How It All Began
In 1988 my life changed forever. From Santa Cruz CA, I was travelling through Europe, went to Selcuk Efes Turkey, and purely by chance met the love of my life, Erdal Okumus . We had an instant connection. I stayed in Turkey and Erdal and I opened a few bars and a café. Our customers were local Turks, and tourists from around the world. Fun times! We married in 1991 in a huge celebration in Turkey.
In 1992 we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, my home town. As we explored our new city, we were searching for coffee, coffee, coffee. We could not find an authentic cappuccino or even a good hearty cup of coffee anywhere. Erdal came from the birthplace of coffee culture, Turkey, and I came from the west coast USA coffee culture, and the dream was born.
We were destined to open a Café here in Corpus Christi.
Meet Café Calypso
A first in Corpus Christi, with delicious drinks, live music, and Coffee House Culture! Originally, we ordered roasted coffee from California, then decided in 1993 to put Erdal’s expertise to work. We started importing and roasting coffee ourselves. Revolutionary for Corpus Christi. But it was a natural transition. We could choose the countries to represent in our Café, and have the ultimate freshness and quality control in our coffee offerings.
Istanbul Coffee Trading Co., Inc. dba Café Calypso. We continue to bring our own roasting style to South Texas and beyond. Our goal is to provide superb quality and consistently delicious coffee, both in our drinks and in the whole bean offerings. Café Calypso will bring to you the classics and the unique.
Café Calypso offers a full Espresso Bar and a Café of homemade desserts, pastries, brunches, and light lunches. Café Calypso has a variety of coffee and non-coffee treats. Pastry and Sandwich trays are also available for your gatherings, and special-order cakes and cheesecakes for your parties!
