Roasterie’s Latte Art Throw Down is next Friday — and free

Here’s the bad news: This year’s Caffeine Crawl, featuring 13 different local coffee or tea vendors, is completely sold out.

The good news? The Roasterie’s latest Latte Art Throw Down, a competition of local baristas (there’s no pre-registration for the event, any barista with $5 can enter; the Roasterie expects all 32 spots to be filled) is open to the public for free and offers a chance for the viewers to pay two bucks to get a random number. If that number matches the number of the winning barista, the ticket holder wins prizes.

This year’s Latte Art Throw Down will be held Friday, April 17, in the Roasterie Cafe inside the company headquarters, at 1204 West 27th Street, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

During the event, Roasterie coffee samples will be available for purchase, as well as beer, wine and the Roasterie’s own Dizzy Three Espresso Vodka.

Viewers at the competition who pay $2 for a “buy in” are randomly paired up with a competing barista; the guest who is partnered with the winning barista will receive a 12-ounce bag of Reserve coffee and a baseball hat or T-shirt. Second-place winners will receive a $20 Roasterie Cafe gift card.