dominy’s patrociny!
November 10, 2008 – 11:20 pm
hudgens approaches a gravy-train of rancilios.
this blog breaks briefly from its mind-bending contemplations on the economic morality of the brew to note the extreme oddity — EDIT: the distinct charlotte-ness — of saturday’s barista bash. it’s not just that the southeastern scene is growing … it’s that it’s getting more diverse.
it could’ve been that the gregarious host won his own latte art smackdown (outpouring certified champions along the way), or that one extraordinarily, staggeringly, off-his-gourd drunk competitor severely tested our poker faces, or that mr. sexy foam himself was manning the party turntables or that this blog’s own free pour left such a vast chasm of longing between our lump of foam and the term “latte art.” in any case, we’ve never exeprienced a coffee party like it!
it wasn’t a “pour” we did, actually. more like a glug. suffice to say we were brand new to those rancilio steam wands and displayed our malpractice with commercial jet steam in general, flopping down some aerated milk like so much phlegm and sea-foam. meanwhile, greenville’s hudgens produced a doozy and held the lead much of the night, before taking third place behind two vets of this genre: ben helfen and jason dominy.
dominy, the exuberant booster of the charlotte coffee scene, is clearly attempting to extend what is a nascent community in these southeastern hinterlands. he’s got a loose coalition of shops to work with — those called “dilworth,” around charlotte, plus some indies — and appears to believe that this is a group that could thrive from more communal ties. props to him. and his new $700 home espresso machine. this blog has always firmly believed that, if you’re nervous about throwing a party, just make sure you win the grand prize! (EDIT: dear commenters, we’re not saying there’s anything wrong with this, the end.)
helfen emcee’d, the blogchildren lolled agreeably on one of the sofas, lemuel twisted and blasted away and this blog left hoping that this sort of thing ends up pushing people toward more excellent brew. sped home, chomping our gum in a rapid-fire, can’t believe-all-that-just-happened kind of way, checking out the leonids and occasionally weeping at the thought of our over-toasted latte glug.
we suspect there may be some video surfacing soon on dominy’s page. and the circle expands …
dominy’s two lips! (fun fact: the fellow looks daily at a poster of finely thrown latte art, and asks, “what would chris owens do?”)
hudgens amazes!
helfen’s near-miss.
it’s not our fault you can’t see lem butler throwing an uber-secret insider coffee gang sign in the murky reaches of the ‘tay.
it was great to meet you and the blogfamily. i sincerely hope you had a good time, despite the lack of experience on the classe 10s. I entered a throwdown a few weeks ago put on by counter culture up here in charlotte, and felt like a fish out of water steaming on the Linea after not using one for quite a while. that’s the joy of a throwdown, though, i guess.
i hate that you viewed it as an “extreme oddity,” i thought it was a great coffee community event. sure, i wish there were lots more people, but hey, i advertised it to everyone i knew, everywhere i knew. counter culture advertised it. stockton and graham advertised it. it was on barista exchange. don’t know what else I could have done.
it was great to see so many great southeast coffee family people in the room at one place, and so much support that can be distributed out among the region to continue to propel this culture forward. not for the latte art, but for the coffee and community. people who know me know that i am just as passionate about coffee education as i am all the dog and pony stuff. i made sure that we not only had the espresso classes at our SCAA skill building workshop, but that we had the cupping classes led by andrew miller from cafe imports.
my motto here with our coffee education arm arabica labrica is, “coffee.crema.community.” and to me, that’s what this event was about. i can’t tell in this if you liked it, or not, but i hope you at least respect what we are trying to do, which i think you did say. plus, we were able to raise money for both socially conscious coffee and blood:water mission, which was an important part of the night. for all those that came and donated to the charities involved, thanks. it was all about the coffee and community.
also, thanks to ben helfen for MCing, lem butler for DJing, and tony riffel from octane-atlanta, nick guidry from stockton and graham-raleigh, and jay gestwicki from dilworth coffee-charlotte for judging.
p.s. thanks for all the big words i had to use a dictionary for, like nascent, patrociny, and gregarious.
p.s.s. i don’t feel i have to, but i will. i didn’t ever intend to enter my own throwdown, and only did just to have fun and see what i could do. i never would have thought in a million years that i could win a throwdown against the people who competed. all of these people are people i admire and look up to as baristas. people like ben helfen, lem butler, ellie matuszak and shannon hudgens school me any day of the week, and for some reason, i had a good night. the fact is, i practice my art as much as anyone else, whenever i can, amidst working 50 hours a week, not behind a bar, but mostly behind a desk, or in other people’s shops. but, practice i do. so, i certainly have worked hard enough to feel good about where i am at, even if on most days it’s not good enough to win. i just wanted to have a little fun at my own event, and see what i could do under that kind of pressure. and in the throwdown that i entered a few weeks ago, it, too, featured pours from it’s organizer. looking back on it, the judging was led by tony riffel from octane in atlanta, a counter culture account, and he’s also one of the creators of the thursday night throwdown. his lead judging made it completely fair and legitimate, and i stand by it. i also stand by the fact that if we did it today, i would probably be aced by mr. hudgens, mr. butler, mr. helfen, or mrs. matuszak.
You write like a king douchebag, and I mean that in terms of content and style. This post is a thinly disguised whine about how butt-hurt you are about some dude winning the prize in his own contest. Yeah, that’s questionable, but I have no sympathy for anybody who lacks the good sense not to write shit like “chomping our gum rapid-fire, checking out the leonids.” Stop with the faux gonzo shit, you hack.
whoa. i think you guys misunderstood.
(a) there’s nothing wrong with being an “extreme oddity.” that just means i’ve never been to a party quite like it before. that means good, weird and crazy. since when is that a bad thing in the barista world, eh? my intent was to advertise how unusual it was — and good!
i firmly believe that if we’re gonna stitch together a meaningful community, it needs to be DIVERSE. it ain’t real life if it isn’t. so for me, it was hearty-warming to engage in a party that was distinctly charlotte, that adds a different facet to the southeastern vibe. i love it.
so in case you can’t tell: I LIKED IT. i’m sorry if that was less than clear.
(b) i got no real problem with you winning the throwdown. you deserved it, bar none. if you can pour a better cup than certified winner ben helfen, and instructors like ellie, then you DESERVE to win, in my view. regardless of who you work for.
maybe my problem here is that i intended many of these lines to be simple jokes, in the way that i routinely needle friends on this blog. i had such a fine time chatting with you, jason, that i figured i could get away with a few here. (the same way that people were yelling “rigged!” at the party. it was just a joke, all in good fun, totally meaningless.) same here.
(c) as for kottonmouth, perhaps you are new here. i would encourage you to read some old posts, get a feel for the style of this blog and note one thing in particular: i always poke at MYSELF first, and more often than i might rib anyone else. the idea that i was so wired on the way home that i was chewing gum fast, that it happened to be the night of the big meteor shower (which made a perfect topper for the evening) how is this not relevant?
read the explainer to the right: this blog is about coffee colliding with REAL LIFE. these elements always find their way in here.
perhaps i’ll do some transparent editing on this post to make my intent more clear.
cheers.
bz,
i’ve yet to decide for myself which way to go with your latest blog. I have to admit, my initial reaction was much the same as JD and kottonmouth. Above the content of the blog, your title of “Dominy’s Patrociny” sets a tone for a not-so-favorable review. I do not know your relationship with Jason, but I have to say that you have painted an unfavorable picture in my head. However, I CAN luckily say that I know Jason and can vouch that said painted picture is incorrect.
As for the event. I am quite proud to say I was able to attend and be a part of such an event. I have to admit that when I think of coffee, both as a product and the cultural following it has gained, the southeast, much less North Carolina, is nowhere near the top of my list of iconic American regions. That being said, I admire everything about this event. I am proud of the fact that I can call the south and the southeast my home, so to have an event come along and push the boundary of what currently stands in our region and/or state, I have to stand up and applaud it and its creators. We are in need of a little more recognition down here.
I’m not sure that “extreme oddity” would have been my first (or any other) choice of words to use to describe Saturday’s event. I too wish the turnout had been greater, especially for the multiple organizations who graciously donated their time to help promote, but I also don’t consider the moderate turnout a failure on any level. If any part of the event could be considered an “oddity,” I would point fingers at the machines themselves with their low deck-space and tiny steam wands. But isn’t that the point of these events? To throw a wrench in your game? The playing field was set evenly, and we were forced to step outside of our comfort zones and work on machines we were not used to and maybe were not even fond of. However, why take the easy road? I enjoy a challenge.
I applaud Jason and Dilworth and all of the volunteers and attendees who made the Throwdown possible. I met some really great people and had a great time overall and will continue to attend and help with any events that I am invited to help with.
One more thought. In such a passionate industry, we are all (obviously) going to have our own thoughts and opinions (read: strong opinions). However, a sometimes oversight on our parts is that we are all here for common reasons/purposes/goals:
1) we love coffee
2) to spread the word about specialty coffee
3) we love coffee
4) to push boundaries, to create, to inspire, to challenge, all previouse connotations of coffee
5) we love coffee
So while our opinions may sometimes clash, we have to keep in mind that we are all here to spread our love of a common element. If you see an avenue to improve something, point it out.
BZ, I am going to take your second post as heart-felt and will choose to believe that you meant no harm in your initial post. But I will ask a favor, and that is that you point out any “oddities” with a followed solution. Help us make the next event bigger and better by offering ideas and volunteering with promotion. Constructive criticism is always a good thing.
cheers.
ooh la la. what have i done?
“patrociny” means “patronage.” that is NOT a bad word. my dictionary says, “the support given by a patron.” this describes dominy’s energetic support of this event, no?
wholeheartedly agreed.
this is exactly my point! again, “oddity” doesn’t mean anything negative. you’ve just explained exactly what was different and peculiar about this event. that was precisely was i was trying to get across (albeit with fewer words). furthermore, “oddity” doesn’t have anything to do with turnout. in fact, i don’t think i said a single word about turnout. the crowd was an excellent size, perfect for my kids and much less intimidating than some larger, more insidery crowds can be.
as for the machines, they were fine. my own inexperience with them means nothing. my only purpose in mentioning them was to poke at my own ineptitude. in fact, the only real negative words written above are directed at … myself.
in the same vein, i am not suggesting that there are any major improvements to be made. i’ve privately e-mailed jason and made clear that i’d love to come to another one. again, “odd” doesn’t mean it needs a solution. it means exactly what you said:
i’d argue that’s true community. not a club, not something forced and formal, but a gathering of diverse people with diverse experiences and diverse opinions, celebrating what they have in common. this event did all this, with a distinctly different vibe. if it wasn’t worth celebrating, i wouldn’t have written about it. my whole intent of this post was to describe this sort of organic community dynamic: it was “odd” in the true meaning of the word, it was rich and diverse, and it was meaningful even despite my own latte art bust!
doesn’t get much better than that. i hope that, by now, these things are clear.
and thank you for your feedback. as a hack blogger without any formal ties to the industry, i’m not sure why people care what i think. but i’m grateful for the discussion.
whew.
one final note: exclamation marks, as used on this blog, usually denote irony. they usually indicate i’m making fun of myself for writing what i just wrote, whether i’m overstating something or stretching way too far for a rhyme. as in, “dominy’s patrociny!”
I took “patrociny” as a derivative of Patrocination: the act of patronizing. rather than as Patronage.
also, my reference to the turnout was more in affirmation of jason’s statement about the turnout.
For what it is worth, I got the gist of it the first time, no clarification needed. But I do remember when I could not interpret a single line of your self proclaimed “hackery”. It’s part of the CI charm.
I second Phil. I remember (oh so long ago) Octane being “criticized” by CI and us being like, “Who the hell is this guy?”, haha.
Even in that post, the overall message was that he had a positive experience. We had just gotten all excited over something that wasn’t even there.
I can’t imagine the coffee world without Ben blogging about it. It’d be a little less awesome.
The blog-family are, and always will be, beloved friends of us at Octane.
Let me put this horse to rest on my behalf. I have no ill whatsoever against the blogfamily, and actually found them quite endearing. The oldest son, and his look of wonder at the drum roaster said it all for me. Ben and I had good conversation Saturday, and have had quite a few via private e-mail today. There were some confusing things written, but they have since been clarified and cleared up. The guy is a stand up guy. Shortly after I wrote my post, which I thought was respectful and appropriate in tone, he e-mailed me to apologize for any misunderstanding, and that will speak volumes to me about him for years to come.
The guys a stand-up blog writer, and in the midst of all this serious stuff about Direct Trade and buying the presidency, it’s easy to forget about the jest of his pen. I partially made it personal, because, well, I worked my tail off pulling this thing off, and for that, I was wrong. Heck, we are all one great community, and that’s something I was reminded of this weekend.
So, jason dominy hearts bz and the blogfamily. Thanks for being the thorn in our sides that keeps us headed the right direction, and I look forward to hanging out in the next month!
awwww. slobbery kisses all around!
this may be a decent time to mention that, in my desperate attempt to rhyme the title of this post, i almost called it something much dumber (and much less accurate). sure am glad i didn’t do that.
You people make me sick! I couldn’t go because I had to give a new employee some “orientation” and the guy never even showed…’till Sunday afternoon! I could have made it! ARGHH!!
btw, after reading some of the responses…
Those who are critical of the writing style may not be a regular reader, of sorts, to this blog. Therefore, they may have not understood the irony and poetic jest of the author’s intent.
I fully comprehended his transmission. Good write and good job…and J.D, again, congrats!
I’m just saying that if it is an eight hour due-north drive, it’s not in the south! North Carolina, that’s one of them mid-atlantic blue states, isn’t it? C’mon, Octane-ites, step up to the plate…
Having lived in NC for 14 years, I’m gonna affirm that it is, indeed, the South. Nice to see everything went over so well (I wanted to make it, but 12-hr drive during exams).
sounds like true wants a little LESS diversity in his coffee community.
wilson: i wondered where you were. hauling a load of plutonium somewhere, i guess.
brendon: guess we need another par-tay.
I am the diversity in this southeast community! LOL! Love you Ben.
Yeah, Wilson’s been out driving that new fancy rig he just got. And yes, sexyfoam IS the diversity in the SE. Cause no one, and I mean NO ONE, can lay down the audible butt whooping we got Saturday night like sexyfoam himself. True that. And Brendon, I fully expect you to be up for the next one. You can crash with us.
BZ– I want _more_ diversity. Specifically, I want one of these events to happen somewhere in the south that isn’t as far away as the distance from Atlanta to St. Louis so I can add to the diversity myself.
I finally got the video posted. I had to do it on Google Video, as it’s 31 minutes long. And, I had a time figuring out how to compress it enough to post on Google Video, and not lose good picture quality. So, quality is not the best, but if you watch it on Original Size, it’s not bad. If someone knows a better way to do it, let me know!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7742755330408091423&hl=en
shaysh, that’s a beefy chunk of video. looks fine if you watch it double size. good stuff. is it just me, or did helfen look downright NARvous?
and to further describe the wonders of sexyfoam, this blog would argue that he possesses diversity within himself!
true: i was referring to your desire to eliminate north carolina from the confederacy.
not your preference that coffee bashes be located closer to florida.
although, come to think of it, if any southeastern state should no longer be deemed part of the south, it IS florida. you know, way too many obama voters and all.
(Rolling on the floor laughing!)
How allowing Atlanta to secede from Georgia? That would be killer! (Just kidding. Only kind of…)
aw, ben, you’re a saxby chambliss voter, aren’t you? i can tell.
Ew! No! Gross!
Wow, I never knew the SE had events like this. Hell, I didn’t even know CI was all about NC. Currently I am working at a shop in Greensboro. I would love to come to Charlotte or some other spot.
As a newcomer I have no fucking clue what you guys are talking about politically, but I am glad that its all worked out.