Philipp Reichel and Laurel Carmichael founded Vote Coffee in June 2016, building on Philipp's deep roots in Berlin's coffee infrastructure including founding Kaffee9 in 2013 and creating the Berlin Coffee Festival, which he curated from 2015 to 2019. Laurel, originally from New Zealand, leads green coffee purchasing and roasting, bringing a Southern Hemisphere perspective to their sourcing decisions. The roastery operates from Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg, an iconic food market that provides a fitting home for their community oriented approach. In 2022 Philipp co founded Communal Coffee, Berlin's first co roastery now hosting fifteen independent roasters, further cementing his role as a connector in the city's specialty scene. Head Roaster Mars, who joined in 2023 as a certified Q Grader, placed second in the 2024 SCA Germany Roasting Championship, becoming the first woman to reach the podium in that competition.