Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/547605
good.' Then you could have a nice presentation for it and brew it in the shop—heck, you could do that in the shop even if the coffee isn't that good, and they'll think it's the best coffee they've ever had. It's as much about the perception of what they're drinking as what they're actually drinking." Andrea would love to bridge the gap between what's onstage and on bar: "The coffees at competition are not the coffees you're getting at a shop in a batch brew, but I think they have the potential to push people to look for higher-quality coffees," she says. "I think that competition, in a small way, can help inform coffee buyers' decisions, and hopefully buying nicer coffees helps create an industry that makes those markets available." Now, Andrea says, she and Jon have "hit [their] stride with green sourcing," and are able to focus on strengthening the culture and the community within their shops. "We're hoping to not open any more stores, we'll just have three. We really like to be in our shops. I love all of our baristas. I know what they're good at, and what they need to work on, what they're studying in school, and what their dogs' names are, and I don't want to get to the point where we walk in and are like, 'Now what's your name?'" "It's kind of funny," she laughs, "but I think about my staff in the same way I think about my horse: How do you get this creature that you don't understand to do what you want it to do when you ask them? A lot of repetition, and positive recognition when they do the right thing. I want to produce baristas who can not only make a nice drink and make a nice espresso, but who are also knowledgeable and able to tell the difference between coffees. I would love to produce baristas who can contribute to other areas of our industry, and other shops." In short, that's exactly what you can expect when you visit Onyx: High-quality coffee served with high standards of hospitality, accessibil- ity, and openness—not a high horse in sight. twitter.com/Mahlkoenig facebook.com/Mahlkoenig w w w . m a h l k o e n i g . d e PROUDLY SUPPORTING BARISTAS AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION SINCE 2009 69 www.baristamagazine.com