Baristas Lock Horns for Charity in Latte Art Throwdown

Photo courtesy Baristahands.

Serendipitously coinciding with Obama’s big primary win, tonight’s Latte Art Throwdown at the 13th Street Joe will surely be crawling with elitist liberals who love stuff like delicious espresso and college education. The city’s top coffee houses (Ninth Street Espresso, Gimme Coffee, Cafe Grumpy, Everyman Espresso, and Gorilla Coffee) will all be sending baristas to the event, which is called "Rosettas for Relief" and benefit the American Red Cross efforts in Myanmar and China.

Each barista will get one shot and one pour to create their best work in the rich latte foam. Judges will be evaluating contestants on aesthetics only, not taste, so don’t show up expecting a caffeine fix. Instead, there will be free beer and a raffle for coffee-related prizes. All proceeds – including the $10 suggested donation – go toward efforts to help the victims of the recent cyclone and earthquake. And fans of Joe’s lattes can look forward to another location coming to Grand Central Terminal within a week or two!

[8 p.m., Joe, 9 East 13th Street, R.S.V.P. MEISTER@BIYNYC.COM]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in Food on June 5, 2008 3:03 PM

Comments [rss]

sonyactivision

Give me nice full-bean coffee over that faggy shit on top any day.

swag

I never did quite get the latte art thing. Australians insist upon it. Many baristas get worked up over it.

It's nice. But I argue it's connection to quality coffee is largely symbolic. It's barely more tolerable than a barista fingerpainting art competition, using the mess left over in the café's bathroom from the night before.

davearz

WOW! this artform is gonna blind me!

Spirit of 76

Somebody must have pissed in navinjohnson's latte.

That's impressive work in the photo. Not that I'd pay $5 for it, though. In the end, no matter how pretty, it still tastes the same.

Outter Burrougher

"crawling elitist liberals"

Will people literally be on all fours? :)

Anyway, aveb4life, I loved Halo Pub (couple good friends in HS worked at the Hamilton location) - and I still love it, just haven't had it in a while.

snessnyc

No, I just like good coffee. Do you only feel good about yourself when you try (pathetically) to make others feel bad about themselves? My diagnosis: a very small dick.

navinjohnson

#4:

you say you're not a "barista". couldn't get hired? did you flunk the "foam" final?

snessnyc

#1 - a douchebag is someone who gratuitously insults people to make themselves feel better. That would make you, ummm, a douchebag. At the level that a true barista operates, it is not an easy craft. If you don't appreciate craftsmanship, as douchebags never do, just keep your whiney complaints to yourself. And BTW - I am not a barista, but I do not hesitate to compliment people for doing their job well, especially in the face of insulting pigs.

aveB4life

damn, the best i could do back at Halo Pub in princeton was make a smiley face

sonyactivision

Thank you #1!

navinjohnson

there are few words that i like less than 'barista'. you're a douchebag who tries not to fuck up my coffee - you don't need a fancy title.