What is Intelligentsia El Diablo Blend?
The dark roast for people who normally avoid dark roasts: Guatemalan, roasted to Intelligentsia's Traditional profile.
Intelligentsia describe El Diablo as a darker roast that does not give up nuance, which is a direct answer to the usual objection that dark roasting flattens a coffee into smoke and bitterness. Guatemala is the origin, and it is a country whose coffee holds structure under heat better than most.
It is $17.50 for 12 oz, the entry price, whole bean or ground with a subscription. Tagged Traditional on roast and chocolate and molasses on flavour, and filed for automatic drip.
Intelligentsia El Diablo Blend Taste: What It Actually Tastes Like
Chocolate and molasses at a Traditional roast, aiming for depth rather than char.
It is the darkest filter blend in the range, and one of only three coffees here on the Traditional profile alongside Black Cat Analog and Sublunar, both of which are espresso blends. That makes El Diablo the drip option for anyone who wants a dark cup.
Guatemala is the whole blend, which is unusual: most of the range is two or three countries. A single country roasted dark is a more coherent proposition than a dark blend assembled from four.
How fresh is it when it arrives?
Roasted in Chicago and shipped direct, in two sizes with a subscription.
The 12 oz bag is the sensible choice for a household. A 5 lb bag opened on a counter is losing ground for weeks, and a subscription answers freshness better than bulk buying for anyone drinking a bag a fortnight.
Whole bean holds far longer than ground and costs the same, so it is the default unless there is no grinder in the house.
Where the coffee comes from
Guatemala named as the origin, with roast and flavour profile published as tags.
Intelligentsia publish roast profile, flavour profile, origin countries and trade terms as structured tags rather than burying them in prose, so very little on this page had to be taken on trust.
It is tagged Blend rather than Single Origin despite naming one country, which normally means several lots from that country rather than one farm. No Direct Trade tag here, where Frequency carries one at the same price.
Intelligentsia El Diablo Blend vs Intelligentsia Black Cat Analog Espresso
Against Organic French Roast, this is the darker roast that keeps its nuance and that one goes further.
Organic French Roast is $18.50, organic certified and Nicaraguan. El Diablo is $17.50, uncertified and Guatemalan. Both are on the Traditional profile, so the choice is the certification against the dollar.
Against El Gato at the same price, that is a medium roast and this is dark. Anyone who finds specialty coffee too sour will get further here than anywhere else in the filter range.
Against Sublunar at the same price, that is the espresso version of a dark Intelligentsia coffee. Right machine, right bag.
Intelligentsia El Diablo Blend price per kilo: how it compares
About $42.55 a kilo in the 5 lb bag, the entry price, and the only dark filter blend at it.
Dark roasts are usually the cheap end of a specialty menu because darker roasting hides more. Intelligentsia price El Diablo level with House Blend and El Gato rather than below them, which reads as a claim about the green coffee rather than the roast.
The 5 lb bag is $96.50, roughly seventeen percent cheaper per gram. Against a supermarket dark roast this is several times the money, and the difference is a named origin and a published profile.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Right for a dark roast drinker who wants a specialty roaster to take them seriously; wrong for anyone chasing acidity.
Buy it if you have found most third-wave coffee too bright and too sour, and you still want origin and roast published rather than guessed. It is the bridge between a supermarket dark roast and the rest of this catalogue.
Take House Blend or Illumination instead if brightness is what you actually want. Take Organic French Roast if the organic seal is worth a dollar to you, or Sublunar if the coffee is going through an espresso machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is El Diablo Blend?
Intelligentsia's dark roast filter blend, built from Guatemalan coffee and roasted to their Traditional profile. They describe it as a darker roast that does not give up nuance, which is aimed at drinkers who find most specialty coffee too bright. It is $17.50 for 12 oz.
How dark is El Diablo?
It sits on Intelligentsia's Traditional profile, their darkest of three, alongside Black Cat Analog and Sublunar Espresso. On a conventional scale that is medium-dark rather than a French or Italian roast. Their Organic French Roast is the one that goes further.
El Diablo or Organic French Roast?
Both are on the Traditional profile. El Diablo is $17.50, Guatemalan and uncertified; Organic French Roast is $18.50, Nicaraguan and organic certified, and roasted further. The dollar buys the certification and a darker cup.
Is El Diablo good for espresso?
It is tagged for automatic drip rather than espresso. If you want a dark Intelligentsia coffee through a machine, Sublunar Espresso is the same $17.50 and is described as their darkest espresso blend, built for milk drinks.
Is El Diablo bitter?
The roaster positions it against that outcome, describing a darker roast that keeps its nuance and tagging it chocolate and molasses rather than smoke or ash. Any dark roast rewards a slightly coarser grind and slightly cooler water than a light one.
How much is El Diablo per cup?
At about $42.55 a kilo in the 5 lb bag and 15 grams a cup, roughly 64 cents, or nearer 77 cents from the 12 oz bag. It is priced level with the medium blends rather than discounted, which is unusual for a dark roast on a specialty menu.
