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COMIC COFFEE FILM UNITES LOUISVILLE BARISTA COMMUNITY When the grinders have cooled down and the pucks have crumbled, how do you want to be remembered as a barista? Will you rise to championship status in the gauntlet that is a latte art competition? Will you be found victoriously sprawled on the espresso bar of battle? These are the questions a special echelon of baristas ask themselves as they wait for sleep to come night after night. These are the thoughts that permeate the minds of those who will rewrite coffee history. These are also the types of thoughts that spawned the new short film, Monkey Mocha Fantastique (monkeymochafantastique.com). Inspired in part by the growth of the coffee community over the past decade in Louisville, Ky., MMF is the creation of writer Timothy Strader and director William H. Wallace II. And it was feted at a premiere event, to great fanfare, at Sunergos Coffee in Louisville on April 14. MMF is about Dave, a down on his luck barista who loses his girlfriend to a rival coffee craftsman named Stephan. When his ex-girlfriend Vella brings Stephan to his coffee shop, Dave impetuously challenges Stephan to a head-to-head latte art challenge at the annual "Finding the Flash" competition. Dave must rely on Leslie, his bizarre mentor and sage of all things coffee, and a bit of luck as he musters the courage to finally confront Stephan and seize his destiny. Dave is a Rocky figure who inspires baristas everywhere to achieve their coffee dreams. Premiere attendees were treated to V60s and Chemexes as they mingled and waited for the lights to dim. After the screening, coffee sampling recommenced as the crowd chattered about the film. In no time, the evening's second biggest draw, a Latte Art Throwdown, got rolling, with 16 regional baristas going head-to-head in a tournament style competition emceed by Sunergos' Chris Turner. Sponsors stepped up big time with some sweet prizes for the barista competitors, including a Baratza Preciso grinder, Reg Barber tamper, and a Bonavita kettle totaling over $800 (as well as bragging rights in this competitive coffee town). Personally, I won't soon forget the first time my mind was blown seeing latte art. As a part of the training at Sunergos Coffee, we studied David Schomer's instructional latte art pouring video and entered into unchartered coffee territory. We were the exception, free pouring rosettas in a foam-scooped-on-top-of-cappuccino culture. If we seemed alien it was only because our town was too parochial; the West Coast was rife with coffee enthusiasm. Those who passed by in the early days were not easy converts, but some returned day after day, and something fantastic began to happen: they wanted to learn about specialty coffee. Within a year the coffee culture was growing and more educated. New shops were opening up and baristas were discussing latte art techniques with each other. One young man even began hosting latte art throwdowns in his home. Louisville's callow coffee culture was becoming full-fledged. www.baristamagazine.com 25 In 2012, Louisville coffee shops host regular latte art throwdowns, have bred a Coffee Fest Latte Art Champion, and house multiple micro roasters and several paddle group espresso machines. Six years ago, Monkey Mocha Fantastique would have been out of place and misunderstood, but today it speaks directly to the hearts of Louisville's burgeoning coffee culture. If in just half a decade Louisville's coffee scene can grow with such exponential momentum, the only remaining question is, what does the future hold? —Kane Holbrook