Middle East 2026
ENTRIES OPEN:
A COFFEE ROASTING COMPETITION TO CHALLENGE SKILLS in roasting and blending
OUR Partners
Loring – Official Roaster Partner
Brewing Gadgets – Official Event Partner
Ecotact – Official Packaging Partner
The Coffee Magazine – Official Hosts and Media Partner
Entries are open
2026 Cycle
You will receive your specialty coffee beans in your competition pack via courier when the competition begins. The beans will be fresh crop of something truly delicious. We can’t wait to taste your roasts of these beans!
Test your
ROASTING Skills
And receive detailed feedback on your submissions.
Roasters are able to experiment with beans in the comfort of their own roastery to achieve the best flavour results. We believe it is important for you to work on your own equipment to achieve the best possible results.
Who will be crowned
2026 CHAMPION
The 4th edition of this competition starts NOW. Be sure to follow us on social media so you can see the competitors and see how the competition is progressing around the world.
WHAT iS INCLUDED in 2026?
What's included in your entry fee?
- Competition specialty green coffee for both cupping and blending
- The Ecotact competition entry bags for submission
- A Shot in the Dark merch
- Limited Edition Tees
- Water minerals
- All the important information on judging
- Feedback on your roasting skills from industry professional judges
- Workshop Day and Winners Announcement
- Feature on Coffee Magazine website and A Shot in the Dark social media
HOW IT WORKS
There are two challenges in this competition:
Cupping & Blending
All Competitors receive the exact same green coffee to roast. There are 3 coffees in each competition pack – One extremely high quality specialty coffee exclusively for the cupping challenge as well as two additional coffees for the blending challenge. Competitors may roast their competition coffee in their own roaster and on their own coffee roasting equipment. This Green Coffee will be sent out to all competitors at the same time.
All coffee will be blind judged by a team of coffee professionals using the specially formulated A Shot in the Dark scoresheets.
challenge one
CUPPING
Competitors submit 250g of the high quality specialty coffee used for the cupping challenge, roasted to its best potential and then submitted to the judges via courier. The roasting notes will be submitted digitally for the Head Judge to consult after blind tasting to offer you the best possible feedback.
challenge two
BLENDING
Competitors will also have to roast and blend the additional two supplied coffees in addition to their original competition coffee. This will be roasted and blended for the espresso recipe – parameters will be provided for this.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the coffees?
We’re still in the process of selecting the best possible coffees for this challenge.
- The entry fees are high, what are the benefits to my business?
Our main objective with this competition is to provide an educational platform to learn from detailed feedback provided on your roasts and to share in the community events.
We have also specifically designed the competition so that you can make back a large portion of the entry fee by retailing the remaining coffee you receive, you can also sell this exclusive lot on bar if you have a cafe.
- The water is different in each region, how does this work?
The best possible solution is to provide you with the same mineral composition to use with distilled water so that you are tasting with the same water the judges are using.
- How much time will I have with the coffee?
You will have around 5 weeks to experiment with your roasts and plan resting/degassing time for your coffees, an important part of the competition as you are also showing your skill here as to when the coffee is at its peak.
- How is the judging done?
The judges use specifically designed scoresheets. These are sent to you with your competition packs along with a document outlining what each category means. The judges have both roasting experience and Q-grader qualifications.
- What are the rules for the Espresso Blend?
You can use any ratio of the green coffees you wish for your espresso blend, but you must use all three coffees provided. We provide espresso recipe parameters, so that our ASITD Barista can pull the shots most accurately.
- How do the judges provide feedback?
When you submit your coffees, you also submit detailed notes on your roasts (including a roast curve and flavour notes) and the blend. Michael Mac Donald, our Head Judge will use these notes to provide you with incredibly detailed feedback on what they tasted and what you can learn. This will be emailed to you after the competition concludes.
ENTER NOW
Ready to test your roasting skills and compete for the title of A Shot in the Dark - Middle East Champion 2026?
Every Roaster that wishes to enter A Shot in the Dark, needs to fill out the online Entry Form below and pay the Entry Fee.
The Entry Fee is $750 (AED2750)*
You can pay via Bank Transfer or PayPal.
Thanks to our partners we have been able to reduce the fees for competitors!
*Remember that you only submit 500g total coffee for judging, so you have around 20kg left to retail OR you can serve your roast on bar.
Both ways you can make back your entry fee.
ENTRIES CLOSE 31 January 2026
Recap of A shot in the dark 2025
The competition was fierce in 2025 and we are ready for the 2026 Season to kick off!
The A Shot in the Dark Middle East winners for 2025 were announced 27 February 2025 at the official prizegiving held at the Brewing Gadgets Experience Lab in Dubai.
It was an incredible community event, where Coffee Roasters, Competitors, Sponsors and Judges gathered to taste the Top 5 cupping coffees, the Top 5 espressos, and for us to hand over the Prizes and Awards for the very deserving winners!
A huge thank you to Brewing Gadgets for hosting us at their beautiful Experience Lab – a must-visit if you are ever in Dubai!
Congratulations to all the competing roasters. And thank you to those who were able to join us at the Prizegiving.
OVERALL CHAMPION: Jonalyn Dela Pena of Doppio Roasters!
2nd Overall: Kemal Risyad of Archers
3rd Overall: Tadele Tashome of Haute Coffee Roasters
Blending Champion 2025: Roasters Specialty Coffee House roasted by Denkayehu Desalegn
Cupping Champion: Jonalyn Dela Pena of Doppio Roasters
This year we awarded Roasters who were part of Founding the competition and have entered for all three years. Dedication to the craft and to learning!
Thank you to Nasser AlMaamari from Click Coffee, Oman, Gideon Canido from Cafe Rider, Dubai and Empire Coffee, Qatar, for also attaining their Dedication to Excellence award for competing in all 3 ASITD competitions.
Thank you so much to our esteemed judges from last year.
Andrew Nicholson - Windrose Coffee
Mike Mac Donald - Head Judge, Green Coffee Supply
Bogdan Prunila - CMI
Ajey Pathuri - Brewing Gadgets
Aleksa Novacic - Cimbali Group
Espresso Barista: Rasam Adabi - CMI
The entire competition is blind judged by a panel of Coffee Professionals (Q-graders + Roasters) in a cupping laboratory using the specially formulated A Shot in the Dark judging scoresheets and feedback forms. Each competitor receives detailed feedback regardless of their final placement.