Local roastery in competition top 10

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GREAT BRAK RIVER NEWS AND VIDEOS - Well-known Brothers Roastery in Great Brak River has been chosen as one of 10 finalists to take part in the countrywide Shot in the Dark competition, the only coffee roasting competition in South Africa.

According to Ben Ferreira, owner of Brothers, 20 kg of the same coffee beans are sent to all the finalists to roast and get the best out of the coffee.

PHOTO GALLERY: Shot in the Dark competition

This year they will get two to three different coffees and each has to be roasted on its own as a single origin. The different coffee beans have to be blended as well and according to Ferreira, that is very challenging.

"The different coffees grown in different altitudes, react differently. As a roaster, you have to get them to a point where they blend and work together well to get a good extraction."

The finalists send the coffee in and it gets graded blindly and scored by professional graders. The competition is hosted by Genio Coffee Roasters and Coffee Magazine.

Carmin Kuhne, the highest qualified barista in South Africa and a manager at Brothers, says it is important to keep on growing by measuring ourselves against the competition and by developing our palates.

There are 15 roasteries in the Garden Route.