Intelligentsia Coffee

What is Intelligentsia Coffee?

A Chicago roaster that helped invent the way specialty coffee is bought.

Intelligentsia is one of the American roasters associated with the third wave, and specifically with direct trade: buying from named farms at negotiated prices rather than through the commodity market. That approach is now common language on coffee bags, and it was not when they started.

Across the nineteen coffees and two bundles we have reviewed, the range covers ten origin countries, roasts from medium-light to medium-dark, whole bean and ground formats, and a subscription.

The shape of the range

Ten countries, no dark roast, and a price spread of three times.

The origins we hold are Brazil, Mexico, Ethiopia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Kenya, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Colombia. That is a properly international book rather than a house blend with a couple of single origins bolted on.

What is absent is as telling. Nothing in the range we have reviewed is roasted Light or Dark; it sits between medium-light and medium-dark throughout. That is a deliberate house style, and it is why an Intelligentsia bag tastes recognisably like one whichever origin you pick.

The price spread runs from $42.55 to $126.26 a kilo. The bottom of that is ordinary specialty pricing; the top is Geisha territory, where you are paying for a varietal that yields badly and tastes like almost nothing else.

Where to start

Three entry points, depending on what you brew.

For espresso, Black Cat Analog is the reference and has been for years; the organic version is the same idea certified. For filter, the House Blend is the everyday one and El Gallo is the sweeter, more approachable of the blends.

If you would rather taste across the range before committing, the Flavor Profile Variety Bundle and Season's Best are the two bundles we hold.

They also make instant, which is unusual for a roaster at this level: the Black Cat instant espresso is the strongest-scoring instant coffee on this site.

The one thing the bags do not tell you

Across the coffees we have recorded, the roast date is not printed.

Freshness is the single largest variable in how a bag tastes, and a printed roast date is how you judge it. A best-before date tells you when the roaster stopped being confident, not when the coffee was roasted, and the two can be months apart.

For a roaster this serious about sourcing, that is a genuine gap, and it is worth saying plainly rather than burying. It is also the reason several Intelligentsia coffees score lower here than their quality would suggest: our freshness criterion reads the published date, and there is not one.

Is Intelligentsia worth it?

Yes at the bottom of the range, and the top is a different question.

At $42 a kilo you are paying specialty prices for coffee with real sourcing behind it, from a roaster with three decades of relationships. That is straightforwardly good value against supermarket specialty.

At $126 a kilo you are buying a Geisha, and whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you can taste what makes one. Brew it on a pour over with a decent grinder or do not buy it at all.

Who should buy from Intelligentsia (and who should not)

Buy if origin transparency is why you are here.

It suits filter drinkers who want to taste a country rather than a blend, espresso drinkers who want a benchmark, and anybody who cares where coffee comes from and wants it documented rather than implied.

Look elsewhere if you want dark roast, which this range does not do, or flavoured coffee, which it does not make at all. And if buying on roast date matters to you, Koa prints one and this range does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Intelligentsia coffees have you reviewed?

Nineteen coffees and two bundles, covering ten origin countries.

What roast levels does Intelligentsia do?

Medium-light through medium-dark across the range we hold. There is no Light and no Dark roast in it.

Does Intelligentsia print a roast date?

Not on the coffees we have recorded. That is a real gap for a roaster of this standing, and it costs them on our freshness scoring.

What does Intelligentsia coffee cost?

Between $42.55 and $126.26 a kilo across the range we hold. The top end is Geisha, which is priced that way everywhere.