Great Coffee Needs
a Great Leader

Our founder, Jacques Shalo, was born into the coffee world. Literally. Born on his family’s coffee farm in Cameroon, Africa, he grew up surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of the crop that would later shape his career. In his late teenage years, Jacques decided to pursue business opportunities in the United States, where he gained valuable experience in sales and marketing. However, he never forgot his roots in coffee, and after several years away from the industry, he found himself yearning to reignite his passion.

It was then that Jacques discovered the unheard-of and game-changing air roasting technology — a revolutionary roasting method that roasts coffee fresher than anything on the market.

With a mission to pay farmers more and disrupt the industry with air roasting, Jacques Shalo, his brand strategist and designer son Jeremiah, and master coffee roaster Amir Semsarieh founded Kribi Coffee Air Roastery. They established partnerships with coffee farmers worldwide, and in 2019, they opened their first café in Forest Park, Illinois. The first of many, this café was built to demonstrate the unique and powerful taste of air-roasted coffee by putting it directly into people’s hands. Soon after, under the advice of Starbucks co-founder Zev Siegl, Jacques reconnected with his Cameroonian roots and began sourcing our flagship coffee, Mt. Oku.

At Kribi Coffee, we're not just about brewing premium coffee — we're building a community that values hard work, innovation, and fair trade.