Managing Partner

Robert Heuveldop

Coffee has been a part of Robert's life since his childhood: he spent over ten years of his youth in Costa Rica where he met coffee farmers from a very early age. As a forestry engineer, Robert's father advised the farmers on optimal land cultivation practices and provided information on alternative sources of income. Robert eventually studied the coffee business from scratch with a very prestigious, large-scale coffee roaster, where he focused mainly on sales, logistics and quality control. As managing director, he spent three years in charge of on-site operations, along with procurement of green coffee in Tanzania. He is now using his deep understanding and insights on the coffee farmers' side to purchase the best green coffee available for List + Beisler. Alongside coffee, Robert enjoys a close connection with his homeland, Sweden. He holidays in Scandinavia at least once a year and loves nothing more than taking his two children with him.

Managing Partner

Jan Walter

Managing Partner

Philip von der Goltz

Philip has a deep-rooted attachment to both coffee and Latin America. Philip grew up in Argentina and eventually discovered his fascination with coffee at an international green coffee trading firm in Germany. He developed his first sustainability project in Colombia, where he also spent several years actively involved in the world of coffee. From that point onwards, sustainability projects became a recurrent feature in his life, and so he decided to pursue it professionally. He was in charge of designing new strategies for sustainable supply chains for a renowned coffee roaster. In addition, he was responsible for developing a subsidiary company in Tanzania and implementing sustainability projects in eight origin countries alongside around 30,000 smallholder farmers. Philip combines his passion for coffee with a responsible trade practices in green coffee and has now begun implementing his experiences by becoming a managing director and Q grader at List + Beisler since 2015. He speaks German, Spanish, English and Italian, has a weakness for good books and loves spending time with his family, with whom he lives in the beautiful Sachsenwald forest.

Finance + HR

Jens Spranger

Jens entered the coffee trade business in 2018 from a financial perspective. Originally trained as a classic banker he later on studied economics turning him into a true numbers person. His work experience includes 18 years at a major bank as well as 12 years at a privately owned bank. This is also, where Jens first got in touch with List + Beisler. Being fascinated by the many different sides and international aspects of trade financing, he was particularly drawn to the challenge of trading natural products. He consequently decided for himself to go even further and deal with the whole picture of international green coffee trade by handling finances at List + Beisler.

As a Hamburg native, the best way to start his day is making his trip to the office by bike and ferry. Travel and sports, preferably both combined, are Jens' greatest passions; running, golfing, football, sailing, and during wintertime snowboarding (not nearly enough in Hamburg). Coffee-wise he prefers a strong and black cup while gladly exchanging it for a nice and cold beer in the evening.

Trade

Moritz Watermann

Moritz has already explored many facets of coffee. His journey started behind the coffee bar while he was still in school, later he worked in a confectionery in Freiburg. His passion for specialty coffee was ignited when he first worked in a roastery in Amsterdam. Over the years, he not only collected extensive home equipment, but also worked in a direct trade roastery while studying economics in Freiburg. He then took over the management and development of a café in Freiburg before moving to the north of Germany and working in various start-ups in Hamburg. Since June, Moritz is part of the List + Beisler team and actively supports our trade desk. Moritz likes to start his morning with a hand filter coffee. In his free time, you can find him on his racing bike, at the cinema, at festivals or concerts - always carrying his own Aeropress with him.

Trade

Niklas Alebrand

As we all know, there are always several ways to get coffee. In Niklas' case, the nucleus of his coffee passion lies in Nicaragua, more precisely, on the coffee farms in Jinotega and Matagalpa. He spent several months working with an NGO on the welfare of coffee farmers and their families. And once the coffee virus has infected you on a coffee farm, it is not easy to get away from it...

Before that, however, he worked for a large shipping company in Hamburg and other logistics companies with various port activities.
But the now "Puro Pinolero" (as the Nicas call themselves) Niklas was always drawn back to the world of coffee. Placements at renowned roasters in Vienna and Hamburg followed. But he is also very interested in the world behind the counter; he is a trained barista who likes to experiment with different preparation methods. He meticulously collects the necessary equipment.

Niklas has been leading the Spot Sales Team since August 2022, and when he's not involved in coffee matters, you can meet him on the Alster in a rowing boat or at triathlon training.

Trade

Wolfgang Kitzing

Born and raised in Costa Rica, coffee has always been linked to Wolfgang and his German-descending family. His grandfather and uncle had already been coffee exporters and got him hooked on coffee - it is within his blood, there is nothing he can do about it. After finishing his university studies in Central America, he went on with his coffee career in Hamburg. A deep dive into the coffee world followed with different challenging tasks along the coffee value chain: Production, milling, logistics, and international trading were among his responsibilities in different coffee-producing and consuming countries.

Wolfgang has seen quite a bit over the years. He has seen the market at the top and saw it dropping with all its consequences. His special connection and drive for the development of smallholder cooperatives at origin have filled a treasure chest full of experience over the years. Seeing coffees, its people and the business evolve is what he loves most about his job. At List + Beisler he sources coffee from Central and South America and sells it all over the globe.

Moving to Hamburg has proven to be a great decision for him. His family as well as the dog call this place their home already. Once the cozy times are calling, Wolfgang endeavors Hamburg's finest wineries and restaurants together with his wife. He is a man of indulgence and patience, but has the lively spirit of an explorer.

Trade

Maciej Filipski

A day can only be called a day if it starts with a jug of pour-over coffee - at least according to Maciej. His way into the coffee business has been steady and high-flying into Poland's specialty coffee scene. As an advocate of the vibrant scene east of Hamburg, Maciej will manage to have you book your next trip straight along a route of fancy and cozy roasteries through Poland.

His passion for coffee not only touches the brewed coffees. Whenever Maciej travels, he tries to plan in a visit to a coffee farm. His endeavors have taken him far away to Brazil and Ethiopia. However, he was also able to discover a coffee farm on the Canary Islands. When traveling his favorite companion is a good book. How else to enjoy a fruity sip of East African coffee from your Aeropress?

On a quest to discover something new for himself, he chose to swap his hometown Gdynia for Hamburg, where he joined List + Beisler in early 2020. His focus is our customer base in Eastern Europe. Maciej speaks Polish, English and Spanish. His command of German is improving at an impressive rate – even adopting the German habit of "Kaffee und Kuchen", a piece of cake along your coffee.

Trade

Jorge Altamirano

There is a long coffee heritage running through Jorge's veins. Born and raised in Mexico City, he grew up surrounded by coffee - from tree to cup. As an offspring of a family deeply involved in coffee roasting and farming, he spent much of his childhood visiting the roasting facility and the family coffee farm together with his grandfather. Is there a better way to learn coffee?

The following steps in his life took him to Europe to finish school and then studied business in Barcelona and Hamburg. But he never entirely left the coffee world, not even while working in consulting, where he compensated for his "coffee industry sabbatical" with hectoliters of the black gold. Now he transitioned B2C (back to coffee) and is an active member of the trade team, deepening his coffee knowledge daily.

When not cupping or talking to customers, Jorge enjoys all kinds of sports, from biking to free diving and kite surfing. And, of course, he will never miss a chilled beer at his beloved Schanze-Viertel with friends!

Quality Management

Luis Cardoso

Luis is originally from Lisbon, where he studied architecture. In 1994 he moved to Hamburg – and in 2016 into the coffee business. Luis has a natural talent as a master roaster at List + Beisler, where he roasts every coffee to perfection. Sampling is another of Luis' responsibilities, where he supports the quality assurance of the coffee in the quality lab with the greatest care and caution: he sifts the beans, monitors the moisture content and identifies any defects. Every delivery to List + Beisler passes through his capable hands. Everything Luis does, he puts his heart into: his job, the people, the process, the coffee, and of course, not forgetting his passionate argument for how a World Cup title is actually not as valuable as a European title.

Logistics

Manuel Behrmann

Manuel didn't discover coffee, but coffee discovered him – and it never let him go again. Before his time at List + Beisler, he spent six years at a logistics company as a forwarding agent, where he was responsible for coffee logistics. Already working for List + Beisler since 2011, he is now mainly involved in trade between the countries of origin and the USA. Additionally, he monitors the decaffeination process for our decaf grades and ensures that these arrive at the agreed location promptly and in to their high quality standards. Alongside this, Manual dazzles the staff with his lexical expertise and, as office DJ, takes care of the musical well-being of all his colleagues. It's also worth knowing that Manuel never puts up with poor-quality coffee: even taking his own coffee with him when visiting friends.

Logistics

Anabela Morais

It is hard not to take Anabela as a true example of Hanseatic spirit. Having worked all her life in the heart of the historic harbor, the Speicherstadt with its red brick warehouses, she knows her ways around. Initially, Anabela actually started out in the tea trade, handling primarily the logistics on the purchasing part.

She has been with List + Beisler for several years now and become quite an expert in all our logistics processes. She is part of the team responsible for our transit business and handling some of our US operations. As Anabela has Portuguese roots, her language skills also come in handy when importing from Brazil.

Her roots may also have passed along her love for the sea and the sun. Every time she has then chance, Anabela and her family head to the next cloudless beach. You may not be surprised that such a sun-lover also carries the sun in her heart. Anabela is a helpful, cheerful and very positive colleague that really lights up the room. A cup of coffee lets the sun shine even brighter which is why we treat her with the first cup every morning.

Logistics

Dennis Köhler

Dennis is a veteran of List + Beisler, having completed his training as a wholesale and export merchant with the company. As an experienced sensory analyst, Dennis catches even the most delicate of nuances and can assign each coffee to the most remote of cultivation areas with his eyes closed. Dennis knows how every coffee should taste – a priceless skill, which he used often in his 17 years as a cupper and manager of the sampling facilities at List + Beisler. Eventually it was time for a new challenge within logistics. Today Dennis primarily coordinates imports of green coffee into Hamburg, releases the goods for storage and is the first point of contact for our European customers, who value him not only for his logistic foresight, but also for his excellent knowledge. In his spare time, Dennis juggles his love for sports with a bit of work here and there. Currently, he is driving SC Eilbek to greatness as co-trainer of the men's football team.

Logistics

Stefanie Schmidt

Steffi's roots are Hanseatic through and through. As a born-and-bred northern German she dedicated herself to the fascinating world of seafaring straight after school. She began her training as a shipping clerk working in various positions such as customer service and sales for a very traditional Hamburg-based shipping company. After over 15 years in seafaring, Steffi is now responsible for the extended supply chain at List + Beisler. She ensures coffee leaves its point of origin on time and passes through customs before being warehoused in Hamburg. The last mile is also in Steffi's hands as she makes sure coffee reaches our customers on time.

Coffee also plays a major role for Steffi whenever she is not in the office. Whether as a little energizer on a cycling trip, or a Flat White, reminiscing about good times in Australia – Steffi's eyes light up when the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the office.

IT

Wolf Breitsprecher

For Wolf, every morning needs to start with a coffee. We suspect that it was also the coffee that finally convinced him to join our team altogether in 2021 after already having worked together since 2016. Before joining List + Beisler, Wolf worked in consulting for 12 years, spent 3 years in administration and IT organization at a financial services provider, and took a two-year detour into the advertising industry. As a specialist in the processing of commodity trades, Wolf manages our IT. He mainly ensures that our systems "talk" to each other and organizes our processes, but he is also happy to help his colleagues when the headset doesn't work, but is also happy to help his colleagues whenever the headset does not want to work. Born in Hamburg, he grew up in the south of Schleswig-Holstein. He likes to spend his free time as a soccer goalkeeper, hiking or camping. That's also where he discovered his love for the French Press, long before he started working in the coffee industry - and it still quenches his thirst for filter coffee in the office today.

Finance + Accounting

Franziska Schlieck

Without a doubt, Franzi's destiny was set to be in coffee. After working for ten years in two tax consulting firms, she wanted to explore working with a company whose product she has always loved: coffee. This is how she found her way to List + Beisler, where she handles all finance-related things.

Born in Berlin and raised in Osnabrück, she fell in love with numbers and successfully completed an apprenticeship to become a Tax Clerk as well as further education in balance sheet and corporate accounting. She moved to Hamburg to start her professional career. She loves walking along the Elbe river with a black coffee to go or a cold beer during hot summer days.

Besides her financial skills, she takes care of the team with baked goodies. Franzi is the person you'll want to share a coffee and a cheerful conversation with - together with some delicious sweets.

Trade

Piotr Kotarba

Piotr's road to coffee led through Latin America. During his studies in International Business, he spent a semester in Peru as an exchange student. Afterward, he backpacked throughout South America, discovering his passion for that continent.

After finishing University, Piotr spent almost five years in Colombia, working in business development and sales for a soluble coffee company. Later, he returned to the old continent and worked as a green coffee buyer for a large roaster for several years. While making frequent trips to the origin, Piotr deepened his coffee knowledge even further. Visiting Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea, among others, inspired him to continue learning about high-quality coffees and getting certified as a Q Arabica Grader. But this was just the beginning of his coffee journey, which finally took him to Hamburg. Piotr became part of the L+B team in February 2022, where he is working in green coffee sales and coffee buying for some origins. Moreover, he is supporting our Quality Team during cuppings.

Piotr comes originally from Cracow, Poland. Next to Polish, he also speaks Spanish, English, German, and Portuguese. In his free time, he loves to go hiking and explore the beautiful surroundings of Hamburg and listen to rock music in Spanish - always accompanied by a cup of specialty coffee, of course.

Compliance and Certifications

Joao Macedo

Born and raised in the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro, Joao is a proud "Carioca" with a genuine love for coffee and travel. He began his career in Rio, where he studied law and gained experience in Commercial and International Law. Despite his juridical work, he was always in close contact with coffee, an affinity he inherited from his family.

Before moving to Munich in 2021, Joao explored and lived throughout many cities in Europe, all the way from London to Barcelona and Paris. Later, when the opportunity arose to unite his skills and devotion to coffee at List + Beisler, he did not think twice, packed his bags, and moved to Hamburg with his dog. Joao now supports our team as Compliance and Certification Manager, making sure L+B is in full compliance with legal standards and in-house policies.

Whenever he is not traveling with his favorite companion, a chocolate Labrador named Gaia, you can find Joao exploring the ocean on his surfboard or enjoying a good read, with a cup of coffee in hand, of course.

Quality Management

Nicole Pilz

Nicole's love story with coffee takes us behind the bar when she started her journey in coffee as a barista in Berlin. Since then, coffee got her and there was no going back. Today, she is a certified Q grader at List + Beisler and is responsible for quality assurance of all the coffee coming into our quality lab. Every single sample goes through her in the cupping room, where she organizes, analyzes, and documents all of their details.

Prior to moving to Hamburg, Nicole lived and worked in Berlin, where she was born and raised. She also completed her studies in Business Administration there, in her home city and in Lausanne, where she learned some French. Next to it, she speaks fluent English and German.

As well as being passionate about sensory analysis in coffee, Nicole enjoys discovering new and different flavors through food, and masters the art of cooking herself. When she is not trying out coffees or new dishes, you can find her sipping creamy curcuma lattes with a good book, exploring outdoors in nature, and practicing yoga.

Marketing

Gisselle Guerra

Born in the beautiful region of Copan in Honduras, Gisselle grew up totally immersed in coffee. With her father being a coffee producer and his brother operating a small roastery and café in town, she always had a spark of interest in the industry.

Her journey in coffee started behind the bar back in her hometown. During this time, she trained as a barista and led the marketing operations at the family's café. Later, she began writing for an international coffee publication where she could combine both her passions: coffee and marketing. Her following steps led her to move to Germany, where she is pursuing a Master's in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Now, she is also a happy member of the L+B marketing team in Hamburg.

Gisselle is a true coffee enthusiast. When she is not sipping or writing about coffee, she likes to visit specialty cafés whenever she goes to a new city and collects new gadgets for home brewing. On her non-coffee-related activities, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and being outside in nature, whether on a hike or a bike tour.

Quality Management

Aylin Aslan

Born in Germany's former capital Bonn, Aylin also has Turkish roots and calls Istanbul her second home.

After completing her dual studies in Business Administration and Hotel Management in Düsseldorf and Istanbul, her career path took her to Berlin. This city saw her love for coffee unfold. It was there where Aylin started working as a barista and later on as a roaster. Her skills and dedication led her to travel around Germany, providing coffee courses and consulting to cafes and roasteries. Those same skills, along with some courage, took her to the stage: she competed in several coffee championships and, in 2020, won the German Barista Championship, which took place in Hamburg.

Today, it is precisely Hamburg, the city she calls home. As part of our QC team, she ensures that the workflow and all processes in the cupping lab run smoothly.

Besides coffee, Aylin enjoys traveling. She loves participating in coffee festivals from different countries and discovering the coffee scene in every city she visits. When she is not on the road or with a cup of coffee in hand, you can find her kitesurfing blissfully in the south of Turkey.