UPDATE: Locally Brewed: Amber Johnson

There is nothing perfunctory about the way Amber Johnson prepares coffee at Fix Coffee. Not when the barista in reference talks about pairing espresso with seared lamb and fig-rosehip reduction sauce—a feat she pulled off recently in the Southwest Regional Barista Competition in Hollywood.

"The [rosehip] was the sweet element for my drink, then I had the judges take a bite of the lamb and get that reduction sauce in their mouth, and then I served them an espresso shot infused with rose petal and lavender," Johnson said. "Everybody has to have a signature drink for the competition; you can't just make a mocha," joked Johnson, who also invented a caramel corn espresso shot with peanut milk and popcorn-infused whipping cream. "It tasted like Cracker Jacks."

Apart from pairing coffee and food, one of Johnson's biggest passions, the 10-year-caffeeine veteran is alike to a walking-talking encyclopedia of coffee.

Hailing from Seattle by way of Washington, Johnson first worked as an operations manager for a micro roaster at a start-up café in Seattle. She migrated to Los Angeles with her husband in 2008 when, according to Johnson, "the coffee culture was just starting" and worked at Groundwork Coffee, then later L.A. Mill, before landing at Fix, where she's a coffee director/trainer.  

Johnson's privy when it comes to the coffee culture, whether it's artisan roasteries, elevating coffee making (an artistry she likens to fine dining) or compensating coffee farmers a fair wage.

"The reason our coffee beans are so expensive, it's not our brewing equipment, it's because those farmers are actually getting paid for their coffee beans," Johnson said. We pay Intelligencia to pay these farmers proper prices—when we're not at Dunkin' Donut's prices—we take a hit," according to Johnson. There are a lot of social issues evolving around coffee, she explains, adding that in some countries, the locals don't even get to taste the coffee beans they pick.

She pushes the coffee discussion by participating in competitions and hosting local events, such as Thursday Night Throw Downs, held every last Thursday of the month at a local coffee shop and featuring competing baristas.

"If I'm going to be passionate about coffee, I have to be passionate about the political climate with coffee," she said.

UPDATE:  The next Thursday Night Throw Down comes to Fix on March 31st at 8 p.m. Be there to celebrate the art of independent coffee brewing.