Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/232179
ONYX COFFEE LAB SPRINGDALE, ARK. ANDREA AND JON ALLEN, OWNERS CAFÉ S ROAD S CROS by REGAN CRISP S pecialty coffee is relatively new to Northwest Arkansas. The region may be better known as the birthplace of multinationals Walmart and Tyson Foods, but the Springdale metropolitan area is also the state's cultural epicenter. It's home to the University of Arkansas in liberal-minded Fayetteville; the new and impressive Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville; and the southern tip of the Ozark Mountains, a celebrated destination for fshing and world-class cave systems. It's to this dynamic region that the state's young and adventurous seem to be focking, and this growing populace has given rise to a thriving third-wave coffee scene. Onyx Coffee Lab, with locations in Springdale and Fayetteville, is capitalizing on this steady growth by offering locals meticulously roasted coffee against a backdrop of modern Ozark design (think stitched copper bar and local reclaimed church wood). Owners Andrea and Jon Allen are each just 30 years old, but they already have one previous enterprise, Anonymous Coffee Roasters, behind them. The husband-and-wife team launched Onyx two years ago, and since then have fostered local specialty coffee appreciation by holding classes at their roastery and weekly themed cuppings, with Onyx poised to quickly expose the region to passionate, artistic coffee craft. Fresh Cup caught up with the Allens to discuss their plans to strengthen Northwest Arkansas' specialty coffee community ANNA HUTCHINSO N by fostering education and sharing their seed-to-cup philosophy, in addition to good coffee. Q: How does Onyx Coffee Lab differ from the average coffee shop? J on Allen: It's a coffee bar and we serve traditional drinks somewhat like other shops do, but we also do a lot of sample roasting and I do a lot of consulting for importers. I'm a Q Grader, so as far as sourcing things, we do all of that in-house. Our roaster is out front the way that it would be in a roaster-retail shop, and we also hold lots of classes there. Instead of just opening a bag and there being coffee, consumers get to experience some of the process of roasting, and as we sample, roast and cup, they get to see that whole process take place. It just felt more like a lab, and the idea for us was where science and art meet—that's what we wanted the consumer to experience as well. continued on page 26 24 Fresh Cup Magazine | freshcup.com