A Shot in the Dark 2025, South Africa's premier coffee roasting competition, will have over R100 000 in prizes up for grabs, in this the 8th year of running, and entries are NOW OPEN!
Calling all Coffee Roasters! This year sees the biggest prize pool ever in the history of the competition. Our incredible Sponsors and Event Partners have ensured that not only will you get the chance to compete and grow as a roaster through the very challenging and rewarding process of roasting your competition coffee and having it evaluated by our World Class judging panel - and getting comprehensive scientific feedback on your roast profile for both Cupping and Espresso rounds, BUT, you could end up walking away with the a trophy and prizes worth tends of thousands of ZAR!
1st place overall will win a coveted spot on the A Shot in the Dark Champions Tour 2026 to Kenya, which is a once in a lifetime trip with the Winners from both the SA and Middle East competition over the past few seasons, visiting coffee farms, being hosted at washing stations and a touring the dry mills , all while experiencing all the wonders of an origin country and everything it has to offer!
The winner will also get their name engraved on the ASITD trophy (like last years winner, Lindo from Humble Coffee, and other greats in the industry) and BWT will custom fit a R10 000 state-of-the-art water filtration system in your Roastery!
Finally, the winner will receive an additional prize - a share of R25 000 worth of green coffee from the competition coffee suppliers, Green Coffee Supply and ZUKA Coffee!
As has become tradition in the A Shot in the Dark competition, there are also winners of the Cupping Section and the Espresso Section. This year we are absolutely thrilled to be giving away a Philos grinder from Mazzer, worth over R30 000 to the Roaster with the highest cupping score!
The highest score in the Espresso Section, which is the roaster that scores the most points for their three bean blend, will win a brand new PUQ Press valued at R15 000!
Finally, not only will 1st, 2nd and 3rd place overall (combined highest scores of Cupping and Espresso scores ) be presented with the floating trophies for each position at the Coffee Magazine Awards in December, but each Roastery will win a share of R25 000 worth of green coffee from the competition coffee suppliers!
The Top 10 Roasters will all receive certificates with their respective position in the competition and a customised Flask from Lizzard, and every single roaster will receive comprehensive feedback on their roasts for both Cupping and Espresso Rounds, and an invaluable assessment for growth, insights and improvement in roast strategy.
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