On Thursday night, I was excited to be able to attend my first coffee-related event in NYC – it was called “Rosettas for Relief,” a TNT/fundraiser at Joe’s 13th St location. Baristas that competed were encouraged to raise $100 from friends and customers, and there was about $500 taken in at the door, for a combined total of over $2,200 raised! Way to set the bar high, NYC baristas!
The beneficiary of this and other Rosetta for Relief events throughout the country is Rebati, an organization focusing on the emotional and psychological needs of Haitians after the devastating January earthquake.
Katie Cargiulo cooking up rosetta after rosetta at Thursday night's Rosettas for Relief! Charrow spent all night preparing shots of Hairbender for the competitors, with Daryn and me on the left (from Counter Culture Coffee's blog, click through for link)
The event was super crowded and there was a great amount of positive energy filling the air! Since I wasn’t competing, I ended up serving as a judge, evaluating these awesome rosettas alongside my former coworker and eating contest nemesis Daryn Berlin from Counter Culture Coffee and Gary from Rebati.
Each Rosetta was evaluated in three categories: “Contrast,” “Awesomeness,” and “Originality.” Other TNTs evaluate rosettas with criteria such as “Use of Space” and “Overall Impression” in lieu of “Awesomeness,” but, seriously, fuck that shit! “Awesomeness” is awesome! Future TNTs, take note! Each of the three categories could carry a 1 – 5 point score per judge, with each competitor potentially capable of scoring a total of 45 points after three judges weigh in.
I attempted to diligently document the entries, but my iPhone camera is super busted and getting worse the longer I am on the road, so bear with me! I don’t know many of these baristas and might be wrong about the he-poured/she-poured, so if there are any corrections that need to be made, don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll get right on it!
It’s no secret that it sucks to go first in a TNT since the average scores tend to get better, but we tried to stay uniform and consistent throughout the presentations. Nonetheless, someone has to soldier through the first pour, and that was Dan from Third Rail, who started with this great pour!
The black specks in these photos are bits of coffee trapped in front of the camera lens. Pretend they're not there - it's a shame to take a picture of this great pour with such a crappy camera.
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