Carol Adams Dahlke, is cute as a button, no other way to describe her and she is a dynamo too. This mother of three who lives on Ashlawn Farm with her husband Chip, decided to one day start roasting coffee beans, that was about 9 years ago and the operation is at full tilt.
This 1730’s farm in Lyme, Connecticut on which they live, is one of the most bucolic New England settings I’ve ever seen. It’s only been owned by three families. Chip, a financial planner and investment columnist, came to own it thru his lineage. In fact Chip and Carol saved the farm for the family and it continues to evolve.
They figured out that if you’re roasting beans and selling them you of course have to have a cafe, and indeed there is one. Cozy? This place personifies that. The cafe is part of the old milking house when it was a dairy farm. There are just a few cows now in the barn and pet pygmy goats. There are two American Curly horses too, named Antonio and Little Man. Little man is the darker horse and is older about 8, Antonio is 5. These are rare breeds in New England, and they are beautiful animals. Oh, I should tell you that the dog in the cafe is Nellie and she is owned by barista (java bartender extraordinaire), Sue Fischer. I took a photo of Carol and Sue in front of a frothy coffee delight that Sue whipped up for me called an Aztec Mochaccino, I’ll be ordering that again, Wow!
During the warmer months you can sit outside on the deck and attend farmer’s markets which folks from all over come to. I can see why, I didn’t leave for about three hours after showing up, it’s just a remarkable spot near the shoreline in Connecticut.
The cafe reminds me of an old General Store, and a down home soda fountain and a place where you can sit and watch the world go by overlooking this fabulous acreage.
This is a wonderful meeting place and on Friday mornings at 9:30, you’ll find knitters here. If you’re reading this and you are a knitter, or a fiber artist of any kind, c’mon down, all are welcomed.
During warmer months you can sit out on the deck and there are farmer’s markets which you can take the whole family to. Those are hugely popular. It took me three hours to leave the place after I showed up to talk to Carol so I can see why people keep coming back. It’s just a remarkable place in southern Connecticut to while away some time.
Carol figures she roasts well over 1,000 pounds of beans a week for customers who order Ashlawn Coffee. That number goes up around the holidays as companies and corporations start ordering the coffee to put into gift baskets for clients.
Carol imports beans from all over the world and then roasts them with the knowledge she gain from an old timer. She tell you all about it in the video below.
If you haven’t been here what are you waiting for?
