Intelligentsia Frequency Blend vs Intelligentsia Organic Decaf House Blend

people who want chocolate + molasses from a direct trade roaster

Scores higher on value per kilo.

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

Scores higher on sourcing transparency & ethics.

• +The cheapest Direct Trade coffee in the range, level on price with two blends that carry no trade tag.
• +Built as an everyday crowd pleaser, which is the right brief for a household bag.
• +Dried fruit and sugar give it more character than a neutral house blend.
• +Origins, roast profile, flavour profile and trade terms all published as tags.

• −Designed to please everyone, which means it is nobody's favourite cup.
• −No organic certification, where El Gallo and Illumination carry both that and Direct Trade.
• −Only two sizes, and the larger is 2.27 kg to keep fresh.

• +Water process rather than solvent decaffeination, which is the more expensive and better method.
• +Organic certification and Direct Trade on a decaf, which almost no roaster bothers with.
• +Only a dollar over the caffeinated House Blend, a smaller decaf premium than usual.
• +Named origin and published roast and flavour profile, same as the caffeinated range.

• −Decaffeination costs any coffee some of its aromatics, whatever the method.
• −The only decaf in the range, so there is no choice of roast or origin.
• −Only two sizes, and the larger is 2.27 kg to keep fresh.