On my most recent trip to Chicago, I visited 3 Cafes. Intelligentsia, despite its size and reach in the Chicago area as being “over” in the eyes of the hippest and most discerning coffee lovers, I had a great time and it ranked the highest to me. Each coffee location is different but the quality of the coffee, staff and preparation methods offered were top-notch. I wish a cafe was like this in my area although the $42 a month I currently spend on beans would be greatly increased at the $4 a cup they’re charging for a pour-over cup to-go.
Overal:
I had a fantastic time for an hour talking to baristas and watching them make coffee. The setup is very similar to Sight glass in San Francisco. A spacious rectangle with points of sale and coffee making equipment all around. You can sit down, a barista takes your order and prepares your coffee to order. I would love to work at this location because every thing was so well thought out. Hardware for making coffee (Chemex, kettles, cups) were stored in an easy to reach hanging shelf at the center of the setup. A hot water dispenser was available to fill a kettle and there were different grinders for each of the brewing methods offered.
Espresso:
Fantastic. Dense, thick, creamy but maybe a bit too sweet for my liking. I’d give it a 7/10 and the body of the espresso fell apart much faster than I would have expected.
Soy Chai Latte:
Well done! The steamed almond milk didn’t do a lot to modify the quality of the tea a bit and actually sat on top of most of the tea-goodness and added a bit of texture and sweetness on every sip. 8/10
Pour-Over with a single origin bean from Kenya:
This brew was done with a Chemex + Paper filter and a non-familiar gooseneck kettle I hadn’t seen before. I actually ended up taking this coffee to go so I could sip on it for a while because it was so good! Smooth, zero acidity and that trend lately where third wave roaster use half of the beans per water you’d think they would so that the drinker can pickup “nuance” was nowhere to be found. This was a very dark brew that had taste and kick. I don’t know why cafes are using less beans per ounce these days beyond “nuance” because the coffee just ends up tasting like tea. This was done right. 9/10 for presentation, preparation and overall quality of the cup! I even bought a bag to go.
Pastries:
I had 2 pastries, both were excellent. I can’t even remember what they were called. One was scone-like and tons of really moist berries, 9/10
I’d return to this location over and over again. I’ve had Intelligentsia beans before, sometimes fresh and sometimes not. This cafe did a great job of showcasing the bean quality with a lot of choices. Price though was a bit on the high end.
