If there’s one thing to be said about Josh Bosarge and Stephen Ashley, owners of Procession Coffee inside Zeppelin Station, it’s that you’ll never find them standing still.
The self-described best friends from Houston, who have run the punk-inspired coffee shop since December, 2022, are constantly hosting events, collaborating with local entities, and bringing new faces to the food hall. There’s even a bevy of playlists available on Spotify from the website. So even if you take an iced latte, cortado, or Moroccan mint tea to go, you can catch the vibe.
Now, freshly in their new spot at the front of Zeppelin Station, comes the first Latte Art Throw Down. The event is a free and friendly latte foam art competition on June 27, at 5:30 p.m., open to anyone who loves seeing pretty coffee drinks. We chatted with Bosarge to get the details on the throw down, learn about the skills required for creating latte art, and what this event means for Zeppelin Station and the local coffee community.
Procession brought a lot of buzz to Zeppelin Station with its events, from record swaps and run clubs to vintage markets and now this competition. What’s been motivating you to keep creating, planning, and hosting these events?
It’s no secret that Denver is full of incredible specialty coffee shops. But Procession has access to a very large and vibrant space that can benefit other small businesses, whether it be vintage vendors or furniture vendors or whatever.
We like bringing people through the space to visit us, of course, but we like giving them the room to get their work out there as well. We’ve become a spearhead for Zeppelin Station and setting the stage for what the building owners want to see fulfilled.
And now, the latte art throwdown. What made you want to put this together?
A latte art throwdown is an event where baristas and coffee professionals from across the coffee industry get together in friendly competition. The purpose is to pour their best latte art for prizes or sometimes just street cred. The public is encouraged to come, cheer people on, and experience the competition.
It’s typically bracket style, single-round elimination with surprise rounds or other fun stuff. We have been wanting to do one for quite a while, but have been a little too busy to make it come together. We love the Denver coffee community and want to give those who work in the industry a night to just have fun.
Who’s competing?
We have 32 competitors from across different coffee shops in Denver and surrounding areas. There will be so much talent competing. Participants include Corvus Coffee Roasters, Crema Coffee House, and DC/AM Coffee Bar, to name a few.
What do attendees and competitors experience the day of and what do they leave with?
Attendees can expect to watch some of the best baristas in Denver going head-to-head, two at a time. All the while we will have raffles and prizes and will play Houston hip-hop in honor of DJ Screw Day. Someone is going home with a trophy, but all competitors are leaving with something. There are tiered prizes, with first, second, and third place winners taking home cash prizes and other goodies.
Can you explain the importance of competitions like this for the coffee community?
I’m not even sure I can say they are important, but they are fun. And it’s a great way for baristas from other shops to network, meet each other, and mingle with other people in their craft. All in all, it’s a great community-building experience and a nice way to enjoy your profession away from the traditional cafe setting.
[Fun fact, added Bosarge, Thursdays are traditionally latte art throwdown days since they can go late and many baristas work early Saturday morning.]
How difficult is it to actually make or master latte art? What sort of skills do baristas need to know?
This is a tough question. Latte art can be tricky, but it’s mostly practice and being able to be okay with mistakes and imperfections. Symmetry is what a lot of judges will look for in an entry, which can be the most unpredictable part. The most important part of latte art though is properly steamed milk, which, when working in specialty coffee, is one of the first things you are equipped with.
[Fun fact, said Stephen Ashley, to make the best latte art you actually don’t make a good coffee drink. The balance of espresso and milk are off, and sometimes it needs to be cool, but not cold. So, despite all the cups of pretty drinks, they just get tossed because they don’t taste great.]
What else is exciting about this throw down in particular?
The amazing sponsors. Supplies from Minor Figures, Acme USA, supergood, Gold Seal Distributing, La Marzocco, Rishi, the list goes on. We will be live streaming the event and displaying the latte art so the attendees can see what the judges see.
We will also have surprise rounds, the one for third place is very special, so the baristas don’t entirely know what to expect. Two tattoo artists will be cranking out flash tattoos in a back room, which is another fun little piece of the puzzle.
On a normal day, visit Procession Coffee daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., inside Zeppelin Station. 3501 Wazee St., Denver, processioncoffee.com
Want to know about another cool coffee shop? Read about Purple Door Coffee, a non-profit with really good drinks.
