You guys are the people who work really hard every day to get Chattanoogans the best coffee.

On Thursday evening, as Smash Boyz served last-call burgers from the grill and folks downed their second or third drink - Coors in a can, peach LaCroix, 16 oz. Liquid Death - while kicked back on folding chairs inside a Red Bank garage, Tyler Sowrey stepped out from behind the silver-sexy Slayer espresso machine and carried forward two cortados - half steamed milk, half espresso - poured into small, snow-white cups.

He stepped carefully.

One drop spilled down the side? Instant disqualification.

He stepped confidently.

Tyler, like everyone in the garage, is one of the city's finest.

This was the second annual Sprodeo: an underground competition among Chattanooga coffeehouses.  

The evening felt more like a family reunion as a crowd of 60 or so technicians, inventors, baristas, cafe-owners and fans - from Seattle to the Southside - cheered.

"I drove here from San Antonio," said Erin Chase, owner of Chase Coffee Co.

Thursday night, some of the best coffee in the Southeast was being poured inside a garage hidden behind Dayton Boulevard.  

The first round had ended. The second round challenge: who can pull, pour and serve the best pair of cortados?

Each team had dialed in their Slayer machine like safecrackers, adjusting the flow, grams just-right before the viola-pour of milky leaf art.

Tyler placed his cortados on the judges' table.

They stood, poker-faced. The crowd stood taller, one-handing drinks with phones out filming.

Next? Matt Bartee and his cortados, then Velo Coffee's Tori Vintzel.

Which team had poured perfectly? Balancing steamed milk and espresso so delicately, one teensy-tiny extra gram can throw the whole thing to hell?

The crowd held its breath.

The judges looked at one another. One nod, then another.  

It was unanimous: Sowrey.

The garage filled with cheers, as Sowrey and the Goodman Coffee team advanced to the final round. From the first row, Jacob Nelson laid down some good wisdom as a grand night got even grander.

"It's not necessarily the coffee," he said. "Sometimes, it's the people behind it."

"The Sprodeo is my love letter to Chattanooga coffee," said Spencer Perez, owner of Coffee Machine Service Co.

It was his Red Bank garage. His idea. His love that gathered like gravity everyone together Thursday night.

"This community used to be cohesive. We've gotten siloed a bit," he said. "I want to give them an event where they connect on a craft-level."

Local coffeehouse teams sent teams - some with their own names - to compete.

• Goodman's Coffee Roaster's "Oh, You Wanted That Iced?"
• Sleepyhead Coffee's "The Sleepys"
• Velo Coffee's "Haircut"
• Mean Mug
• An oldhead coffee crew "The Has-Beans"
• Red-Eyed Rooster's "Slayer Sisters"

"You guys are the people who work really hard every day to get Chattanoogans the best coffee," Spencer declared.  

Basic Sprodeo rules? Three baristas raced to make six perfect drinks per heat.

One person dialing and pulling. One person steaming and pouring. One person delivering.

Technical judges - Slayer's Taylor Blake and Derek De LaPaz of Xozio Coffee - hawk-eyed teams; if their drinks overstepped established pre-sets on each espresso machine, the drink is void. Start over.

"Every shot they pull has to be within the parameters," said Derek. (It was his Xozio Coffee everyone was pouring Thursday.)

The dose? Within .2 grams.

The yield? Within 1 gram.

The time? Within two seconds.

Each team got five minutes to adjust the knobs and dials on their Slayer machine, gorgeous like you imagine a Ferrari engine. These were among the best coffee hands in the city - think Adele at sound check, Ohtani taking BP - adjusting knobs, turning dials, testing flow.

"It's a race to the finish," Spencer said.

Simulating a cafe-rush, Spencer, standing on his work bench, shouted out random orders:

Give me a latte! A cappuccino! Another cappuccino! A cortado! A latte!

Poured drinks were then fast-walked to visual judges  - Erin Chase and Lindsey Cate Smith - who eyeballed each:

Is the drink textured well? Is the cup clean and full? Too many bubbles? Any drop spilled? Too much coffee? Not enough coffee?

"I've got five seconds to basically say 'yes' or 'no'," said Erin.

"First to finish the string moves ahead," said Spencer, "with aplomb."

Round one highlights:

• It took 12 quick minutes for "The Has-Beans" to produce six perfect drinks, winning 6-0. The childhood friends from Mississippi went separate ways before all moving to Chattanooga.

• Velo's "Haircut" won 6-1 against the "Slayer Sisters."

• Goodman's "Oh, You Wanted That Iced?" rolled early.

"Are you guys magicians?" somebody shouted from the crowd.

• The Sleepyhead crew was a crowd favorite.

"Good shit!" someone shouted. "Good shit!"

It felt good-shit to remember: every time we walk into a coffee shop, scrolling-thinking about a million things but certainly not the delicate balance of .5 grams, there's artwork + expertise + fast-hustle happening, all for us, often for $1 tips. ("Oh, you wanted that iced?")

That's Sprodeo's entire kit-and-caboodle.

"Something that honors the hard work the city's best baristas pour into their craft every day," Spencer said.

A moment to honor Spencer and Sarah Perez, each with that special magnetism that draws - and holds - this whole thing together. Before the Sprodeo, they'd hosted a multi-day training with Slayer techs as folks came from near and far. (Remember Erin Chase? "I drove from San Antonio.")

"The best part about coffee is the people, said Kaileigh Mulligan, with Slayer, based in Seattle. (If there's a better name for an espresso machine, I don't know it.)

The competition lasted latte into the night. The final round? Velo's "Haircut" versus Goodman's "Oh, I Wanted That Iced."

Here's Spencer for the play-by-play:

They had to deliver three identical pairs of drinks and finish with a perfect cappuccino. It was neck-and-neck for 10 or 12 minutes.

Both teams had placed only two pairs and seemed to struggle to progress, but then 'Haircut' caught a breeze and blew into first place.

High fives, hugs, and smiles all around.

He handed out a trophy and bolo ties for the winners.

As we walked off into the night, there was a cup-runneth-over sense of gratitude for all the coffee heroes in this town. For their dedication. Their art. Their love.

The Sprodeo did its job.

It's not necessarily the coffee. Sometimes, it's the people behind it.

All photography by Sarah Unger (sarah@foodasaverb.com)

All design by Alex DeHart

All words by David Cook (david@foodasaverb.com)

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.