Acadian Coffee Roasters

I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Holmes and Nancy Kirby recently. These two business partners opened their organic coffee roasting company last January in a small unassuming brick building on Hodges St. Lake Charles.

They invited me to come sample their coffees and gave me a tour of their facility. This lovely cat greeted me at the door. They say she came with the place.

I enjoyed sampling their fresh roasted coffees . . .

but I also learned a LOT of interesting things about coffee that I didn't know. For example, coffee plants can be grown in sub-tropically regions like Lake Charles, but the finest coffees grow along the earth’s equator, plus or minus 1000 miles. The higher the elevation, the higher quality the coffee. Which explains why coffee beans grown in Lake Charles would not be good. Acadian Coffee beans are imported primarily from Central and South America. They are looking into beans from Africa.

Map of the origins of Acadian Coffee. Love the push pins!

Sacks of single origin beans.

I didn't realize that medium or mild roast coffees have more actual coffee flavor than a dark roast. With a dark roast, you taste more of the "roast" and less of the coffee. Also, the darker the roast, the LESS caffeine it has. The longer a bean is in the roaster, the more caffeine is roasted out. Raw coffee beans can keep and retain "freshness" for up to eight years. Once a bean has been roasted, it loses freshness rather quickly. Their pretty red roaster can roast up to 40 pounds of beans an hour. Acadian Coffee is considered an artisan or micro-roaster because they roast less than 100,000 pounds a year.

Coffee trees grow a fruit similar to a cherry. Each “cherry” has two coffee beans inside. Each tree only produces about a pound and a half of coffee per harvest and there are usually two harvests per year. 

For more information on Acadian Coffee Roasters, watch for my story in the upcoming November issue of Thrive magazine. In the meantime, visit these sweet ladies at the Cash and Carry Farmers' Market, Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 p.m. or see their website, www.acadiancoffee.com. Their coffees can also be found in Lake Charles at select Market Basket grocery stores, Pronia's Deli, Paper Smith on Ernest St., the newly opened restaurant 1910, and the much anticipated City Market on Michael DeBakey Dr.