From romance to roast: Couple brews up pro-life venture with new coffee business

Need some java?
To purchase Fiat Coffee visit fiat-coffee.com. Shipping is free for orders over $49. Holy Trinity Catholic bookstore stocks the coffee. A coffee shop in Colwich will soon serve Fiat Coffee and sell ground Fiat Coffee. Twenty percent of all proceeds go to pro-life causes.

Jordan and Lindsey Meyer’s first date was over a cup of coffee.

The Meyers not only fell in love with each other, they fell in love with coffee. A wedding and four children later, the brewing in their relationship hasn’t cooled.

“We dreamed about owning a coffee business,” Lindsey said. “What we really didn’t know was how that might come to fruition.”

The dreams continued for several years during which they became aware of the anti-Catholic values of some coffee suppliers.

“We decided we needed to find a coffee business that aligned with our Catholic values and that we felt good supporting,” she said. “And so at that point, we began dreaming of owning – specifically – a pro-life coffee business.”

The Meyers buy their first roaster

The dreaming and research continued for a few more years until last year, when the Meyers bought a small roaster.

“We started roasting and started playing around with how to roast coffee – drinkable coffee,” she said, “Jordan developed some roasts we felt were pretty good and so we launched the business and it started growing very rapidly.”

The Meyers said the process went more quickly than they had anticipated. “When we started roasting,” Jordan said, “we hoped we could have drinkable coffee by January. But it happened much sooner.”

Fiat Coffee began brewing in their Colwich home on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Marian theme.

“Our mission with Fiat Coffee is to support local pro-life businesses, to help fund natural family planning courses, and just to promote the dignity of life and marriage,” Lindsey said.

The business takes off

Jordan said coffee lovers started buying their roasts and the caffeine-fueled business took off. “That’s why in December we expanded. We bought a much bigger machine that we just installed. Now we’re trying to be much more public about the business because we have a machine that can support a lot more sales.”

Jordan and Lindsey are careful to purchase only Fairtrade Certified organic coffee, whose beans are ethically grown to rigorous standards that support the farmers and their communities and protect the environment.

“When we need coffee we put in an order and they get it to us in a few days,” Jordan said. “It’s kind of fun because a pallet of 2,000 pounds of coffee shows up and our kids get super excited.”

The Meyers began with a two-kilogram roaster and just added a 20-kilogram roaster. Fortunately the roasting techniques are the same with adjustments made to heat and airflow.

Both roasters are similar

“Now we’ll match exactly what we had on the old machine but in higher quantities,” Jordan said. “The roast times are the same.”

The name of the company, Fiat Coffee, refers to the Blessed Virgin’s Mother’s surrender to the will of God. The roasts are also Marian: Cana Roast (medium), Guadalupe Roast (dark), and Lourdes Roast (French). They have a flavored collection: Annunciation (pecan praline), Assumption (vanilla), and Immaculata (Hazelnut).

Although the children, ages 7, 5, 3, and 1, are not coffee drinkers they are part of the family business.
“Our kids are very invested and excited about it,” Jordan said. “We plan out our week and do most of the work in the evening. We spend a few hours together in our roastery. It’s just a really good time. We love working together and we’re excited to see where it’s going to go.”

Jordan and Lindsey said they love the idea of a family business, one in which the children can grow up helping and learning, although they’re not quite old enough to lend a hand.

Business homeschooling

Jordan said Lindsey homeschool their children so they are beginning to learn about business.

“Working alongside each other has been really unifying for our marriage,” Lindsey said. “We’ve been able to spend more time together and work towards a common goal that we feel really good about.”

Life and marriage issues are important to Lindsey, a physical therapist who is now a full-time mother, and Jordan, an OB/GYN with a pro-life practice in Wichita.

Talking to engaged couples about marriage, the dignity of marriage, and how to respect that as Catholic couples is “powerful for us,” Jordan said.