The Story
In 2010/2011, Yvonne and Ivo founded Röststätte Berlin, one of the first specialty coffee roasteries in Berlin. Though their coffee journey began earlier — Yvonne und Ivo Welle opened up the coffee shop in 2006 and started roasting in the spirit of the third wave movement a few years later in 2011. Before transitioning to roasting, they had already established a successful company for the distribution of technically highly reliable espresso machines since 2003.
In 2010, Ivo was one of the first coffee professionals in Germany to complete the the training to become a chief diploma coffee sommelier and made the decision to learn coffee roasting as a craft. This was followed by further training to become an Arabica Q Grader. The roastery has evolved significantly from its humble beginnings, with a significant reconstruction taking place in 2014, where the café and the roastery are renovated and Berlin’s largest store for modern coffee accessories is created.
The business expanded strategically over the years. Yvonne and Ivo founded the company VA espresso machines GmbH & Co. KG. From 2015, the new company takes over the nationwide general distribution for the Victoria Arduino brand.
In 2018, Röststätte opens another café at Hackesche Höfe. The café on Ackerstraße is also getting a facelift. Today, they are a family run business founded more than 10 years ago by Yvonne and Ivo Weller. Today, Röststätte has grown into a talented team of more than 20 coffee professionals working together to inspire you with our coffees.
Sourcing & Relationships
Röststätte operates under a philosophy they call “Trusted Trade” — the term we use to describe the quality-oriented and trustworthy sourcing of our green coffees from the various growing regions.
Our closest confidants or we ourselves visit the farm or the cooperative to taste and select the coffee on site after the harvest. Through this direct relationship, we maintain contact and exchange with all relevant partners such as coffee farmers or cooperative representatives.
The roastery’s sourcing standards go well beyond conventional fair trade. We benefit from quality control from the moment of cultivation and the farmers from fair prices that are far above the world market level.
When purchasing green coffee, we pay fair prices that are far above the world market level or “fair trade” labels offers. When trading coffee with our partners, we also focus on exceptional quality and transparency to provide all information of the origin online or on our packaging.
Their portfolio emphasizes microlots — specialty coffee that is only available in very small quantities and is often referred to as a community or single producer lot. Often, only a few bags are available for sale, sourced from smallholder farms. These coffees are grown under the best microclimatic conditions so that the plants can develop outstanding flavor profiles.
For our coffees we use ripe and hand-picked 100% arabica coffee beans, which are naturally grown as highland coffees in shady forests in a eco-friendly environment.
Roasting Philosophy
Röststätte employs a gentle, artisanal approach to roasting that prioritizes flavor development over aggressive profiles. We roast our coffees gently by hand in our roastery in Berlin, so that the natural flavors can fully develop without creating undesirable acids.
Investments are also made in production, with the Loring S35 Kestrel roaster, a state-of-the-art roasting system, being purchased. This CO2 saving Loring roaster represents their commitment to both quality and environmental responsibility.
The roastery’s methodology is highly individualized. For a distinctive body and a versatile taste profile in the cup, we want to emphasize and optimally process the special features of the respective variety, farm and origin of the coffee with our roasting process.
With our roasting, we want to highlight the special features of each variety, farm and origin of the coffee and process them in the best possible way.
A significant difference lies in the method of roasting. We roast the coffees either as filter coffee or as espresso. The different roasting profiles have the advantage that we can adjust the parameters of roasting such as the duration and temperature individually to the espresso or filter coffee.
Their signature espresso style emphasizes balanced taste with a pronounced sweetness and a full body , while their filter offerings showcase unique, seasonal origins and flavor profiles—each roast is tailored to enhance the distinct character of the beans.
What to Try
Röststätte’s signature espresso blends represent their mastery of the craft. The Sinfonia Blend has been one of our most popular espresso roasts from the very beginning. Here, two Arabica varieties from Brazil and Peru come together to create a chocolaty-sweet and creamy aroma in the cup.
Capital, our new ‘Hometown Favourite’ blend is carefully balanced with a creamy texture in the cup, extra crema and a particularly full body. The flavour of this fine espresso is reminiscent of dark chocolate, toffee and hazelnut.
For single origins, their Santiago is our annual single origin coffee from Brazil, which we source as a community lot called Monteiro Lobato, mainly from the Fazenda Pinheiro, Matao and Sao Domingos farms. The coffee farms are located in the São José do Rio Pardo region (near Cerrado Mineiro) in the state of São Paulo. Their filter range features some of the best microlots and farm coffees of the season, from very renowned farms or co-operatives, which we roast fresh for you in Berlin as filter coffee.
A standout innovation is their Cold Brew X coffee liqueur — based on rum from El Salvador and our Cold Brew coffee is a highlight in the glass and no comparison to other coffee liqueurs. This represents their commitment to pushing boundaries beyond traditional coffee preparation. Drum roll… we are delighted to announce that we have been voted one of the top 10 specialty coffee roasters in Europe for the first time. Their recognition reflects consistent quality that has earned them membership in the Coffee Speciality Association and a reputation as one of Berlin’s pioneering third-wave roasters.