Diaspora is the first yaupon company west of Texas, and the first yaupon espresso company – ever. We started working with the plant in 2022, inspired by a shared love for regional ingredients. After months of testing roasts and grinds, we found a combination that worked perfectly in espresso machines giving notes of dark chocolate, oolong tea, coffee and red fruit. We hosted a tasting that exceeded expectations and decided to start sharing our recipe at local markets. After a year of serving over ten thousand people and refining our offering, we found a permanent home here in Seattle.

The yaupon trade was suppressed during the colonial period and the following displacement of the people who cultivated it for thousands of years before. While many in the South continued to drink yaupon, it only re-entered public awareness over the last decade as farmers began to study its history and cultivation. It offers an amazing experience for people suffering seasonal and mold allergies, caffeine sensitivity, heartburn, pesticide sensitivity and other coffee side effects.

When roasting, brewing and serving yaupon, we aim to honor the traditions of those who cultivated the plants before us including the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Muscogee people. We use only yaupon leaves from small regenerative farms in Georgia, Florida and Texas. 

In partnership with the plants, Diaspora provides direct support to land and water rights movements in our region. This includes ongoing relationships with the Beacon Food Forest, United Indians of All Tribes Youth and Elder Home meal program, and the Northwest Hospitality food service program.