Ben has a thing for beans. And the beans that interest him are threatened with extinction – old varieties ranging from the Basque Country to the Baltic States and from Scandinavia to Sicily.

When he moved to Berlin, he found only generic, mass-produced beans on the shelves instead of the flavorful traditional varieties from his homeland. So he founded Old World Beans to make a stage for Europe’s forgotten legumes.

Ben works directly with small farms and cooperatives to preserve these nutty, creamy, or earthy rarities – and sells them every Saturday at Markthalle Neun, as well as through his own online store.