Coffee Heaven Blends Colombian Culture With Conservation Efforts – CoffeeTalk

Coffee Heaven, a Colombian coffee business founded by Cuernavaca resident Brandon Fokken, is a unique addition to the local coffee scene in Austin. The business operates out of a vintage Jeep, a symbol of Colombian coffee culture, which was used to transport coffee beans through the country’s rugged mountain terrain. Fokken imported the Jeep from Colombia in 2019 and has since been selling Colombian coffee since then.

The business offers a variety of Colombian coffee beans for its hot and cold coffee drinks, such as geisha and sudan rume. The same bean variety grown in different regions can have different tasting notes due to the vast number of microclimates within Colombia. Fokken also works to cultivate a relationship with each farmer he gets his beans from, as he has never imported one bean from a farm where he has not actually spent the night there.

Other drinks served on the jeep include fruit juices and smoothies made using South American fruit such as guanabana and maracuya, or passion fruit. Tea made from coca leaves, an ancestral medicinal plant, and avocado toast are also available on the menu. The mobile business can be found at events around the Austin metro, including farmers markets, health and wellness fairs, and school events.

Fokken has also woven another Colombian passion into his business through conservation efforts for cotton-top tamarins, a Colombian primate that is one of the most critically endangered species in the world. A portion of Coffee Heaven’s sales go toward a local nonprofit called the Cotton Top Project, which supports Proyecto Tití in Colombia. Proyecto Tití helps protect and restore cotton-top tamarin habitats and educates the local community about the importance of these conservation efforts.

Coffee Heaven has its own representative for the species, Ambassador Tai, a four-year-old cotton-top tamarin donated to Fokken. Born in the United States and a descendant of a group of cotton-top tamarins used in laboratories to do investigations on colon cancer, Tai is a testament to the power of coffee and the importance of conservation efforts.

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