The A+E District’s Vice City Bean hosted Miami’s first ever Thursday Night Throwdown. It’s a latte art competition that takes place in cities all over the country, from Austin to Atlanta.
Vice City Bean hosted Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
It was a packed house at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The crowd gathered and watched baristas do their thing at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
With Vice City Bean, Panther Coffee, Threefold Cafe, and a whole bunch of new coffee shops on the horizon, Miami’s coffee scene is seriously stepping it up.
Beautiful latte art at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
“The fact that we could host a Thursday Night Throwdown means that Miami’s coffee culture is on the rise,” said Roland Baker, the owner of Vice City Bean.
Making latte art at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The espresso drip. (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
Round two at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
Here’s how it works:
Local baristas sign up and throw $5 in a pot. They each go head to head in pairs, like a football bracket, until they’re all whittled down to a final round. Three judges decide on the winners of each round with a very official finger point.
The bracket at Vice City Bean’s Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The winning pot (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The last three baristas standing then have a chance to show off their finest skills. The winner takes the whole pot. At the inaugural Thursday Night Showdown, Alex Bistritz, a barista at Sunset Harbor Panther Coffee, took the grand prize of $100. But second and third place got t-shirts, mugs, and coffee bags as prizes too.
Latte art at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
More than 20 baristas signed up and the coffee shop was packed with java junkies imbibing PBRs and free lattes for all. They have to do something with all that coffee, after all.
The judges (L to R) Javier Ramierez, Cindy Lou, and Reinaldo de Oliveria (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The finalists at Vice City Bean for Miami’s first Thursday Night Throwdown (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
The winner, Alex Bistritz, a barista at the Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbor. (Credit: Roshan Nebhrajani/The New Tropic)
