Legacy, Libation & Liberation: Twelfth Night Coffee
Eric Gabourel and his daughter, Naima, whose likeness is the face of Joan of Arc on the 12th Night logo.
July 2024When a New Orleanian who dreams of opening his own coffee house traces his heritage back to Lorraine, France – the home of Joan of Arc - the name for his new venture is an easy choice.
– by Skye Jackson
-photos by Ellis AndersonIn early June, the temperatures are already climbing when I make my way down North Rampart into the cool oasis that is Twelfth Night Coffee. The shop is chill in more ways than one, abuzz with sips and murmurs, as patrons relish the calm atmosphere and the iced drinks in their hands. Following suit, I order one myself – a brightly colored hibiscus tea, as the owner, Eric Gabourel, strolls in out of the heat.
Gabourel greets me with a smile warm enough to melt the ice in my drink, his hazel eyes twinkling & catching the light like crystal. I feel immediately at home upon hearing the cadence of his voice – that signature Seventh Ward lilt, all ease and affability. A self-confessed comic book nerd with a passion for coffee and poetry, Gabourel guides me to the front of the shop and sits down to tell me his story.
Born and raised in the city, he fell in love with coffee at his very first job preparing beignets at Café du Monde. Gabourel’s face illuminates with a nostalgic burst of excitement as he describes the first time he ever tasted a café au lait. And so, the love affair with coffee began – following him through college and onto life in San Francisco, where he worked as a barista and learned more about the delicate craft of preparing the perfect cup of joe. Eventually, he made his way back home to New Orleans, setting his sights on the realization of a dream that had been bubbling up inside him like a hit of espresso – to run a coffee shop of his own.
Eric often can be found behind the counter at 12th Night Coffee, enjoying conversations with locals and visitors from around the world.
Gabourel shares this with me as his carefully curated playlist wafts the gentle sounds of jazz all around us. He tells me that on a quest to find inspiration for the coffee shop and learn more about his own mixed heritage as a Louisiana Creole, he traced his ancestral lineage back to Lorraine, France. In his mission to learn more about the region, he was shocked to discover the region’s most famous native daughter: Joan of Arc.
“That’s it,” he tells me as the Rampart streetcar rolls by outside the window, “I was looking for something, someone tied to New Orleans culture and then I saw that her birthday was on Twelfth Night.” And the rest, as they say, was history. In that instant, Gabourel realized what he wanted to name his shop: Twelfth Night Coffee.
Gabourel wanted to make sure that New Orleans culture was not only represented in the logo of the business, which depicts the figure of Joan of Arc triumphantly riding her horse just like the statue in Place De France on Decatur Street, but also reflected in the drinks he offers at the shop as well.
Some of the most notable are aptly called Joanie on the Pony, the Downriver Latte and my personal favorite, the Rougarou Latte, which is named after a monster from Cajun folklore, one with the body of a man and head of a wolf that is said to lurk within the depths of the Louisiana swamp, preying on misbehaving children. The latte, a delicious combination of pumpkin spice, caramel, espresso, and milk is reflective of Gabourel’s mission not only to serve incredible caffeinated beverages but also to share stories about what makes Louisiana culture so rich and unique.
“Our coffee is made with fresh chicory,” he explains, “and when you’re tasting it, you have the reassurance that it was roasted that same week. We like to steep our coffee for a very exact period to extract the maximum flavor from it. We only use organic milk – either whole or oat. We provide the most premium products, fairly traded coffee beans with only organic additives.”
Gabourel’s attention to detail and precision in providing high-quality ingredients is on full display in this moment – reflecting how deeply and intricately New Orleans is brewed into the flavors he has chosen.
Unsurprisingly, Gabourel also acts as a fervent supporter and patron of the arts. He developed the Free Verse Social Club, a literary series that takes place at the shop which highlights local poets, showcasing the immense talent that is woven into the very tapestry of the Crescent City. The series, which typically runs once a month (with a break during the summer months), also features an open mic where local writers can gather to share their work, develop community, and forge new connections.
Gabourel also owns Flambeaux Bicycle Tours, right next door to Twelfth Night Coffee, at 626 N. Rampart.
Gabourel’s belief in artistic, creative, and political freedom is evident when he discusses the shop’s emblem, Joan of Arc.
“My thinking is very much in line of economic justice and liberation, so for me, that’s something that Joan of Arc represents. I don’t look at Joan of Arc necessarily from a religious perspective, even though she allegedly heard voices from God. However it transpired, she was someone who resisted foreign invasion in her country – she resisted occupation. So, for me, I look at her as a liberationist.”
That admiration and love is what inspired Gabourel to design the shop’s emblem depicting Joan’s famous pose. He used his own drawing skills to combine Joan’s stature with the face of his young daughter, Naima, who at the age of thirteen, is already a fluent speaker of the French language.
“Everything I do is for her,” Gabourel says, gesturing to the shop around him, “so that she will inherit it one day.”
Though Naima has yet to try her first cup of coffee, Gabourel is hopeful that she will one day share the same passion for the brew that he has spent his life cultivating. In fact, he hopes to expand the business sooner rather than later.
“One year from now, I’d like to start roasting and sourcing our own coffee – get into grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels. It is a journey,” he says, confidently. “Then we want to open a second location by the end of year five.”
Before we part, Gabourel also tells me that there is a subliminal message embedded in the soul and essence of Twelfth Night Coffee, based upon the famous print, Odysseus and His Men Encounter Sirens, which hangs unassumingly at the back of the shop above the sugar, cream, and straws section.
In the depiction, Odysseus is tied to the mast of his ship, ears filled with wax, as he tries to withstand the shrill voices of sirens bent on luring sailors to their deaths at the bottom of a raging ocean. A poet through and through, Gabourel uses the metaphor of the siren to remind me of a crucial takeaway.
“We have a billion-dollar coffee corporation in this city – and their symbol is the siren,” he says, thoughtfully, “So my message to my fellow New Orleanians is this: put the wax in your ears. Tie yourself to the mast of the ship. Support local businesses. Keep money in the community.”
“Plus,” he says, flashing me a smile as bright as the midday sun, “our coffee is better.”
12th Night Coffee
628 N. Rampart Street, NOLA
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