Passenger Coffee Gmbh

What Passenger Coffee Gmbh does

Passenger Coffee GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery and café operator founded in 2004. The company runs three physical cafés in Berlin together with a mobile café unit, and complements its retail footprint with an online shop serving both consumers and wholesale customers. The business is privately held as a GmbH and remains owner-managed, with founder Jan Schieffer serving as Geschäftsführer (managing director); no external funding rounds have been disclosed.

The product portfolio centers on roasted specialty coffee: espresso blends (PASSENGER Blend, blend2, RAWS), single-origin lots from Mozambique, Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Timor-Leste, Cuba, and Colombia, and decaffeinated options. Green coffee is sourced through direct-trade relationships — notably with Raw Material Coffee — and roasted in-house on Loring roasters, with a 3-day roast-to-ship commitment supporting freshness positioning. The company also retails brewing equipment (Moccamaster, AeroPress, and related accessories) at higher price points.

Revenue is generated through three channels: D2C sales via the online shop and the three Berlin cafés; an "Abo" subscription program for recurring deliveries; and a B2B wholesale program supplying partner cafés with Passenger-roasted beans. Coffee is priced between €13 and €48 per kilogram, with worldwide shipping available though the primary market focus is the DACH region. The combination of in-house roasting, owned retail, a subscription layer, and wholesale distribution places Passenger Coffee in the integrated small-batch specialty roaster segment.

Name

Passenger Coffee Gmbh

Legal name

passenger coffee GmbH

Website

https://passenger-coffee.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Passenger Coffee GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery founded in 2004, operating three cafés plus a mobile café, an online shop, a coffee subscription program, and a B2B wholesale channel serving partner cafés.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail (CRACADAC), Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Single origin coffee
• Coffee subscription
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Coffee equipment retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of roasted coffee beans through e-commerce platform and physical cafés. Products include single origin coffees and espresso blends in various sizes (250g, 500g, 1kg).
2. Coffee Subscription: Recurring subscription model delivering fresh coffee at regular intervals (weekly to every 8 weeks). Customers choose coffee, quantity, grind, and delivery frequency. Free shipping from second delivery onwards for orders over €36 in Germany.
3. Wholesale/B2B: Bulk sales of coffee beans to business customers including cafés, restaurants, and offices. Service offerings for commercial clients.
4. Equipment and Accessories: Sales of coffee equipment including Moccamaster machines (€270), AeroPress (€37), filters, and accessories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Passenger Coffee GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty coffee roaster that freshly roasts single-origin and espresso-blend coffees in small batches using Loring Smart Roasters and sells them through its own online shop, a coffee subscription service, three Berlin café locations, and a mobile café. The company also operates a B2B wholesale channel serving partner cafés, restaurants, and offices, and retails curated brewing equipment (Moccamaster, AeroPress, Aergrind) and accessories alongside the coffee.

Product overview

Passenger Coffee GmbH is a Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery and café operator offering a curated portfolio of espresso blends (PASSENGER Blend, blend2, RAWS), single-origin coffees from origin countries (Mozambique, Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Timor-Leste, Cuba, Colombia), and decaffeinated options. The company also sells brewing equipment (AeroPress, Moccamaster, Aergrind) and accessories (filters), alongside a subscription service with customizable delivery intervals. The product ecosystem centers on sustainable sourcing through Raw Material Coffee and direct trade relationships, complemented by café locations in Berlin where customers can experience the products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PASSENGER Blend Passenger Coffee's signature espresso blend of roasted specialty coffee beans, sold online, in cafés, and to wholesale partners; designed as the everyday house espresso.
• blend2 Passenger's secondary espresso blend, offered as a rotating or alternate espresso option to the signature PASSENGER Blend for filter and espresso drinkers.
• RAWS A single-origin coffee line from Passenger Coffee sourced through the non-profit trader Raw Material, sold online and in cafés with a focus on transparent farmer-direct sourcing.
• DECAF | Kolumbien Decaffeinated single-origin coffee from Colombia, roasted by Passenger and sold to home drinkers and wholesale customers who want a specialty-grade decaf option.
• Mozambique | Namaacha Single-origin roasted coffee from the Namaacha region of Mozambique, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to specialty coffee drinkers and wholesale accounts.
• Cubano A Passenger Coffee signature darker-roast espresso blend, marketed under the name Cubano and sold to espresso drinkers via the online shop, cafés, and subscription.
• Mexico | Union San Pedro Single-origin roasted coffee from the Union San Pedro producer group in Mexico, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to home and wholesale specialty coffee customers.
• Ethiopia | Suke Quto Single-origin roasted coffee from the Suke Quto region of Ethiopia, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to home and wholesale specialty coffee customers.
• Rwanda | Vunga Single-origin roasted coffee from the Vunga washing station in Rwanda, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to home and wholesale specialty coffee customers.
• Burundi | Kigeri Single-origin roasted coffee from the Kigeri washing station in Burundi, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to home and wholesale specialty coffee customers.
• Timor-Leste | Atsabe Single-origin roasted coffee from the Atsabe region of Timor-Leste, sold as part of Passenger's RAWS single-origin lineup to home and wholesale specialty coffee customers.
• Probierpaket (Trial Package) A curated sampler bundle of Passenger coffees designed as an entry-point purchase for new customers to try multiple roasts before committing to a subscription or larger order.
• Coffee Subscription (Abo) Passenger Coffee's subscription service that lets home customers schedule recurring deliveries of selected Passenger coffees, typically at user-defined intervals, with billing managed via the online shop.
• Moccamaster KGB Select The Moccamaster KGB Select drip filter coffee machine, sold by Passenger Coffee as part of its curated home brewing equipment offering for specialty coffee drinkers.
• AeroPress The AeroPress manual coffee brewer, sold by Passenger Coffee as part of its curated home brewing equipment offering for specialty coffee drinkers.
• Moccamaster Filters Paper filters sized for Moccamaster drip coffee machines, sold by Passenger Coffee as a consumable accessory alongside its brewing equipment.
• Aergrind by Knock The Knock Aergrind hand coffee grinder, sold by Passenger Coffee as part of its curated home brewing equipment offering for home specialty coffee drinkers.
• Gift Voucher Passenger Coffee gift vouchers, sold as standalone items and redeemable across the company's online shop and Berlin café locations.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Queer Aid UgandaminorOthers · 1 August 2023Emergency fund for the LGBTIQ+ community in Uganda. PASSENGER donated €742 collected from sales of their Uganda Filter coffee to support the initiative.
• Raw Material CoffeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit coffee trading organization that creates innovative, progressive structures improving living conditions along the production chain in coffee-producing countries. PASSENGER sources beans exclusively through Raw Material for their RAWS blend, which includes coffees from Burundi, Rwanda, Timor-Leste, and Mexico. Raw Material funds community initiatives including agricultural inputs, health insurance for staff and producers, and processing improvements.
• Red Beetle Coffee LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner in Oaxaca, Mexico that provides agronomic support and quality control for coffee production from Union San Pedro cooperative. Works alongside Raw Material to help make coffee cultivation more cost-efficient and profitable by increasing quality and quantity.
• Allan's Breakfast ClubminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner café in Berlin that always carries PASSENGER blend2 in their grinder.
• freiraum Café & HostelminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner café and hostel in Berlin that always carries PASSENGER blend2.
• Rocket & BasilminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner café in Berlin that always carries PASSENGER blend2.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Coffee Circle: Berlin-founded specialty coffee company operating direct-to-consumer e-commerce with a strong subscription model and direct-trade farmer relationships. Closely comparable to Passenger on subscription economics, origin storytelling and Berlin DTC positioning.
• The Barn Coffee Roasters: Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery founded in 2004 with multiple cafés and DTC e-commerce. Operates in the same third-wave specialty segment with similar single-origin and blend portfolios, café presence and Berlin-local brand positioning, making it Passenger's closest direct competitor.
• Square One Coffee Roasters: Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery with cafés and wholesale distribution. Operates in the same third-wave specialty segment with similar roastery-plus-café hybrid model and Berlin customer base as Passenger.
• Counter Culture Coffee: US specialty coffee roaster founded 1995 with strong direct-trade program, wholesale focus and training/education platform. Comparable to Passenger on the sustainability-led sourcing model, education-led content marketing and café/wholesale hybrid go-to-market.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: Oakland-originated third-wave specialty coffee company operating cafés, DTC e-commerce and subscription globally. Materially comparable to Passenger on the third-wave specialty model, single-origin sourcing philosophy, café-plus-DTC distribution and freshness-led brand promise.
• St. Oberholz: Long-established Berlin café and coffee roastery in Rosenthaler Platz with strong brand recognition in the Berlin specialty scene. Comparable to Passenger on café-as-community-hub positioning and Berlin specialty retail, though more café- than roastery-led.
• Five Elephant Coffee Roasters: Berlin-based specialty coffee roastery with cafés and a wholesale program, plus an attached bakery. Directly comparable to Passenger in combining in-house roasting, café retail, single-origin sourcing and B2B wholesale within the Berlin specialty scene.
• Bonanza Coffee Roasters: Berlin specialty roastery with café locations, founded 2006. Competes head-to-head with Passenger for the same specialty consumer, the same café partners and similar single-origin green coffee, with a comparable mix of DTC, subscription and café retail.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Pioneering US third-wave specialty roaster with direct-trade farmer relationships, cafés and wholesale distribution. Shares Passenger's emphasis on origin transparency, ethical sourcing and barista/brew education as brand-building tools.

Broad incumbents

• Lavazza: Italian global coffee incumbent with mass-market retail, foodservice and espresso-machine businesses. Represents the much larger, established incumbent that Passenger's niche specialty positioning competes against indirectly in retail and B2B channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/passengercoffeeberlin
• Instagraminstagram.com/passenger.berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/passenger-coffee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Passenger Coffee Gmbh