Intelli has fallen off in quality IMO but can still be good. I’d avoid the large distro market bags and go into a location and buy the smaller offerings.
Did you brew the black cat as espresso or drip? It’s not good as drip IMO and needs specific temps for espresso to be good.
Out of the list I posted my faves are Heart, Verve, counter culture and 49th Parallel. Ceremony is also great and used to roast greens stored in wine and bourbon barrels… Really interesting brews.
I’ve had some truly mind bending shots at both intelli and blue bottle locations, but if your only experience is possibly old beans languishing on a grocery shelf I can see how one might think they are overrated.
No, I am not talking about grocery store shelves- lol. I can honestly say I haven’t bought grocery store beans in a decade. Blue bottle is flat out terrible. Intelligentsia used to be good, but it has been a couple years since they maintained higher standards of quality.
intelligentsia is completely overrated- almost as much as blue bottle.
how dare you, that’s all we have in LA. Other city’s chains. > > (i also don’t drink coffee so i don’t care)
It’s worth noting the black cat blend changed at some point in the last few years… The original classic was better IMO (50/50 Brazil/ Peru blend I think) and produced a bright orange-ish and lightly chocolate shot when pulled right. I’m not a fan of the current black cat, I don’t think it’s close to the original.
you said you wouldn’t roast but it is awesome–you get fresher coffee, more variety, cheaper, and can roast exactly how you want it–it has a short learning curve. Everyone I have given coffee to says it is the best they have had and I now have to mail it to both kids who are coffee lovers. Commercial over.
I’ve been ordering 5 lb bags from Red Bird Coffee that last me about a month per - light to medium roast, no tax, free shipping, and solid beans that cost about $12/lb delivered.