This year’s edition of our Vacherin Barista Competition, Crush the Rush, brought another exciting opportunity to celebrate the talent of our baristas. Last Friday, we witnessed an incredible display of skill, precision, and control as our baristas poured coffees at speed. The competition was hosted at the La Marzocco UK showroom in Shoreditch, where competitors and guests enjoyed a day full of excitement, great energy, and plenty of coffee!
Twenty-two teams of two baristas from our Vacherin sites across London signed up for this year’s competition. From early morning, all the teams were ready to pour their best shots and compete side by side for the title of Vacherin Barista of the Year and the grand prize: a trip to Italy to visit La Marzocco Headquarters in the beautiful city of Florence. The contestants spent the rest of the afternoon cheering for their peers and releasing some tension by dancing during the breaks. Throughout the day, we experienced a true sense of community and teamwork, with moments of healthy rivalry adding to the fun.
Once again, we had the pleasure of welcoming outstanding professionals from the coffee industry, who took on the challenging task of judging our teams’ performances:
- Lily Jones, UK Latte Art Trainer Extraordinaire
- Dale Harris, World Barista Champion 2017
- Tim Sturk, Q Grader and World-Renowned Coffee Expert
- Katie Osborne, Sales Coordinator at La Marzocco UK
The competition was incredibly close, and the final ended in a draw, leading to an exciting tiebreaker round. This year’s winners were none other than Chelsea Pryor and Aisha Linton, runners-up from Crush the Rush 2024. Congratulations to them!
Such a successful event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our host and sponsor, La Marzocco UK; our coffee roasters - Kiss the Hippo, Redemption, Roasting Party, Send, and Union Coffee - as well as our friends at Sproud, Cotteswold Dairy, and Caravela Coffee, and all our wonderful suppliers who helped make this event a reality.
