IntelligentsiaCoffee, Light Roast Whole Bean Coffee - Black Cat Classic Espresso 12 Ounce Bag

Ordered it on a whim, then read the reviews and wasn't sure what to think. The coffee arrived, the "best by" date is 4 months away, so.. not super fresh but not expired. Then I made a couple pots.. I love it! I'd give it an A, definitely. No complaints, wonder how much better it would be if it were fresh. I'm considering making it a go to favorite.

I'm not really a big coffee aficionado so I can't personally attest to the flavor profile. I did not see a roast date on my package which many people commented on in their reviews. The beans were not dried and shriveled up like on other reviews.I used 2 cups of beans which wasn't even half the bag, so hopefully this bag is good for a month of use in a 1 person/1.5 cups per day household. I mostly got this as a way to stop paying for the canned harbucks coffees in the stores which are absurdly costly and take time out of my week to get. 10$/mo is a lot better than 90$ for the cans. The cold brew did not produce a black color which shocked my coworker, but the flavor was very high after a short 11 hour brew. The flavor is significant dulled after a shot of milk and vanilla. Both my taste testers thought the coffee was great.Coffee grounds are great for composting (green material) and your coffee bean grinder can also grind dried disinfected eggshells.

I really didn’t want to believe the reviews so I ordered this coffee despite the bad reviews. We had this type of coffee in Chicago years ago and it was amazing. So amazing that I have never forgotten it. Unfortunately this is not the same thing and something is terribly wrong with these beans. There is literally zero flavor. With my normal coffee I usually use 5 scoops to make a 12oz batch. The first batch of Intelligentsia I used 5 scoops and it was literally like water. I tried 7 scoops and it’s still very bland- I can’t taste any underlying hints of flavor the way I could from our yummy Intelligentsia coffee in Chicago. Anyways, I’ve now made only a few pots and the whole bag is gone- wasted half of it trying to get it to be strong enough- and I won’t be buying again. Sidenote- the beans are BONE dry. Not sure if that could have anything to do with it but most coffee beans have a bit of oil residue to them. Do not recommend if you’re looking for true intelligentsia coffee. If you like hot tea, that’s basically what this will give you.

Pros:Very complexRichExcellent for doubles and triplesCons:A bit expensiveMerely adequate for singlesOverall:I very much like Black Cat Espresso. I consider it the bar against which other espressos are measured. I like it more than Kicking Horse, Lavazza, and Stumptown. Its flavor profile is very complex. It has its fair share of caramel and chocolate, but it also has a spicy, savory nature to it, and very fruity notes that come out well in singles.This is not a large-scale, homogenized coffee. Different regions and roasts result in different flavors from each bag. Sometimes that spiciness becomes a sort of salty flavor, and the fruits can turn very flowery. It is an easy espresso to make. Even shots that aren't perfect come out tasting pretty good. It's also a forgiving blend in that the shots are not prone to channeling.Singles are good, because any good coffee becomes light and toasty in a single, as opposed to the rich, crema-bombs of doubles and triples. Still, this espresso is very much intended for doubles or triples.In drip coffee, it's alright. And by drip, I mean any immersion process, be it French press, Aeropress, drip, pour-over, etc. The flavors get blown out, with the spices overwhelming the chocolates and caramels and resulting in a coffee that's not terribly smooth. Of the immersion processes, Aeropress tasted the best, probably because it most closely approximates espresso.Black Cat is a bit expensive, but not terribly so. Especially when one considers the increases in coffee as of late, -even Starbucks Tribute was $14 per pound- the price isn't crippling, but it is definitely above many other brands. You can save a little money by buying in five-pound bulks on Intellgentsia's website, but it's not a good idea to keep coffee beans around for that long when you can just as easily get it fresh.All said, Black Cat is espresso that more often than not finds its way into my machine.UPDATE:Something that I forgot to mention in my initial review is that Black Cat is a very complex blend. That means that cheap stepped grinders WILL NOT grind the coffee correctly for espresso. Some higher-end stepped grinders will do the job, like the Rancilio Rocky, but you'll want a good, stepless grinder to fine-tune the grind. This is especially important if you have an espresso machine that's very picky about grind.Finally, this is not a terribly cremariffic espresso, which means to get a good amount of crema out of it, and thus really have a good canvas for latte art, you're going to have to prepare triples.UPDATE #2 ABOUT WEIGHT:It is very important to realize that the various sellers selling this are NOT SELLING THE SAME PRODUCT. The beans are the same, and most of the sellers are selling freshly-roasted beans. They are selling different weights, though. Need Caffeine is selling one-pound bags (16oz), whereas Trade Concepts and Abernook are selling 12oz bags for the same price.If different sellers than the above mentioned become available, e-mail the seller to ask the weight of the bag. It's the only way to ensure that you are getting a full pound. This is supposed to be the product page for the full-pound bag. That's why there is a separate product page for the 120z bag. I am very disappointed in Trade Concepts and Abernook.

I’m not a coffee snob. I can’t tell you if these beans have hints of caramel, leather, or “equestrian." I’m just a guy with a Breville Barista Pro, a caffeine habit, and a love for a solid dark roast. These beans hit the spot. Bold, rich, and reliable. They make a great espresso and hold up well in an iced americano too.That said, I’m not loving the new packaging. I’ll admit it—I’m a label guy (same with wine), and the old design was way more appealing. If I had seen the current branding on the shelf, I probably would’ve kept walking.

reviews of coffee are clearly subjective as people like different flavors, but I read the label speaking of "dark chocolate, raw sugar and marshmallow" and I was like "sign me up!". I, however, was not able to taste these flavor notes in my espresso. There were hints of dark chocolate, but i tasted way more lemon and heavy sour flavors. I was able to moderate this someone by using the finest setting on my bean grinder, but it only brought me up to thinking this coffee was 'so-so'. I think the beans were of a high quality and arrived fresh, so I'm going to try other blends from Intelligentsia with either a medium/dark or dark roast as a comparison.

These beans were delicious and fresh. I am extremely happy I tried these. It took a little to dial in at first as it was a little sour. I had to grind a little finer and pull a 1:2.5 ratio (18g in, 45g out) with a 30s bloom on my espresso and the flavor was magical! If you have the money, time, and patience to try this coffee, I strongly recommend it!