Onna Coffee is a small shop located on a side street and Gràcia. Despite it being a bit difficult to find, it is definitely worth the effort. Right upon entering the shop, the friendly baristas greet you and start chatting with you about your day. This hospitality is most likely the reason why I noticed quite a few “regulars coming into the shop”.
Onna is strategically laid out to make best of the small space. The bar is an L-shape with a DC Pro espresso machine right up front, a glass case displaying their delicious sandwiches, and then a brew bar to the side where Onna’s Costa Rican coffees can be brewed on the Chemex, siphon, or the AeroPress. In terms of seating, up front the layout is more like a café, with small, circular tables decorated with flowers are set up for small groups to chat while sipping on coffee. More towards the back of the shop were “shared work tables” for people looking to do some work and stick around a while. I definitely thought this was a great way to manage the presence of “coffee shop campers” (I am definitely guilty of this myself) while still wanting to please the more social coffee goer.
While espresso drinks in Europe are more emphasized and more consumed by café-goers Onna had an impressive selection of other options including filter coffee, coffee tonics, and iced coffee. Onna does roast their own beans which they source only from Costa Rica. I didn’t think to ask why they only chose one country to source from at the time, but I am assuming it is because their operations were pretty small. That said, I was not disappointed by their filter coffee whatsoever. I decided to order their Rio Jorco single origin on the Chemex. Of course it was brewed for two, but naturally I ordered it just for myself. I found the flavors in this coffee very pleasing despite my preference of fruity coffees. This coffee was sweet in a different way having a more caramel flavor as the coffee cooled down. I also had the opportunity to try their flat white. While I have had more complex espressos, I found this drink to be very pleasant with their extremely suave milk which perfectly complimented the espresso’s nutty flavor.
Another aspect of Onna that I really enjoyed is that the baristas are very proactive in encouraging customers to try out other Third Wave shops in the city. At this shop I purchased the “Specialty Coffee in Barcelona Map” which helped me track my coffee journeys to come and discover new shops. Overall, the quality coffee and quality hospitality had me coming back to this shop a few times in my stay in Barcelona.
The Coffee Code 