On February 7th, over 40 baristas and coffee lovers gathered at one of Dallas' newest shops, Stir Coffee, for the first in what will become monthly Dallas/Fort Worth-area Barista Jams.


The Jam kicked off with a comparative brew method tasting led by Nathan Shelton of Cultivar Coffee & Stir Coffee. Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa "La Vega" Microlot was brewed using the V60, Chemex, & Press Pot to highlight the subtle nuances of the coffee that were brought forward or masked by each manual brew method.

David Buehrer, owner of Greenway Coffee in Houston, TX and SCAA allied events committee member talked about the SCAA Event in Houston this year and what it means for the Texas coffee community. David encouraged everyone to volunteer and take advantage of the coffee classes that will be offered at the Event. (Houston Event committee member?)


Lorenzo Perkins, current South Central Regional Barista Competition Champion came up from Caffe Medici in Austin to talk about competition, and shed some light on what it takes to compete in the Barista competition. Lorenzo along with Jonathan Meadows (5th place SCRBC) of Cultivar Coffee encouraged more baristas from Dallas to compete this year, stressing how much preparing for and competing in the barista competition had helped them grow as coffee professionals.

The night was topped off with a 16 barista head-to-head Latte Art Throwdown. Nathan Shelton took 3rd and a free BGA membership. Jared Hamilton of Global Peace Factory took 2nd and a gift card to Good2Go Tacos(the restaurant that hosts Stir Coffee). Lorenzo Perkins walked away the winner of this throwdown with pride(and the money pool).

It was a good night for the Dallas coffee community.