Berlin · Germany
Coffee Circle
Coffee Circle is one of 5 Berlin roasters tracked on day9, in Berlin.
Since 2010 · Martin Elwert, Robert Rudnick, Moritz Waldstein-Wartenberg
Overview
Coffee Circle was founded in Berlin in 2010 by Munich management consultants Martin Elwert, Robert Rudnick and Moritz Waldstein-Wartenberg after a 2009 trip to Addis Ababa to help open a school for orphaned girls turned into a fully different idea about how Ethiopian coffee should be paid for. The company opened its own Wedding roastery in 2016, became B Corp Certified the same year, opened its first Berlin cafe in 2019, and now operates five Berlin cafes while paying producers premiums averaging 88% above world-market price and donating €1 per kilo to community projects in origin.
Known for
- Founded 2010 in Berlin by ex-management consultants Martin Elwert, Robert Rudnick and Moritz Waldstein-Wartenberg after a 2009 charity trip to Addis Ababa
- Opened its own Wedding roastery 2016; first Berlin cafe 2019; now five Berlin cafes
- B Corp Certified since 2016
- Pays producers approximately 88% above world-market price — higher than Fairtrade minimums — and donates €1 per kilo of coffee sold to origin community projects
- More than €5 million invested across 19 origin projects since 2010, including water/sanitation, schools and an African Breeders Hub with World Coffee Research
Why it matters
Direct trade in German specialty was a Berlin third-wave talking point until Coffee Circle wired it into the unit economics — the €1-per-kilo origin investment is integrated into the price tag, not a charity add-on, and the company has spent fifteen years showing it scales. The model has now funded Welthungerhilfe partnerships, a solar-powered medical centre in Ethiopia and the WCR Annual African Breeders Hub in Rwanda, all on coffee-bag margin.
Production
- head roaster
- Hannes Fendrich
- roastery location
- Berlin-Wedding (since 2016)
- espresso equipment
- Kees van der Westen Slim Jim 2-group (Wedding cafe), with Mazzer and Mahlkönig grinders
Café
Berlin-Wedding flagship roastery cafe
Recognitions
- B Corp Certified (2016)
- €5M+ invested across 19 origin community projects (since 2010)