This year we decided to do something different and have the A Shot in the Dark Prizegiving at the CMA’s instead of Creative Coffee Week – the 38 roasters have been working incredibly hard teasing out the best profiles for the given coffees and last week in Johannesburg, the judges scored the cupping coffee and the blends and we tallied up the points. Our cupping Judges were Mike Mac Donald, Nicodemus Nabakwe, Cuth Bland assisted by Thoriso Mafisa. And the Espresso judges were Stevo Kühn (also the barista), Alicia Steyn and Waseem Jadwat, assisted by Shawn Cloete.
A huge thank you must go to the Sponsors of this unique competition.
The beauty of this competition is in the blind tasting, so the winners are always a big reveal! This year we had three Champions, as we will moving forward, celebrating more of the roasters' hard work!
Gegrond, Frederik Dreyer pictured with George Karatzas of La Cimbali
Frederik takes home a brand new PuqPress courtesy of PUQ.
Babylonstoren Team pictured with Shawn Cloete representing Mahlkonig
Winner Cupping category roaster takes home a Mahlkonig X54 grinder courtesy of Mahlkonig!
Third Place: The Roastery - Byron Smith
Accepted by Neil Maree (Genio Roasters). This is the second year in a row that Byron has placed in the Top 3! Based in Mossel Bay, the Garden Route certainly has some passionate coffee people! What an accomplishment!
Second place: Brothers Coffee - Peter Murrey
The Brothers team have consistently entered two roasters in the competition, using the exercise to continue to hone their skills. This year it was Peter's turn to shine!
Champion: Humble Coffee - Lindo Mvambi
Lindo becomes our first female roaster to win A Shot in the Dark. WOW! Both her and her mentor and head roaster at Humble Coffee, Amy Gardiner entered the competition and tested and tasted their roasts together, using it as a learning experience, which is in the spirit of how we designed the competition. She was shocked and blown away on the night, "From barista to Roaster!" she exclaimed happily clutching her trophy to her chest. Lindo is a single mom of two boys and we are just so happy that she could be with us in the room to celebrate her victory!
Lindo wins an Origin Trip with the ASITD Championship Tour and a BWT premium water filtration system valued at R10 000.
