Shokunin Coffee

More About Shokunin Coffee

Shokunin Coffee grew in Rotterdam into a full-fledged specialty brand. The founder is Jelle van Rossum, known as the owner of Shokunin Coffee Collective. Profiles from 2018 describe how a label for collaborations evolved into an independent roastery. Since then, the company has positioned itself around transparency, long-term relationships, and consistent quality, targeting both professionals and coffee lovers. The business is registered as Shokunin B.V. in Rotterdam and serves customers across the Netherlands and the European Union. The brand shares its processes and results with remarkable openness, strengthening trust among buyers and baristas.

Roast philosophy and technique: light, precise, and energy-efficient

Production runs on a 6 kg Giesen W6, with an emphasis on light omniroasts suitable for both filter and espresso. The first crack occurs around 190°C and the drop around 195–196°C. Most batches reach the first crack after slightly more than eight minutes. The roaster works with fixed airflow and fixed combinations of drum speed and batch size. Experiments with soaking and adjusted drum speeds improved cup quality and resulted in approximately 20 percent gas savings per roast. Educational content, written by Marijn Dokter, explains data-driven roasting and home roasting.

Assortment and flavor profiles: recognizable and diverse

The offering changes seasonally, but a few references provide direction for the taste and style. The omniroast approach keeps the brewing method flexible, while origin and process define the signature. For baristas and hospitality owners, this is useful because recipes for filter and espresso remain closely aligned. The coffees mentioned below illustrate the flavor compass.

Kianamui, Kenya, Kirinyaga, washed, SL28 and SL34, bright and classic Kenyan, accessible as a seasonal special.

Keramo Washed, Ethiopia, Bensa/Sidama, washed with 72-hour fermentation, jasmine, peach, and a silky caramel, Earl Grey body.

Sidra, Ecuador, washed, single variety, elderflower, orange, and a tea-like body.

Argote “Juan Pablo Super Special”, Colombia, Castillo, double extended fermentation, intensely sweet and aromatic as a microlot series.

Partnerships at the source: exclusivity and direct import

Shokunin builds multi-year relationships with producers. With Juan Pablo and the late Efraín Argote in Nariño, Colombia, drying beds and processing were co-financed. Shokunin became the exclusive roaster for their coffee. A direct trade relationship with Ana Restrepo in Colombia began after a cupping in Cali in 2018, where direct import increased proximity and control. Furthermore, there are connections with Roberto Jiménez in Costa Rica, the Hopong Cooperative in Myanmar, Gloria and Jarmo Gummerus of Sakami Coffee in Kenya, Rebecca Trupin and Aranga in Tanzania, Gilbert Gatali and Intango in the Rwanda/Burundi region, and the Tocto family of Churupampa in Peru.

Transparency, Pricing Policy, and Open Documentation

The company publishes a position paper on direct trade and documents projects per producer per year. Visualizations provide insight into the value chain, including premiums and processing experiments. For a portion of the green coffee, detailed price breakdowns are available, using a formula “purchasing price + 40 percent” as a transparent markup for the sale of green beans. This approach makes margins and value creation explicit for roasters and educational purposes. It aligns with an emphasis on stability in relationships and reproducible quality in the cup.

Capacity, Schedule, and Logistics

Roasting capacity is listed as a Giesen W6A (6 kg), underscoring the precision of small-batch roasting. The regular roasting schedule consists of roasting to order every Monday and Tuesday, featuring omniroasts suitable for both espresso and filter. Monthly subscriptions are shipped out during the first week of every month. The number of bags corresponds to the number of different coffees in the shipment. Shipments within the Netherlands typically arrive the day after dispatch, while EU orders usually arrive within a week of roasting.

Retail, Café, and Community

The flagship café Dune opened on September 8, 2022, at Van Vollenhovenstraat 14A in Rotterdam, in collaboration with BAIN Brewing. The location serves as a tangible storefront for the roastery and as a meeting point for the community. Shokunin organizes and shares education via a public learning portal with information on producers, roasting theory, recipes, and signature drinks. For example, a “consumer-based roasting” workshop is scheduled for November 16, 2025, at Tribute to Coffee.

Media and visibility

The brand has gained attention in several publications. European Coffee Trip featured founder Jelle van Rossum in 2018. The Coffeevine profiled the roaster in 2019 with an early Myanmar feature. Bean Portal returned in 2019 and again in April 2023, emphasizing transparency and sustainability. In December 2024, a brand story and retail collaboration appeared at JFF Coffee, including a mention of café Dune.

What this means for the Dutch coffee sector

Shokunin combines openness about its processes with a light, consistent roast profile. The technique is simple and disciplined, utilizing fixed settings and clear energy control. Relationship-driven sourcing provides exclusive access to specific microlots and enables experiments that yield measurable results. For cafés, baristas, and roasters in the Netherlands, the brand offers a concrete framework, from recipe development to delivery reliability. The combination of transparency, small batches, and direct partnerships makes Shokunin a relevant case study for those wanting to measurably link sustainability and flavor.

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