Organizing latte art throwdowns is normally the yeoman’s work of a local coffee community, a night of tangential coffee-related events meant more as a informal hang than a competition of tulip tiers. The keyword here is “normally.” Coffee District, the group behind D.C.’s local coffee events, is breaking that mold by hosting back-to-back international sister throwdowns, one in New Orleans and one in Milan, Italy.

These throwdowns are the first efforts by Coffee District to take their parties on the road and show the rest of the world a good time. The inaugural event will take place February 1st at Cherry Espresso Bar in New Orleans, the first of what Coffee District hopes to be a yearly tradition of hosting a throwdown in a new city in the US. Then, they will be hopping the pond for the following night’s festivities at Orsonero Coffee in Milan as part of a bi-monthly event series around cafes in Italy.

But this is still a throwdown, so there are going to be prizes for putting milk in espresso with high levels of artistry. The winner of the NOLA throwdown will take home the total of all the entry fees in cash ($160 assuming all 32 spots are filled), a Gesha plant from Coava Coffee, an Acaia Gold Pearl Scale, and a trophy. The Milan throwdown champion wins the entry fees in cash (€96) and a bag of Gardelli Coffees competition coffee!

Both Coffee District events require pre-registration via Eventbrite, which can be done here and here for the NOLA and Milan events, respectively. For more information visit Coffee District’s Facebook event pages.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

*all images via Coffee District

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