On the 2nd of July the SA AeroPress Competition will be hosted by EspressoLab at the Old Biscuit Mill.
These are the contestants that were drawn from the AeroPress cup once all entries were in! Well done! It's going to be an amazing competition!
Rob Temlett Independent
Khan Chang Uncle Bear Coffee Company
Paolo Panicco PVT
Michael MacDonald Origin
Stevo Kühn Royal Roastery
Jean-Pierre Blignaut Royal Roastery
Fanie Botes Industrial Coffee Works
Steve Evans Independent
Zakhele Sibanda Origin
Timothy Porter Independent
Cleo Pokpas Uncle Bear Coffee
Dayle Visser Tribe Coffee
Sa'ad Lahri Independent
Chad Burton Independent
Lydia Oyier Espresso Lab
Ofatsa Kamandani Espresso Lab
Blessing Mbvirwi Espresso Lab
Shewaan Khan Independent
Tell us about what people can expect at the South African AeroPress Competition.
Our aim is to put a fun less formal event than the usual coffee competitions. This is also something the organisers of the WAC (World AeroPress Championship) really encourages, to not take it too serious, just have fun brewing some great coffee together. For that reason we also wanted to encourage independent coffee enthusiasts to register as this is one of few competitions where they can compete, and we were thrilled to have so many enter and compete. Apart for the competition rounds we will have an ongoing auction through out the event with some awesome lots sold off. A years membership at the Riverclub golf club, a weekend away at the Old Mac Daddy, an escape game for 5 at Hint Hunt, Bonavita scales and coffee brewers, Brewista kettles, and of course lots more coffee equipment. So it should be a great event to attend, not just for the competitors but the attendees will also have a chance to bid on all these amazing things. All the proceeds of the auction will go towards sending the winner to compete in the World Championship in Seoul, South Korea, so its a win win situation for everyone.
Why, in your opinion, is the AeroPress such a successful piece of brewing equipment?
It’s potentially the most versatile brewing device, with endless brew recipe options. You can follow the standard operating suggestions in the brew manual, however you can choose to freestyle it with brewing the coffee with add ons, like a metal filter, brewing it inverted, with longer or shorter brew times, the options are endless. The other bonus is that it’s a very travel friendly device, leading to avid coffee geeks brewing it outdoors, indoors and even at high altitude, starting a trend of the AeroPress Mile High Club.
What is the compulsory competition coffee?
All competitors will be using a washed process Caturra from Huila, Colombia, processed by Alirio Muños. It’s a fruit forward coffee with a driven citric acidity and smooth rounded body with soft brown sugary sweetness. We wanted to have the same coffee for everyone as we feel that it gives an even playing field for all competitors. The judging will then be based on the brewing method/technique rather than the coffee.
Tell us about your esteemed panel of judges.
It was important to us to have a varied mix of judges. It came natural to us to contact Winston Thomas as he is the reigning South African AeroPress champion, apart form being a great guy. He also recently won the South African Barista championship, so who better to help us judge the competition. It was also important for us to include at least one woman as the coffee industry is very male dominated, and someone not from within the coffee industry, a “neutral” person if you will. We found that in Annemarie Robertson, who just won the first edition of SABC 3 - Top Chef, and head chef at Open Door until recently. It was also a given to have Renato Correia, our roaster to be apart of the judging team as he has many years or experience tasting coffee both locally and world wide.
