By: Chelsea Jarrell
Coffee has become one of the top beverages of choice in the United States.
In fact, Americans consume about 400 million cups of coffee a day! This has led to more and more discoveries of how coffee can be crafted.
Coffee is described to go through waves of progression.
The first wave is where we start to see the increase of coffee consumption. This is the wave where coffee was produced to be an affordable and instant drink to make with ease at home. Many big names of the household coffee world, such as Maxwell House and Folgers, thrived in this wave. The Second Wave was created when more and more people began to enjoy sitting down and having a good cup of coffee. This wave is often linked to specialty coffee. Starbucks was one of the many that emerged during the second wave. The third wave came into existence when people wanted to pick their coffee based off of origin or the way the coffee was roasted. Some may argue that this is the wave where craft coffee started to develop. Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters is surfing the third wave of coffee and quickly catching the next coffee wave that is forming. We are not riding these waves alone and are happy to be part of the DMV coffee family.
DMV Coffee is a community of coffee enthusiasts in the greater D.C. area.
There are several different members within this community such as baristas, trainers, roasters, and business owners. We all have one thing in common and that is a strong passion for coffee. DMV Coffee is known for its rich social climate where individuals can thrive and find jobs, connect with other coffee enthusiasts, gain knowledge and compete in latte art competitions. In fact, DMV Coffee all started with their Latte Art Throwdowns back in 2008. It has since grown and now there are Thrusday Night Throwdowns (TNT) once a month for the coffee community to compete and take part in. We had some of our very own Baristas compete in Septembers TNT.
September 21, 2017 TNT was held at La Colombe Coffee Roasters in D.C.
We showed up to a cafe full of people oozing coffee experience and passion. We felt right at home and enjoyed the atmosphere we were surrounded in. Pretty soon the shop was packed and the DJ started to play music. The bracket was created to where each barista would face off with another to see who did the best latte art. They would step up to the espresso machine, choose their vessel, pour their milk and steam while their shots were being pulled. Each barista would finish their art and place it down in front of the panel of judges who would look over the work and decide individually who was better. Then at the count of three, the judges would point to cup with the best latte art. The name of the barista who’s beverage was picked would be announced out to the sea of people watching and they would move that barista up the bracket to the next round. This would continue until a clear winner was chosen. AnnaMarie, Buddha, Daniel, and John from CWJ all competed in September’s TNT. We are proud to say that Buddha moved on to the second round and AnnaMarie moved on to the third. Watching the craft and finesse that each barista puts into their latte is unlike anything.
Coffee is more than just a beverage that Americans consume on a daily basis. Coffee is an experience, an adventure, a craft. Coffee is a community.
