KARO
KARO IYASH ARRIVED IN THAILAND FROM THE MALDIVES IN 2015, THE SAME YEAR HE GOT HIS FIRST SAK YANT, A SACRED SPIRITUAL TATTOO SAID TO BESTOW THE RECIPIENT WITH SUPERNATURAL POWERS. HIS FRESH START IN THAILAND WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TURN HIS LIFE AROUND. THAT FIRST SAK YANT, THE FIRST OF MANY, WAS A COMPASS.
FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT DAY AND KARO IS THE SOCIABLE BARISTA AND PROPRIETOR OF KARO COFFEE ROASTER, A CAFÉ AND SPECIALIST COFFEE ROASTER LOCATED AT 52 SOI PRIDI, KNOWN FOR ITS SUSTAINABLY AND ETHICALLY SOURCED COFFEE BEANS, A FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING ATMOSPHERE, AS WELL AS INCREDIBLE COFFEE DRINKS. KARO IS THE SOUL OF THE CAFÉ, DEFTLY MOVING BETWEEN TABLES, STRIKING UP CONVERSATIONS WITH NEWCOMERS AND REGULARS, CONNECTING PEOPLE TOGETHER. HIS TATTOO COLLECTION HAS EXPANDED A LITTLE MORE OVER THE YEARS TOO.
IT’S FITTING THEN THAT THE CAFÉ’S LOGO IS A YANT SUA HUA KAAD, A SACRED TATTOO DEPICTION OF A HEADLESS TIGER. TIGER YANTS REPRESENT STRENGTH, FEARLESSNESS, AND POWER, SAID TO DRIVE AWAY COMPETITION IN BUSINESS, AS WELL AS REPEL EVIL SPIRITS. KARO SAYS HE GOT INTO YANT BEFORE COFFEE, BUT IN OPENING HIS OWN COFFEE SHOP, HE WAS ABLE TO MARRY HIS TWO PASSIONS TOGETHER.
LOOKING FORWARD, KARO HAS A NEW PURPOSE—TO ESTABLISH DIRECT RELATIONSHIPS WITH FARMERS, TO BETTER THEIR LIVES, AND CREATE MORE JOBS IN AGRICULTURE. FOR KARO, COFFEE CONNECTIONS AREN’T JUST CUSTOMERS MEETING IN HIS CAFÉ, BUT HOW EVERYONE IN THE COFFEE INDUSTRY—AS IN LIFE—IS LINKED TOGETHER.