Intelligentsia El Gallo Blend vs Intelligentsia Organic Black Cat Espresso

people who want apple + raw sugar from a direct trade roaster

people who want caramel + stone fruit from a direct trade roaster

• +Organic certification and Direct Trade on the same bag, for a dollar over the entry blends.
• +Roasted light and filed for a V60, which is unusual honesty about how it should be brewed.
• +Single country of origin, so the apple sweetness reads more clearly than in a multi-country blend.
• +Whole bean or ground at the same price, with a subscription and a 5 lb option.

• −A light roast pointed at pour over is more work than an automatic drip blend.
• −Wrong bag for espresso or for milk drinks.
• −Only two sizes, and the larger is 2.27 kg to keep fresh.

• +Certified organic and Direct Trade on the same bag, which is an uncommon pairing.
• +Ethiopian and Mexican components give the Black Cat profile a different route to the same place.
• +Tagged Comforting rather than Traditional, so it keeps more character than the darker Analog.
• +Only a dollar over the standard Classic for the certification.

• −About $44.75 a kilo, above the standard Black Cat and well above supermarket espresso.
• −Organic certification narrows the farm pool, which can make a blend harder to hold steady across seasons.
• −Only two sizes, and 5 lb is a lot of an espresso blend for a household.