Intelligentsia

Intelligentsia is a coffee shop in Chicago, IL. It roasts and serves coffee, offering blends, bundles, and brewers, with a dedicated espresso range and seasonal releases such as Persephone. The company was established in 1995 and sources direct trade and in-season coffees from around the world, working to bring customers freshly roasted coffee. It sells coffee equipment alongside its beans and offers a subscription service in which customers choose how much and how often they receive shipments, can add items to an order, postpone deliveries, and pause or cancel at any time. Subscriptions ship free and include early access to exclusive releases. Intelligentsia holds a rating of 4.30 from the customers who have reviewed it.

The company began when Doug Zell and Emily Mange moved from San Francisco to Chicago and found freshly roasted coffee hard to come by. Rather than settle, they wrote the original business plan for what became Intelligentsia Coffee, aiming to open a cafe and roaster in the city's emerging Lakeview neighborhood. The first customers were welcomed on October 9, 1995. The company describes itself as a specialty coffee pioneer that grew from those Chicago roots into one driven by curiosity and a continuing search for extraordinary coffee. Its stated goal is to make coffee a memorable addition to any experience and to make preparing and enjoying a cup an experience in itself. Coffees are tasted daily, and the company emphasizes direct trade and in-season sourcing.

The shop sits on East Randolph Street, a short walk from the Chicago Cultural Center and the Storefront Theater. North Wabash Avenue and the public artwork We Will Chicago are both close by.

Intelligentsia has served Chicago since 1995, and its 4.30 rating reflects positive feedback from the customers who have reviewed it.