GMB014: Coffee Circle - Learnings from 7 years of conscious coffee

10/29/17 • 72 min

GreenMe Podcast | Meet the Heroes of the Urban Green Scene

For this juicy episode, Claudi ventured out to meet Martin Elwert, co-founder of Coffee Circle (@coffee_circle), who are a certified B-Corp. We've been on a bit of a B-Corp tour in Berlin lately - in episode no.13 we chatted to the co-founder of soulbottles, which happens to be a B-Corp, too.

If you’re not sure what a B-Corp is, there’s a cool video explaining the whole concept in the shownotes for you...

QUICK FACTS ABOUT COFFEE CIRCLE

Coffee Circle is all about high-quality coffee that’s delivered right to your doorstep. They personally source top single origin coffee directly, from the highlands of Ethiopia, and meanwhile also from lesser known coffee nations like Laos or Myanmar. They follow strict principles and pay the farmers prices far above the world market. And they invest 1 Euro per kg of coffee into social projects in the growing regions, with 100% of all donations going into the projects.

So far, Coffee Circle had a positive impact on more than 39.000 people in the growing regions, raising 490.000 euros for their projects. They’re really transparent about this, you can read about each single project on their website. And they deeply believe in entrepreneurship as the driving force for development, which is also a key focus of our interview.

The green coffee is then shipped to Germany and roasted fresh here in their new roastery in Wedding, which is where we are right now. I tell ya, it smells damn good. The wild Wedding is definitely one of Berlin’s most contrasting and therefore also most exciting neighbourhoods. Man, I love to come up here. It’s much rougher than other areas - but it’s home to a nicely down down-to-earth artist & alternative scene. Perfect for roamers and explorers seeking for an authentic, pre-gentrified vibe, a bit more off the beaten path than Kreuzberg & co.

Recently we did one of our Circular Economy Tour & Dinner experiences here and it’s been one of my favorites, really. Speaking of Circular Economy Tours, if you’re interested in exploring what a world with zero waste could look like and how creative Berlin projects are trying to make it happen, make sure to join us on our next tour: it’s happening on the 9th November and this time we’ll visit some of the circular economy heroes in Prenzlauer Berg. It all ends with a yummy zero waste dinner, which is hosted by our friends at OAK & ICE. Come join us, meet a bunch of like-minded people, exchange crazy ideas about a greener future and make some really amazing connections within the Berlin scene. You can find all the details in the shownotes, on our Facebook page, in the events calendar, and then easily book your spot through Eventbrite, or shoot us an email to [email protected]

Switching back to Coffee Circle: You know, not only is coffee sth that many many people in the world drink... It’s also one of the commodities that created the biggest imbalance between the wealthy nations and the developing world, AND at the same time coffee is without a doubt one of the most famous and widely spread Fair Trade products in the world. So it’s a great idea to build a social business around that and magnify its possibilities to alleviate poverty. Which is exactly what Coffee Circle is doing.

What is a social business? It’s a business that is dedicating its entire purpose to solve a social problem. It’s not about profit, money is just the means to drive the business and its mission forward. It’s also often defined as new way of conscious capitalism. What excites me about it, is that it really has the power to address the most pressing problems of humanity, without being dependent on donations or fundraising. Now there’s lots of different models and definitions out there. I highly recommend reading “Building Social Business” by Muhammad Yunus, who is kind of a luminary in this field. He’s founded the Grameen Bank, a bank run exclusively for and by the poor. It’s really inspiring and visionary and it’s giving me SO many ideas... even though you may not agree with 100% everything - if you wanna learn more about the idea of Social Business, then check it out.

As for Coffee Circle, the impact these guys had within the last 7 years has been remarkable. One of the key takeaways from our chat was, that if you are running a sustainably-oriented business that serves a social purpose, you have to be not only as good as conventional businesses - you have to be better.

WHAT ELSE YOU LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

Some major traits that all social entrepreneurs should have...

If you’re not sure what a B-Corp is, there’s a cool video explaining the whole concept in the shownotes for you...

QUICK FACTS ABOUT COFFEE CIRCLE

WHAT ELSE YOU LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

Some major traits that all social entrepreneurs should have...

Previous Episode

GMB013: soulbottles Berlin - a soul-driven startup against plastic waste

This time I unpacked the brain of Paul Kupfer, co-founder and CEO of soulbottles (@soulbottles) - an amazing Berlin-based social startup. What they do? soulbottles produces the world’s cleanest drinking bottles and is on a mission to give people all over the world access to clean drinking water and sanitation. How they do it? Well, by offering soul-lutions through making sustainability cool, fun and sexy. They basically create colorful designs that rock and put them on beautiful glass bottles. On top, soulbottles are 100% made in Germany and 100% free of plastic.

I’m very very passionate about clean drinking water, because it is a global issue absolutely solvable! There’s no technology barriers whatsoever, it’s linked to giving access to resources - and everyone of us can really help to make it happen... soulbottles is not only encouraging people to drink tap water & eliminating plastic waste. They also give 1 euro for each bottle sold to Viva Con Agua - a really cool charity that is improving access to clean water in developing countries. So it’s really a win-win-win. You win, because you have a cool, beautifully designed and durable drinking bottle that everyone around you will be curious about. soulbottles wins, because they can sustain their business and raise awareness for a cause they believe in. And rural communities - in this case in Nepal - win because they get access to clean drinking water.

To give you some numbers: Soulbottles has supplied 8.000 households with 40.000 with access to clean drinking water, donating 37.000 euros of their profits. It’s a story about social entrepreneurship. Of shaping the for-purpose economy. Paul and his co-founder Georg built a social business completely from scratch at the age of 24! I tell you, their journey is full-on fascinating.

Some of the highlights you’ll learn more about:

Why you don’t need to be a born business crack to build a social business from scratch
How a bottle of vodka can become the basis for a brilliant social enterprise
How moments of crisis (in this case the London riots) can change your life for the better
Why a “just see if it works” mentality is crucial to get you started - The meaning of “company” in our current system
Why raising money for clean water is much easier than for clean toilets
Who inspired Paul the most on his journey & the biggest challenge soulbottles had to overcome in the last 5 years
The current global state of clean drinking water & what plastic bottle producers have in common with the tobacco industry
A moment Paul is most proud of - even though he hasn’t been there himself
What Paul does that drives everyone in his team crazy
Where you should go to connect with the Berlin social startup scene
The realization that the biggest structures around us are human made

That is not all: we talked about a Kung-fu master in sales, Paul’s favorite secret spot in Berlin, the weird relationship Germans have with tap water, all the other amazing world changing projects that soul bottles is involved in and and and!

Oh yes, why are soulbottles made of glass? One reason: it tastes SO much better. Plus, glass is a great material that can be 100% recycled! Soulbottles are made from around 30-50% of recycled glass. You can read up everything about the production and materials used on their website, I drop it into the show notes - as for our interview, I rather wanted to extract those stories from Paul, that you can’t read up on the interwebs.Another great fact about soulbottles: it is a certified B-Corp! Actually, they’ve been of the first 100 companies in Germany to join the movement.

Another great fact about soulbottles: it is a certified B-Corp! Actually, they’ve been of the first 100 companies in Germany to join the movement.

NOW, please meet Paul Kupfer from soulbottles. Check out the full interview incl. transcript, pictures and all links & shownotes on: www.greenmeberlin.com/podcast-soulbottles

BEFORE YOU GO

Just a quick behind the scenes of GreenMe Berlin: over the last few weeks, we’ve been pumping all our energy into live events. We’ve been running a number of green guided tours through Berlin, visiting lots of exciting projects and bringing together a bunch of like-minded people. It really fills me with so much joy to build those connections. People from all different backgrounds learn about the eco-minded projects in the city, meet the people who run them and see how sustainability can be linked to so much passion and positive mindset. Check out www.greenmeberlin.com/tours

And if you wanna be part of one o...

Next Episode

GMB015: Edible Alchemy - The secret powers of fearless fermentation

For our final episode in 2017, Claudi visited the wonderful Alexis Goertz, co-founder of Edible Alchemy (@ediblealchemy.co), co-founder of Mother Kombucha (@mother.kombucha.berlin) and quite a lot more.

She is Berlin’s queen of fermentation, a self-proclaimed probiotic warrior and without a doubt one of the most energetic, positive, bubbly and charismatic woman I know. If she’s not in Berlin she’s travelling through the lands with the Microbial Circus, she’s an avid adventurer, a culture dealer, bacteria barista and, and, and...

Before we really dive in, our very last tour in 2017 is running on Saturday, 16th December at 3pm - it’s our final "Conscious Gifts & Glühwein" session in creative Kreuzberg. Check out all the details, routes and prices and sign up here. Of course, you shall be rewarded for listening to the podcast! We’re giving you a special discount of 5 euros off the ticket price. To redeem it, just enter the discount code 'greenmexmas' when booking your spot on Eventbrite.

Back to today’s episode: Apart from having the nicest participants on the tours, it also warms my heart when I think about how amazing our partners are. They’re so welcoming and giving - and also super spontaneous. One these amazing partners - and meanwhile also good friends - is Alexis from Edible Alchemy. I had THE BEST time recording this interview with her. I could have chatted for hours and hours because what she does, and especially how she does it, is purely fascinating.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT EDIBLE ALCHEMY

Through her platform Edible Alchemy, Alexis and her co-founder Natalie share tons of value-packed content about healthy lifestyles, food skills and creative experimentation through fermentation.

And fermentation has SO many superpowers. But we’re not just talking about our health, it can also play a huge role in preventing food waste and even has the potential to eliminate hunger and disease.

Unfortunately, like with so many truly incredible healing forces of mother nature, our Western culture has become largely out of touch with our microbial world. Instead, we tend towards processed, packaged, pasteurized and fast food.

Thank god Alexis is here to guide us back to the sustainable powers of fermentation, through colorful events, free webinars, lots of great content on the website - and, most importantly, super fun, interactive, hands-on fermentation workshops.

Really guys, her whole story absolutely captured me. It’s a tale of adventure, braveness, travels, immersing with different cultures, empowerment through teaching - and, of course, eating the most delicious foods.

IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT:

How many fermented foods we have around us everyday
How fermentation links to the topic of food waste
The secret forces behind our brain-gut-connection
How fermentation can quadruple nutritional values in our food
Why fermentation can be a cutting edge tool for chefs and restaurant owners
The beauty of creating a passion business that’s kicked off by demand
The strong ties between our human cultures and fermented foods
The importance of getting out of your comfort zone & letting your instincts guide you
A life changing year in Mozambique
Why teaching doesn’t only empower the teacher
Why times have never been better to start with fermentation
What makes the Edible Alchemy events & workshops so unique