We had a packed house at Torque Coffee last Thursday. Baristas showed up from Seattle, Olympia, and Portland! As usual we had lot’s of beautiful pours, pizza, and beer. The beers one a red and the other a pale both contained coffee roasted by Torque. Ryan and the Torque crew we’re great hosts! Our next event will be in Seattle for SCAA. We’ve partnered with the SCAA & the Barista Guild for their opening night TNT. Normally TNTNW is open to the public but for this special event attendees must have badges for the SCAA show. See you in April!

The top three for the night:

1. Christine Herman-Russell Case Study Coffee This was her first time competing in a throwdown!!!
2. Neil Oney Tougo Coffee
3. Bethany Hargrove The fresh Pot

TNTNW at Valhalla Coffee

We had a blast at Valhalla Coffee Co. for our #TNTNW. Tons of awesome baristas showed up and a lot of fun was had. The Tacoma coffee scene was out in full force! We’ll see you later this month at Torque Coffee Roasters!

1. Brandon Paul Weaver @coffeeandbooks (Twitter)
2. Deejay Brower @princedeej (Twitter)
3. Olivia Hustoft @ohustoft (Instagram)

Our amazing sponsors are:

Espresso Parts
Barista Magazine
Craft Coffee
Baratza Grinders
Imbibe Magazine
Cuppow!
Rip Van Wafels

#TNTNW at Toast Ballard

Our first #TNTNW of the year was a blast! Toast Ballard opened their doors to around 80 Baristas and friends of. Toast owners Frankie and Ashlie made fresh sweet and savory waffles for us and even provided a keg of PBR. The energy in the room was electric! It’s truly something special that this was our 28th #TNTNW!!!!!! Our community is so strong and we are proud to be able to be a part of it.

We had a total of 32 barisas from all over the PNW vying for some awesome prizes. Not only was there some seasoned talent but we also had a lot of first time competitors. One of the best parts about organizing this event series is being able to see people develop as latte artists. I’ve seen some people afraid to throw down and they end up placing in the top three.

Photo courtesy of Brandon Paul Weaver.

There were some amazing pours throughout the night but it all came down to the top three! Latte art masters Kyle Dols and Cole Mcbride battled it out for the top spot. After some lengthy deliberation Mr. Dols snagged the top spot. Third place went to the amazing Merilee Jones.

The winners had their pick of prizes from our title sponsors: Espresso Parts, Barista Magazine, Baratza, Craft Coffee, Imbibe Magazine, Cuppow!, and Rip Van Wafels. In celebration of the Seahawks making it to the Super Bowl Espresso Parts awarded custom 12th man tamps for the top three. Go Hawks!

Lastly we have to thank our awesome hosts and helpers! Ashlie & Frankie of Toast rolled out the red carpet for all of the attendees. You couldn’t tell this was their first time hosting a #TNTNW. A big shoutout to Chelsey and Brandon Paul Weaver of Slate Coffee for helping fill the bracket and calibrating the judges. The event couldn’t have been as successful without their help.

We’ll see you February 27th at Valhalla Coffee!

#TNTNW at Street Bean Espresso

Street Bean Espresso once again opened their doors for another #TNTNW. There was a lot of pizza and fun times. We had a great turnout. Many talented Baristas threw down their best lacto-designs. We even had a surprise visit from Brian Canlis himself! He sweetened the pot with $150 to use at Canlis.

There were sweet prizes from our title sponsors: Espresso Parts, Baratza, Craft Coffee, and Barista Magazine. The buy in money was donated to Street Bean Espresso to help continue their efforts with at risk youth in the Seattle area. If you would like more information on that you can find it right HERE.

Top Three Baristas:

1) Laila Ghambari Caffe Ladro

2) Jesse Nelson Conduit Coffee Co.

3) Ryan Bisson Caffe Ladro

#TNTNW at Caffe Ladro

Last Thursday a group of amazing Baristas gathered at Caffe Ladro’s 801 Pine location to learn and throwdown some latte art. We moved the event up one week so that we could welcome Baristas and industry folk that were here for the SLS. It felt like a family reunion!

First off we had a round-table discussion on Cafe Culture:The Dichotomy of Tradition and Innovation. After a nice intro by Mr. Peter Giuliano it was time for Cole McBride to take it away. Cole led the discussion and we had Brandon Paul Weaver (Slate Coffee), Daniel Streetman (Irving Farm), and Lorenzo Perkins (Cuvee Coffee) on the panel. The conversation made us rethink what exactly tradition is and how something becomes a tradition.

Secondly we had a throwdown! Our special guest judges were Lorenzo Perkins (Cuvee Coffee), Trevor Corlett (Madcap Coffee), and Alexandra LittleJohn (Verve Coffee). With that kind of talent you can bet the competitors had to bring their A game. Lots of beer and wine was drunk and you can bet a good time was had!  32 Baristas gave it their all but only three would bring home some sweet prizes and bragging rights. Did we mention that Ryan Wilbur poured steaming hot milk in Lorenzo’s mouth after finishing his latte art? Yeah, it was that kind of a night. After everyone poured their hearts out we had our three champions. 

1. Sam Brandvein-Caffe Ladro
2. Terika Raak-Caffe Ladro
3. Maxwell Mooney The Spotted Cow

Gotta thank our title sponsors Barista Magazine, Craft Coffee, and Baratza for their continued support of #TNTNW!!! We’d be lost without these great sponsors!

Poster for #TNTNW at Olympia Coffee Roasting Co.

Check out this great poster Honor Forte of Oly Coffee made for the #TNTNW next week! He did an awesome job!

 

#TNTNW at Oly Coffee

#TNTNW was a BLAST!

Thanks to everyone who showed up last Thursday! We were so ready to celebrate the 2nd year of our monthly #TNTNW series! It’s hard to believe it’s been two years.

We had to call in Slate Coffee and their Slatestream for our parking lot throwdown! Yeah we’re pretty darn lucky to have such great friends. 32 Baristas battled in the Slatestream but only three came out victorious.

What’s a party without music? We had two local Olympia bands on hand to rock our socks off. Red Red Red and Moldy Castle, both bands have members that used to work at Espresso Parts (PA provided by Olympia All Ages – Northern).

The lovely folks at Oly Smokers fed us some amazing brisket and beans. Our local brewery Fish Tale gave us a screaming deal on some organic IPA that went real well with the BBQ.

We want to extend a big ole’ thank you to all of the businesses that helped us put on a great event. And of course to all the people who showed up and rocked out with us.

Here are the victors:

• 1st. Kyle Rees
• 2nd. Robert Stofleth
• 3rd. Mike Cannon

This event was made possible because of our generous title sponsors: Espresso Parts, Barista Magazine, Baratza, and Craft Coffee.

#TNTNW at Ristretto Roasters

Hello everyone! We hope you are ready for this week’s #TNTNW! This month we’re taking it down to Portland. We will be at Ristretto Roasters Nicolai location. Bring your latte art skillz and don’t forget those cupping skillz either. That’s right we’re having two competitions this time! Something for everyone!

Need more reasons to join us? Well check out the sponsor list below!

Title Sponsors:

Barista Magazine: One year subscription to BMag, tote bags, and mags for the event.
Baratza: Virtuoso grinder with Esatto base.
Craft Coffee: Three month subscription.

Local Sponsors:

Sunshine Dairy
Bakeshop
Coalition Brewing

 

#TNTNW at Madrona Coffee Roasters!

We had a ton of fun last week at Madrona Coffee in Tacoma. Our title sponsor Barista Magazine let me post about the event on their blog! Make sure to check it out here.