Bean Bros is going abroad, we are leaving Scandinavia and heading towards The Netherlands for our next featured roaster.
Jelle van Rossum is the man behind Shokunin, a micro roastery in Rotterdam. He has dedicated his work to be both artisanal and beneficiary to society, we truly love this mindset. So in May we not only feature a very talented coffee enthusiast but also super interesting coffee. a first for us. One of the coffees we will have is coffee from Myanmar, how exciting is that?!
Our aim is to both feature well established, fantastic roasters we all want to have coffee from but also new or not-yet as well-known roasters from all around Europe, small micro roasteries we believe to be unique and skilled in their profession, resulting in a coffee drinking experience that enables us to fully get into the moment and enjoy a cup of great coffee.
With Shokunin we are happy to present and feature both a new roaster and exciting coffee.
Interview with Jelle van Rossum - the man behind Shokunin, micro roastery
We spoke with Jelle van Rossum to get a better understanding of what drives him and makes his company and outputs exceptional!
Myanmar, how exciting! Can you tell us a bit about who you are working with here?
When my key importer and visionary inspiration This Side Up Coffees announced working with two village groups in Myanmar, I was so excited! These people had been producing opium for years, but now had the opportunity to become independent coffee growers with the help of Winrock, an NGO. I wanted to support this project, and when we cupped the two coffees, they blew me away. One of them, Bant Sauk, only had 6 bags available. This coffee won 2nd place in the national coffee competition for naturals (this year it won 1st place). The other coffee, Long Hay, I wanted for its amazing complexity.
How is the coffee tasting?
I usually go for washed coffees for their clarity, but this natural had a surprising complexity as well. Apart from the boozy, rum-like body that's reminiscent of naturals, it also has some spiciness that I associate with the Myanmar origin. The fruitiness in the coffee was very funky and especially vibrant and tasted like lime and strawberry candy, and also having some jasmine aromas makes it a real stunner.
For the Colombian, how is this?
La Argentina was actually one of the coffees that I chose for its flavour profile. The combination of a red wine and strawberry acidity with a chocolate body is something I will always appreciate in a coffee. I sometimes refer to this coffee as my Kenya from Colombia.
What parts of the coffee community do you feel benefit the most from your work at the moment?
The goal is to make an experience by making producers and consumers feel connected. The producers benefit, because I'm paying premiums and securing their sales in the coming years. They also benefit from my knowledge and the feedback from my customers. One example is that we did two other processing methods with Juan Pablo Argote's (Colombia) coffee based on the fact that Colombian naturals seemed to be very popular in the Netherlands. For coming harvest, we have larger quantities for these microlots, and with this diversification of offerings, we create more value with Argote's base product.
What more would you like to do?
I've already built a community around the projects that I have running in origin, yet I would love to take this to a higher level. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to share my vision and approach to a bigger audience, so that consumers understand my approach to direct trade better. We're planning our flagship store for hopefully next year, where we'll be able to engage even more intricately with consumers.
Also, I started with the "Shokunin exclusive" label on some bags, which means that I'm the only person with that coffee. This, I can achieve by working closely with the farmer and reserving specific parts or their entire production and creating my own microlots. For Juan Pablo Argote's coming harvest this June, we already have 4 different processing methods and therefore 4 flavour profiles planned.
With the way you like to work with producers, being more directly involved, does this limit the amount of people you can work with?
It definitely does, but I like this limitation. This way, I narrow my vision and put more focus on the options that I have, and if I feel like I want more, then I will need to create them myself. I also believe that it's not too difficult to source and roast a coffee well, so there would be little fun for me in just buying great microlots and making them taste great.
How do you identify who to work with?
I try to understand people's vision and their mindset. If the coffee is reasonably potent and the producer's mindset is aligned with mine, it's a go. Last year when I was in Cali, I met Ana Restrepo. When I spoke to her she told me the coffee had never been exported. I decided to start importing her coffee myself, paying higher prices and designing a quality premium system. The first shipment was relatively small, but we are now looking at ways to increase the quantity and make her dreams come true!
Do you have a recommended brewing method for the coffees we have this month?
I tend to brew everything on V60 for its clarity and sweetness. These coffees both benefit from the extra clarity since their acidity is so soft yet complex. My coffees are quite straight-forward recipe-wise with a 60g/L dose and 96 degrees Celsius water temperature on filter. They are omni-roasts, so you can also brew super sweet espressos by taking a 2.3 brew ratio.
You can solve a Rubik's cube single handed in 14 seconds, that's amazing! Have you tried this whilst making a pour-over with the other hand!
Ha-ha, yes, I'm afraid I got a little bored during high school classes, so this hobby got out of hand! To be honest, I have solved it during the bloom of a pour-over, but not whilst pouring no! I'm afraid my hand-eye coordination isn't good enough for it, but I reckon it would definitely add some complexity to the brew!
Interview: Kris Thurbin
Featured Coffees:
Myanmar: Hopong – Long Hay
Sweet and floral aromas like candied jasmin. Funky, complex taste like banana, strawberry, and lime. Thick body like spiced toffee.
About the project: Since 2014, the United Nationals Office on Drugs and Crime has been working on replacing Myanmar’s poppy production with coffee. Through this programme, the Hopong farming community started growing new coffee plants. A two-week training with the country’s most successful specialty coffee operation gave them the know-how to start their own true specialty production and to become independent from powerful groups.
Brewing Recipe for Filter:
Brewing method: V60
Dose: 15 grams
Water temperature: 96 degrees Celsius
Water quantity: 250 grams
Bloom: 45 grams, 30 seconds, with agitation
Pour: 3 slow, circular pours, with 20 seconds in between
Total brew time: 3:10
Colombia: La Argentina
Pungent and heavy aromas like red wine. Intense sweetness bomb like strawberry and blackberry. Medium and soft body like chocolate and honey.
More about the farm: La Argentina is a small town high in the mountains on the border between the departments of Huila and Cauca in the south of Colombia. It’s a still unknown gem for lovers of very good coffees. Our partners from The Coffee Quest only started working recently with a small association here of 30 farmers that have shown tremendous potential.
Brewing Recipe for Filter:
Brewing method: V60
Dose: 18 grams
Water temperature: 96 degrees Celsius
Water quantity: 300 grams
Total brew time: 3:10
Colombia: Argote - Cherry Ferment
A private selection of this year’s crop from Juan Pablo and Efrain Argote, who have become engaging, inspiring pioneers in their local coffee community.
An experimental nanolot that pursues a more controlled version of natural fermentation without a loss of clarity.
Flavour: Fragrant, bitter aromas like nutmeg and liquorice. Thick yet pungent sweetness like banana and cranberry. Silky body like Darjeeling tea and hazelnut.
More about the farm: Sometimes, coffee farmers are not even aware of the quality they produce. The Argote family was introduced to the world of specialty coffee just three years ago. Now, Juan Pablo is fully engaged in the specialty scene, doing experiments and finding every opportunity to improve his coffee. This is also how he inspires the community around him, bringing the entire Nariño region up the quality ladder.
This way of working inspired us to work together with Juan Pablo and his father Efrain, who owns the central piece of land and processing equipment. Working closely together has already resulted in beautiful experiments and quality improvements. These led to such a demand, that now Shokunin is the exclusive roaster to work with Efrain and Juan Pablo’s coffee. This leads to even more direct feedback, more control and more room for innovation and premiums.
Brewing Recipe:
Brewing method: V60
Coffee dose: 18 grams
Water dose: 300 grams
Water temperature: rolling boil
Brew time: 3:00
Additional comments: use multiple small pours to extend brewing time.
