July 01 - Zagat Los Angeles Nightlife Survey – Intelligentsia "Best Bang for the Buck"
The Zagat Survey released the results of its ninth annual Los Angeles Nightlife survey, and many of them were not surprising. In tough economic times Los Angelenos are going out less often and watching what they spend. Happily, the survey also found that "this year's top Bang for the Buck is Intelligentsia, a hip coffee shop in Silver Lake." The results are based on the thoughts and opinions of over 1,750 locals and reveal that the cafe has become a part of both the morning and evening routines of residents of Silver Lake and Los Angeles as a whole.
May 23 - Men's Health – 16 New Lessons of Great Guy Food
As summer approaches, Men’s Health recommends iced coffee and provides a recipe to make it… and the best iced coffee requires the best beans from Intelligentsia.
May 23 - LAist – Wake Up and Smell the Opening
Lindsay Williams Ross from LAist keeps it short and simple in her posting on our Venice coffeebar opening party. East Siders have Silver Lake and West Siders will shortly have our Venice coffeebar. (Make sure to watch the video.)
May 21 - Daily Candy – What To Do This Weekend
Daily Candy picks the fun, the cool, and the interesting. Daily Candy LA thinks that you should be at our Venice opening party on Friday night.
June 2009 - Bicycling Magazine – My Favorite Things
In the June 2009 issue of Bicycling Magazine cyclist Mike Friedman is asked about his favorite things. He likes his '66 Mustang, his crock-pot, and... Intelligentsia Coffee. He claims that "Intelligentsia isn't as well-known and deserves to be." Thanks for doing your part to get our story out there, Mike.
April 30 - LA Times – We're jealous: Intelligentsia creates special blend of coffee for Stones Throw label
Margaret Wappler of the LA Times writes about Intelligentsia's creation of a specific blend for Stone's Throw Records. She particularly liked the descriptions for our coffees and wondered if we would be doing record reviews next.
April 29 - Los Angeles Times - It’s just you and your barista at Intelligentsia Venice
Joshua Lurie from the Los Angeles Times gives his readers at sneak peak at our new Venice coffeebar. He talks to Doug Zell and Kyle Glanville about creating an environment where customers will by taken through the experience by one barista and what that level of attention will mean.
April 29 - Chicago Tribune - 4 paths to Jazzed Up Java
The Chicago Tribune’s Monica Eng makes the case that Americans are saving money by brewing their coffee at home. She reviews four brewing methods that all provide great cups.
April 18 - The Guardian - Escape from LA-la land
Looking to present the more interesting and less shiny parts of Los Angeles to his British readers, the Guardian’s David Vincent stops at Intelligentsia for coffee, notes our by-the-cup brewing techniques, and enjoys our Agua Preta, our Direct Trade Coffee from Brazil.
April 16 - Creative Loafing - A guide to Atlanta coffee
With both the Specialty Coffee Association of America Conference and the World Barista Championship taking place in Atlanta this month, the community is focused on coffee. Besha Rodell from Creative Loafing, Atlanta's alternative weekly paper, conducted a blind taste test of espresso. Black Cat Espresso from Intelligentsia was selected as the "overwhelming favorite" from a group of offerings from some other well-known coffee roasters.
April 15 - NPR's Morning Edition - Chicago Barista To Compete In Championship
Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep interviewed Intelligentsia's Michael Phillips on the upcoming World Barista Competition to be held in Atlanta April 16-19.
April 14 - Qantas Magazine - Espresso Mojo
Qantas' in-flight magazine seeks to provide travelers with new, interesting and unique experiences. In this month’s magazine, Emily Carr explored the Los Angeles coffee scene and featured Intelligentsia’s Silver Lake coffeebar. She states that "Intelligentsia's founders are serious about the craft of coffee-making and also about graphic and architectural design." We expect to see lots of Australians visiting the shop this summer, which will make Deaton Pigot (one of our LA Roasters and a proud Aussie) very happy.
April 10 - Bon Appetit - Conscious Cook: Direct Trade Coffee
Bon Appetit's Zinzi Edmundson explored coffees moving past the Fair Trade model and discovered that Intelligentsia is a “excellent source” to get “direct-trade beans delivered straight to your home.”
April 9 - TimeOut New York - Eat Out Awards 2009: Readers' choice - Best coffee: Café Grumpy
Time Out New York gives Café Grumpy the nod for "Best Coffee in New York" and recognizes Intelligentsia for "top-notch" beans. High praise, indeed.
April 2 - The New York Post – New Coffee Crop Jolts City
The New York Post's Carla Spartos explored the city's cafe scene and selected Intelligentsia Coffee as the pick for Best Coffee in New York. She described the coffee as "sweet, complex and full-bodied" and said that she preferred Intelligentsia's "high-octane" espresso to some competitors' offerings.
March 26 - The New York Times blog – Remembrance of Espresso Past
New York Times writer Oliver Schwaner-Albright discusses Intelligentsia’s newest coffeebar in Venice, California, including a 1972 La Marzocco GS2 espresso machine that was in Starbucks’ first location.
March 25 - Chicago Reader - 2009 Best of Chicago: Readers’ Choice, Best Coffee
Each year the Chicago Reader selects its "Best of Chicago." This year the editors included categories such as Best Bread and Best Diner. In the coffee category, they went for "Best Foo Foo Coffee Drink" and selected Vella Cafe's cardamom latte. Happily, their readers selected Intelligentsia as best coffee, with no drink specified. We do great coffee but without any of the foo-foo.
March 14 - The Cafe Guide - Interview with Nick Griffith
"...you no longer sound like you’re just listing fact that you've committed to memory, you start sharing what you know about coffee." Café Guide talks with USBC competitor Nick Griffith about inspiration and preparing for the big show.
March 13 - The New York Times blog - Like Mike
New York Times writer Oliver Schwaner-Albright writes about the USBC. He also includes a description of Mike Phillips's signature drink in such detail that it could be considered an act of cruelty against those who haven't tried it.
March 11 - NBC 5 Chicago - Broadway Barista is Best-of-the-Best
NBC Channel 5 reports on the 2009 USBC championship win, calling 1st place finisher Phillips "The best of the best." The video includes a small interview with the always-humble Mike and his cohorts.
March 9 - Imbibe Magazine - An Intelly Sweep
Imbibe Magazine gives us a run-down of the 2009 USBC, where Intelligentsia baristas captured 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th place trophies.
March 9 - Chicago Tribune blog - Chicagoan named nation's best barista
Writer Monica Eng sums up Mike’s USBC performance for Chicago Tribune readers. Note the special pride the Tribune takes in mentioning that Mike’s a Chicagoan.
March 8 - USBC Blog - Mike Phillips wins the 2009 United States Barista Championship
The USBC's official announcement of the contest – including wallpaper-sized photograph of this year’s winners.
February 4 - The New York Times - The Cafe Way
Reporter Tim McKeough spends time with Intelligentsia’s New York guys, David Latourell and Steve Mierisch, discussing the tools necessary to get coffeebar-quality coffee and espresso at home.
January 26 - LA Times Daily Dish - Intelligentsia sweeps the Western Regional Barista Competition
Deborah Netburn provides a recap of the 2009 Western Regional Barista Competition where Intelligentsia’s Nick Griffith, Devin Pedde, and Ryan Willbur captured top honors.
January 14 - Chicago Sun Times - So You Wanna Be a Barista?
Intelligentsia hosts barista training courses that are open to the public. In a quest to get better quality from his home machine, reporter Jerry Soverinsky attended a class led by Alexandra Switzer.
December 1st - Crain's Chicago Business - 40 under 40
Each year, Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago's weekly business paper, focuses on 40 area up-and-comers under the age of 40. Doug Zell, Intelligentsia's founder and CEO, was selected in 2004 and 2008 marks Geoff Watts' turn. Geoff is Intelligentsia's Vice President of Coffee, and journalist Laurie Cunningham does a good job of capturing his personality and vision.
October 27th - New York Times - Bean Town
The New York Times' Ted Botha explores the state of Specialty Coffee in New York City and finds many coffeebars of all shapes and sizes. Places like Southside Coffee and Gimme! Coffee have led many to conclude that New York is experiencing a coffee renaissance, with Intelligentsia playing a role in its position as "probably the country's most talked-about roaster."
October 8th - BoingBoing.net - Kyle Glanville reports from Fazenda Conquista in Brazil
With over 300,000 unique visitors per day, 900,000 page views and over 1,000,000 RSS subscribers, Boing Boing is one of the most popular sites on the Internet. With a constant source of links and commentary on technology, culture, politics, free speech, and the occasional oddity, BB is one of our favorite sites on the web. Intelligentsia's Kyle Glanville has become BB TV's global coffee correspondent, and in this episode, he reports from Fazenda Conquista in Brazil.
October 3rd - LA City Beat - Best of Real LA
CityBeat, Los Angeles' alternative weekly, devoted its September 25th edition to finding the things that make each of the city's neighborhoods special, unique, and decidedly LA. They made a great choice in Silver Lake: "Intelligentsia's first California location presents the coffeehouse experience at its most genteel: by-the-cup brewing for freshness that challenges the limits of human experience, a custom-built espresso machine, and a heroic import agreement with Delilah's and Bread Bar to make sure the sweets on sale are supporting other local businesses."
September 22nd - Citysearch.com - "Best of" Awards
Citysearch.com conducts a yearly contest to determine the "best of the best" in cities across the US. The categories vary by community and year, but Los Angelenos were asked to select their favorite coffee in the 2008 competition. When the voting ended, Intelligentsia's Silver Lake coffeebar was selected as the "Audience and Editorial" winner. We are proud of our Los Angeles baristas and cannot thank them enough for all their hard work. Thanks for showing them your support and appreciation.
We would also like to congratulate Diesel Café in Boston and Joe's Coffee in Atlanta for their awards.
September 17th - Saveur Magazine October 2008 edition - 9 of the World's Best Coffees
Saveur Magazine sampled more than 100 coffees from around the world and chose Intelligentsia’s Hacienda La Esmeralda as one of the nine best.
August 28th - Edible LA - "Best coffee in the world"?
In Issue #1 of Edible LA, Caroline Kim discusses Intelligentsia's Silver Lake coffeebar, our Direct Trade Program, and Kyle Glanville's performance at the United States Barista Championship. Is our coffee "the best in the world"? We'll let you be the judge.
August 27th - Time Out New York - Review of Intelligentsia Customers
Elizabeth Oakes' review of the independent coffee scene mentions two locations serving Intelligentsia Coffee: Café Grumpy and the Blue Spoon Coffee Company. While Blue Spoon was noted for a great au lait, Café Grumpy brewed up our Limoncillo, Nicaragua Cup of Excellence: 2nd Place for the author. Intelligentsia is proud to be served at both coffeebars and we look forward to many good things in New York City.
August 18th - Food & Wine - Best U.S. Coffee Bar
In Food and Wine's 30th Anniversary issue, the magazine's editors selected Intelligentsia as a one of the "Best U.S. Coffee Bars." Author Nick Pandolfi notes that Intelligentsia is "one of the most respected coffee roasters in the country… (and) was among the fist to seek out individual growers, cutting out the middlemen." We couldn't have put it any better. We celebrate Food and Wine's good taste and wish them another successful 30 years.
August 15th - Intelligentsia Coffee and Slow Food Nation
Intelligentsia Coffee will be participating in Slow Food Nation in San Francisco from August 29 – September 1. We will be part of the Tasting Pavilion within the pier at Fort Mason where guests can also sample Beer, Bread, Charcuterie, Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee, Fish, Honey & Preserves, Ice Cream, Native Foods, Olive Oil, Pickles & Chutney, Spirits, Tea and Wine from producers around the United States.
Slow Food Nation is a subsidiary non-profit of Slow Food USA and part of the international Slow Food movement. It was created to organize the first-ever American collaborative gathering to unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair. The first annual event of Slow Food Nation takes place on Labor Day 2008 in San Francisco with enjoyable, accessible and educational activities for all Americans. Slow Food Nation is dedicated to creating a framework for deeper environmental connection to our food and aims to inspire and empower Americans to build a food system that is sustainable, healthy and delicious. Intelligentsia Coffee supports the mission of this very worthwhile organization and we look to follow their principles in the operation of our own business.
July 15th - American Express - Commercial featuring Doug Zell
Doug Zell has been a cardmember for many years now and Intelligentsia uses American Express company-wide, so when Amex asked him to participate in a commercial, he agreed with only slight hesitation. Here you have Doug in the Newark airport at like 3AM after many, many takes, looking to "catch a flight to San Francisco". He said that the whole experience was "otherworldly" and we appreciate American Express asking us to partner with them in such a prominent way. The exposure is nice, and if even one person chooses to explore Specialty Coffee after seeing the Intelligentsia Coffee name, we consider it a worthy endeavor.