Companion began in early 2013 as an espresso and tea bar in the corner of Voo Store, a clothing shop in Kreuzberg. Its founders, Shawn Barber and Christopher Onton, brought histories in specialty coffee from their home cities of Vancouver and Perth and met behind a bar in Berlin. Soon after starting, the company moved into directly sourced single-batch teas, and in 2018 it opened its own tearoom and café in Neukölln, a short cycle from the original location.

Tea is the centre of the range. Companion buys directly from farms, provides full traceability for every tea it sells and changes the list as harvests come through: Japanese greens, matcha and hojicha, oolongs, black and white teas and botanicals, with gaiwans, kyusu teapots and matcha bowls sold alongside. The café and tearoom serves through the week, sells the range online and supplies other businesses through a wholesale account.

The coffee carries Companion’s own label, with filter and espresso roasts and a Colombian decaf, each listed with a roast date, and the bag reads “roasted in Berlin”. The current retail range is listed below with the roaster’s own tasting notes.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Companion Tea & Coffee