Fausto Romo

Jelle van Rossum founded Shokunin Coffee Collective in Rotterdam in 2018 at the age of 24, choosing the Japanese word for a master craftsperson who strives for perfection to the extent that the entire community benefits, an upgrade from his earlier brand Stielman which carried the same meaning in old Dutch. Van Rossum had previously worked as head roaster at Man Met Bril Koffie and as manager at Stielman Koffiebranders, and he brought a consumer oriented roasting philosophy to Shokunin, adjusting roast profiles according to the brew ratio and TDS that each barista wants to use rather than applying a single house style across the board. The roasting approach draws inspiration from Tim Wendelboe's focus on clarity, sweetness, and mouthfeel, and the sourcing side concentrates on very unique and outspoken coffees that highlight specific processing methods, regions, or varietals, with many lots arriving through the importer This Side Up and an increasing number purchased directly, including coffee from a producer named Ana in Colombia. The roastery offers approximately sixteen different coffees at any given time, each selected for a distinct flavor profile, and van Rossum supplied the first ever Myanmar coffee featured in a Coffeevine subscription box in May 2019, a sourcing discovery that reflected his appetite for origins others had not yet explored. Shokunin has established itself as one of Rotterdam's most forward thinking micro roasteries, driven by a founder whose journey from employee at another roastery to head of his own collective happened before he turned twenty five.