Axios NWA Does: Onyx coffee class
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Vanessa DeGraffenried shows how to do a pour over. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
I'm a cross between a coffee snob and someone who just can't be bothered with pedantic baristas.
- A good cup of coffee every afternoon is a must, though, and I'm willing to admit I don't know everything. So, when my Axios Northwest Arkansas co-author Alex Golden brought the Onyx Coffee Academy to my attention, I jumped on its 2.5-hour pour-over basics class ($55).
How it works: You pay the fee online and show up at the Onyx studio in downtown Rogers where the company shoots videos at the designated time. All are on weekends.
- Vanessa DeGraffenried, head of R&D for Onyx, leads the class. Coffee and equipment are provided.
What we did: DeGraffenried walked through some basics, breaking down what makes a brew — time, grind, dose — and gave pointers on how to taste the acids, sugars and bitters.
- She directed six students to make several different pour-overs, carefully changing only one at a time to dial in the best flavor, sampled like a wine connoisseur might.
- We modified the filter shape, the amount of coffee, the grind and the type of water used.
The verdict: This is the right move for anyone who really digs coffee and wants to up their game.
- "I love coffee and I love Onyx," my lab partner Rachelle Bardine of Centerton told me.
The bottom line: I felt like I was back in 8th-grade science class, but this time I was interested.
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