Our first local coffeeshop visit is happening a bit earlier than expected for my November theme, but I will take the opportunity!

Today is Halloween and I am getting an impulsive tattoo before my Halloween party😅. While I wait for my turn in the chair, I went 2 minutes down the street to Onyx Coffee.

I dont think they are as small as they were the last time I went. They now have locations across NW Arkansas. I remember coming during their winter menu a few years ago and had a pine flavored latte. It was actually a good flavor, and probably the best drink I’ve had from them.

There was a line when I first got there, and paired with the anticipation jitters and a face full of reptile makeup, once it was my turn I panicked and ordered the first thing on their seasonal menu, a brown sugar sweet potato latte, substituting the milk for almond milk.

I should have taken the time to look at the menu. I actually don’t like sweet potato 🤣. The drink isn’t too bad though. I mainly taste the brown sugar and cinnamon, but there’s some grains of sweet potato….

It was either a coffeeshop or a thrift store across the street. I’d love to waste time thrifting, but it is a very heavily Christian-based business. I think I’d scare them with my makeup or get kicked out😭.

So here we are, on the last day before November, hipstering it up in this coffeeshop. I should have brought a book along so I could look smart, or my laptop! Oh, well.

It is also an extremely rainy day. Perfectly spooky and gloomy for Halloween, but sad for any kids hoping to trick-or-treat. I think my town had their trick or treating yesterday to prepare for the rain, though.

You may be questioning my choices right now regarding the tattoo. I don’t have many answers. It’s Saturday, it’s Halloween, there’s a flash sale. I’m here! Three years ago, I got my first tattoo on a Friday the 13th in October, and now we are getting my third tattoo on Halloweekend. I really do love this season and October, it was never a phase🤣.

I just hope I can get in and out before my party that I am hosting and set the times for…

I don’t think I’m a fan of whatever texture I’m getting from this drink, but it’s the Hipster Way to say that it’s for an expensive and refined pallet.

Because this is such an impulsive visit, I have no planned hipster talking points, this is just a coffee review and internal monolog. But because we are pretending to be hipsters, let me share with you what I’ve been reading about lately.

Last month, I downloaded an app called Kinnu. They have a bunch of free learning courses on various topics. I am really into learning about Da Vinci at the moment, and they have a course on him!

I am almost done with the course, and it covers more than just his artworks. I am also learning new names and more people to learn about, while still keeping my distance from learning about the Renaissance as a whole.

I understand that place and time are the whole reason that da Vinci was able to become, well, The Leonardo Da Vinci, but in terms of my interests at the moment I am not as interested in learning about the Renaissance itself (despite how much as it keeps appearing in my radar…).

The Renaissance period happened in Italy because of specific pieces falling into place. Wealthy city states like Venice and Milan competing for culture and political influence, The Black Death creating an opportunity for some survivors to economically advance, and the eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire creating a renewed interest in Greek scholarship and philosophy that would occur after the Renaissance had already begun.

Although it seems like everything just kinda worked out in the right ways, I understand that these events didn’t happen alone, and that there were many moving pieces at the time that allowed the Renaissance to be one of the most memorable and influential eras in human history. In my perspective, it seems as if the Renaissance overshadows some of the other things happening in the world at the same time. For example, Christopher Columbus was born within a year of Leonardo da Vinci, and the Incans in the Americas were expanding up until Columbus made port in 1492. And no, I am not making the argument that Columbus should be as famous as da Vinci, I am making the argument that there was more happening at the time than art.

I understand why art would be more memorable and influential than enslavement, but it is because of that that my personal interests go to more individual depths than entertainment. It is the main reason why I am interested more in Leonardo’s every day life and nuances around his personality than his artwork, even though he is one of the most famous artists to exist.

That is just my personal experience, though. When you were taught World History, what did your teachers focus on, or what was the most memorable era or event?

I could honestly go on and on, as I am in the middle of reading Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson right now and am learning a lot alongside Kinnu. However, rambling on and on about what I do and don’t want to talk about is probably boring haha, so I will end it here!

Overall, I can see why Onyx has grown in popularity in my area, and they have some really cool new locations that are super aesthetically pleasing. They also have unique seasonal menu items that make you curious enough to stop by.

As a home coffee enjoyer, I think I can make a better cup. Even though I got a coffee flavor I shouldn’t have, I haven’t been in years because 1. It is out of the way of any of my usual driving routes and 2. The coffees always taste watered down. The flavor is not flavoring for me and for a “weird” seasonal drink flavor I don’t really want to taste water. And I tasted each ingredient individually, including the water, and whatever texture I was getting.

I am a hipster coffee critic this month, so I am sorry for being harsh. But I am honest. Would I go again? Maybe to see a new location. Would I get a coffee? No. I’d get something else. I have had time to reflect after finishing the drink, so I don’t have to try and convince myself that it was worth it anymore 🤣.

I am excited to visit more local coffee shops, though! I have a mix of some I have visited before and some new ones, and I have planned topics for those posts 😅.

Anyway, here I am now, getting the tattoo lol:

Tattoos are relaxing, for the most part I just sit back with my eyes closed. I will share the reveal once I take off the Second Skin!

All historical information is from Kinnu (conditions that supported the Renaissance), Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (Birth of Columbus being within a year of da Vinci),or my own personal knowledge (Christopher Columbus reaching America in 1492).