Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha & Julisa Lopez
Hi Natasha & Julisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We could probably say our journey began back in 2016 when we started to become more aware that globally, coffee pickers at coffee farms do not make nearly as much as they deserve. With most working months and receiving pennies in return. That same year, our father, who is a third generation coffee farmer from Guatemala, began importing our coffee into the US as a wholesale company in order to balance out this issue and help wherever we could. Moving towards 2023, we asked ourselves: how else can we help coffee farmers and get word out that they need our help? We knew immediately that we had to open a shop, meet our coffee lovers in person, and show them how they can be part of, hopefully, a big and important change in the coffee industry. Our Greek Mythology theme comes from our nerdy side. We love stories like Percy Jackson and Hercules from Disney. The Greek Goddess, Calypso was chosen as our name/logo as a nod to our mixed heritage – our mother’s side of the family comes from the Caribbean island, Puerto Rico. We also infused the culture into our menu, with our most popular drink being The Calypso, our Puerto Rican Coquito Latte. We can honestly say this journey has been centuries in the making. It really starts from our great great grandfather who bought land in the late 1800s to start harvesting coffee beans to now mixing in our farm’s history, our parents, the combination of both of our bachelors degrees & skills, creativity, life experiences, and Natasha’s own barista experience. The shop itself really and truly has our hearts and souls poured into it. It has been our passion, and one we enjoy sharing! We know the story is just now getting good.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We think the road to building and growing any new business will be anything but smooth. I think even with all the planning you can do, sometimes things can still get in the way of causing some kind of challenges. However, we still believe despite the little things that could’ve set us back, we really did feel everything start to fall into place. Throughout everything, we always felt very drawn to and blessed by how everything started to click when it did- how every life experience seemed to lead us here to opening up our shop and sharing our mission.
We did initially plan to open in June but realized getting everything ready in one month was not enough. We’d need the time to find the right equipment and had to find out where to begin. Little things we didn’t know we needed until we needed them is what made us open in July, i.e. for example getting something important like a turbochef.
We joke that we have enough coffee to fuel our determination to keep going, improve and grow. We’re running on coffee and family support. When we first started a little over a year ago, we had no big team and no blueprint for success—just a vision, a passion for what we do. It literally has just been us sisters, our parents, and occasionally kind friends & family who would sometimes take time to help us get things ready. Sometimes it is difficult to run a business on our own but we have grown enough to add on employees. We are very thankful for the community support that led us to this growth. So far, even with new employees, us sisters still handle everything from crafting unique drinks each season, the decor, to managing social media & networking. Many people assume we have a full team behind us or that sometimes we hear they think we are a franchise (which can be a compliment to how put together we are), but in reality, it’s been the four of us wearing multiple hats, working long hours, and pouring our hearts into every detail. There have been moments when exhaustion set in, but when we remember why we’re doing this (for farmers) and remind ourselves of how far we’ve come we are resilient and push through. We’ve also had our toughest life moments (family deaths) happen while still having to show up to work. That was hard, but we were still greeted and supported by the wonderful community in Apopka. They feel like family now.
Literally every challenge has taught us something valuable—how to adapt, how to stay creative, and most importantly, how to keep believing in our dream. Seeing our vision come to life, connecting with our community, and knowing that we’ve built something from the ground up with our own hands is an indescribable feeling. When we get to see pictures of how we have helped farmers in Guatemala directly or even how we’ve been fortunate enough to help the Apopka community in their time of need (ex. giving free coffee to the homeless during the cold front this winter), it brings us immense joy and honor. The road to success may be full of obstacles, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Every challenge has been a stepping stone, and we’re just getting started.
As you know, we’re big fans of Calypso Coffee Bar. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Not only do we make fun and unique drinks that are inspired by the Greek Mythos and pop-culture, but we get to craft it together as sisters. Another key aspect is that we are able to get the coffee beans directly from our own family farm – it is direct trade and middleman free. With this, we can gaurantee the freshest coffee in town as well as a variety of different beans (i.e. Marsellesa and Bourbon beans). By cutting out the middleman in the industry, we are able to supply farmers with better wages, homes to live in, and food to feed their families with. When you visit us, you become a huge part of our goal of bringing comfort and support to the farmers. Already, since we’ve opened, we are extremely proud to share that we were able to feed so many families! Just last December, we were able to provide farmers and their families with a holiday dinner – for many it was the first time they had any formal type of dinner. We are glad we’ve inspired people in the community to visit our country, invest in its culture and people, and become aware of the hard work that goes into coffee farming altogether. We are just so thankful to be part of a great community that is full of wonderful people and unique coffee shops! That being said, at Calypso, you aren’t just a customer or an employee, you become our family! Our mission is to highlight awareness to the importance of of a coffee farmer’s role in the coffee industry. We like to educate people on the hardships and work that goes into planting coffee beans in general. With our coffee shop we are able to share our mission and give that first hand knowledge. Part of Calypso Coffee Bar’s earnings goes back to our coffee farmers as an aid for a more comfortable living through better pay and also by providing food to feed their families.
Here is a clip of a few of the things we were able to provide for farmers:
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Over the next 5–10 years, we’d love to see a growing demand for truly ethical & direct-trade coffee – ones that do not cheat on farmers. We are slowly progressing into eco-conscious items to reduce waste and have more environmentally friendly practices. Right now, we’ve had our marine biodegradable straws. We have taken part in beach clean-ups while in Puerto Rico so we want to try and be as eco-friendly as we can as we have first-hand experience of how much waste can land on the beach/ocean. We are very creative and are storytellers at heart – we already have plans for whenever we get the chance to expand. Calypso is certainly the right place for customers who are looking for more than just a cup of coffee; for those who want an experience: unique offerings like coffee tastings, specialty grade premium coffee beans, farm-to-cup storytelling from a real coffee farmer, cool unique drinks, and traditional coffee offerings that certainly differentiate Calypso from larger chains.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.calypso.coffee/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calypsocoffeebar/
