APOPKA, Fla. – At Calypso Coffee Bar in Apopka, the day starts strong for Natasha and Julisa Lopez.
From grinding coffee beans to making unique flavored coffee flights, the inspiration of making “café” dates back to the late 1800s in Guatemala.
“Our dad owns a coffee farm in Guatemala. We kind of decided to combine the two. I’ve been a barista for three years and we were like let’s open a coffee shop,” Natasha said.
The sisters opened the business only two months ago with the help of their father, Elder Lopez, who migrated to the U.S. in 1985.
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“Dad came here at the age of 19 to give up that citizenship from Guatemala to come here and make his own future. So, we are kind of giving back to Dad,” Natasha said.
[Entrevista con Julisa y Natasha Lopez sobre Calypso Cafe]
The family farm called “Bethel” is located between the Guatemala and Honduras border.
However, it’s not just about brewing delicious coffee for customers. Julisa said their business is also getting results by purchasing the coffee beans directly from the Bethel farmers in an effort to help their families.
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Julisa said it’s all about helping one another despite being thousands of miles away.
“We’ve seen a lot of people say that they give back and so my dad being a farmer and having generations of farmers, they don’t really see the pay, so a lot of them live in poverty, and we are lucky we get to buy coffee for a certain amount of price, but they don’t see any of that profit,” Julisa explained.
Calypso Coffee Bar is located at 1466 Rock Springs Rd. in Apopka.
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