Are you ready to Crush the Rush? No, I’m not talking about beating your YYZ high score on Guitar Hero, I’m talking about the new fast-paced espresso drink making competition by La Marzocco. Pitting teams of three in a head-to-head, bracket-style competition, Crush the Rush is making 10 stops on a US tour, and it is rolling through Portland June 26th. Sprudge Media Network is the official media sponsor of Crush the Rush, and along with national sponsor Oatly, we’ll be there every step of the way to gush about the rush crush.

The game is simple: you and two of your efficiency beast barista friends (Beastristas? Rabeastas? You get where I’m going with this) will go head-to-head against another team of three to see who can make eight randomly generated espresso-based drinks the fastest. But it’s not just speed, it’s quality. Each drink will be judged by both a technical and a visual judge to ensure all shots falls within competition parameters and to assess drinks based on cleanliness, microfoam quality, and fills level, respectively. If both judges vote “pass”, this the drink counts. If not, well then consider yourself wrapped up in the remake-it blanket. The last team standing will be crowned the winners and receive the $300 cash prize.

Both teams will be working on La Marzocco’s Strada AV (with scale technology) and a Mazzer E grinder to create their drinks. Teams are to bring five pounds of coffee to be used in the competition, but beyond that, nothing additional is required (other than the entry fee); in fact, teams are expressly prohibited from bringing anything else.

Crush the Rush will be visiting the following cities:
Portland, OR: June 26
San Francisco, CA: July 2
Los Angeles, CA: July 6
Houston, TX: July 17
Atlanta, GA: July 24
Washington, DC: July 30
Chicago, IL: August 7
Kansas City, MO: August 10
Denver, CO: August 14

Entry fee for Crush the Rush is $30 per team. Teams can sign up for their preferred city by following the links above. For more information and the full list of rules, visit La Marzocco’s official site. So grab your friends—the good ones, not the ones texting during the lunch rush—and prove your workflow dominance.

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

*all media via La Marzocco

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