Yellow Jacket Coffee: Q Grader-Led, Anime-Loving, Award-Stacking

Yellow Jacket Coffee Roaster is the most decorated young roastery in SA right now — and probably the most personality-rich. I met one of their baristas at Jo'burg Coffee Festival 2026 and walked away with the Luna Geisha, the Umber, and a strong opinion that Yellow Jacket's colour-coded packaging system is the best-designed in SA specialty coffee right now.

## The Founder — Shewaan Khan, Q Grader

Shewaan Khan is the founder and head roaster. His credentials are unusual in the SA scene:

- Certified Q Grader — formal SCA-level coffee quality grading certification
- Q Processing Professional — the only one in SA at time of writing
- 16+ years across the printing and coffee industries

A Q Grader can taste and score coffee against a global standard. A Q Processing Professional understands the processing methods that produce those flavour profiles. Shewaan is certified in both — and you can taste it in the catalogue.

## The Awards — A Serious Shelf

| Year | Award | Notes |
|------|-------|-------|
| 2023 | CMA — Best Packaging | The colour-coded box system |
| 2024 | CMA — Roastery of the Year | The big one |
| 2025 | CMA — Excellence in Coffee | Second consecutive winners' list |
| 2025 | Joshua Machelm — Barista of the Year (shortlist) | Team depth |

The trophy from 2024 sat on the festival counter at Jo'burg 2026, next to the anime figurines. Subtle flex.

## The Coffees — Competition-Grade Single Origins

Four colour-coded spec cards at the festival, each reading like a competition-coffee profile:

Pink Bourbon — Colombia, Diego Bermúdez, Finca El Paraíso. Double Anaerobic Thermal Shock Washed. 1,930 masl. Notes: peach, creamy, apricot, oolong tea.

Caxambu — Brazil, Minas Gerais, Carmen Lucia Chaves de Brito. Natural. 1,200 masl. Notes: fuji apple, cherry, strawberry, boozy, floral.

Nyabirongo — Uganda, Rwenzori region, 44 smallholder farmers. Anaerobic Natural. 1,800–2,200 masl. Notes: granadilla, blueberry, creamy milk chocolate.

Bishan Wate — Ethiopia, Guji, Faysel Abdosh. Heirloom. Natural. 1,900–2,200 masl. Notes: lemongrass, jasmine, bergamot, blackberry.

Plus an extensive online catalogue including Colombia Castillo M-03, Ethiopia Chelbesa Red Honey, Kenya Kiandu AB Washed, El Salvador Los Naranjos Geisha, and more.

## The Gesha Series — 80g Tins, Pour-Over Only

Yellow Jacket sells their Geisha-grade coffees in 80g tins and explicitly tells customers NOT to use them for espresso. They want you to brew the Gesha series as pour-over and get the most out of each cup. That's honest retail advice.

## The Personality

- The yellow La Marzocco — most cafés stick with chrome or black
- The Kakashi Hatake figurine (Naruto) on top of the espresso machine
- The Demon Slayer Giyu Tomioka figurine standing guard beside him
- Cat doodles and smiley faces on the banner
- Bright colour-coded packaging — the awards-winning system

It's specialty coffee that hasn't taken itself too seriously. And the technical work behind the cup is so serious that the playful surface lands as confidence, not gimmick.

## Where to Find Them

46 Goldbourne Road, Kenilworth, Cape Town — Roastery + Ikigai café partnership
Online at yellowjacketcoffee.co.za
Instagram: @yellow_jacketcr
Phone: 079 091 7753 · Email: [email protected]