For years, one assumption ruled when it came to specialty coffee: the world's best cafés existed in the world's best-known coffee cities, be it Melbourne, Tokyo, or Copenhagen.
Till a café in northwest Arkansas upended that idea.
Earlier this year, Onyx Coffee Lab in downtown Rogers was named the world's best coffee shop by The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026 earlier this year. The rankings, announced at CoffeeFest Madrid, drew on the opinions of more than 800 judges and 350,000 public votes, and factored in quality, hospitality, innovation, sustainability and service. Onyx beat more than 15,000 cafés worldwide, a win that took the world by surprise.
Rogers, a town with a population of about 75,000 in the Ozarks, isn’t typically the sort of place associated with fine coffee. Yet over the past decade, coffee lovers have been drawn to a roastery that has built its reputation on the back of transparency and consistency.
The Onyx headquarters, located in a century-old red-brick building, showcases that. Coffee is sourced from top-tier growers across East Africa, Central America and South America, and the entire process, from sample roasting and production roasting to quality control, and barista training, takes place in plain sight.
When Andrea and Jon Allen opened Onyx Coffee Lab in 2012, they wanted to bring better coffee to a part of America that wasn't known for specialty cafés.
“We opened with the desire to source, roast and serve the world's best coffees,” Andrea says. “This vision hasn't really changed but how we do it and what it feels like has.”
Onyx’s focus is on “quality, transparency, and kindness in hospitality”. Every bag of coffee reveals its story: where the beans were grown, how they scored for quality and what the company paid producers. The roastery says it pays, on average, about three times the Fairtrade price for green coffee, contracting purchases in advance to give farmers greater financial stability.
Allen says transparency and customer experience “work together”. “The transparency is there for those who want to see it, but we offer great coffees that you can experience just by drinking them. The information can be endless but taste and quality always lead.”
The menu reflects that philosophy. It offers espresso, cappuccino, and cortado, along with new choices. Southern Weather, the house blend and Allen's own everyday choice, has notes of milk chocolate, plum and candied walnut. Geometry combines Ethiopian and Colombian coffees into a bright, fruit-forward blend, while Monarch is roasted with milk drinks in mind. Tropical Weather is floral and juicy, Eclipse is a darker roast, and Power Nap offers a half-caffeinated option for those who want another cup without sacrificing a good night’s sleep.
The signature drinks include Salt Mocha, which melds espresso with house-made chocolate and black salt; Onyx Delight, which brings together honey, cinnamon and vanilla; and FOMO, which tops espresso with coconut foam, cream and cocoa.
Innovation hasn't stopped with the drinks. Earlier this year, Onyx introduced Circadian, a coffee system built around five caffeine levels. Using Swiss Water decaffeination, customers can choose anything from full-strength coffee to decaf without giving up flavour.
Since starting up, Onyx has grown from a local café business into a specialty coffee company that also offers wholesale and online retail along with coffee-related education. Most of its cafes are located in Arkansas. It also runs Terroir by Onyx, its in-house chocolate brand; Doyenne, a café and coffee programme focused on coffees produced by women; and Onyx at the Preserve, a community gathering space.
Specialty coffee has now matured, with excellence no longer tied to geography. A fashionable postcode or a popular café district don’t guarantee the world’s best coffee; attention to sourcing, roasting, and hospitality do.
The world's best cup may not be waiting in Tokyo or Melbourne; it might just be in Arkansas.
Teja Lele writes on travel and lifestyle.