day9.coffee day9

Chicago · United States

Intelligentsia Coffee

Since 1995 · Doug Zell, Emily Mange

Visit website Instagram

Overview

Doug Zell and Emily Mange opened Intelligentsia on October 9, 1995 in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood as a single cafe-and-roastery on Broadway, after relocating from San Francisco where Zell had spent time at Peet's. Geoff Watts joined early and became the company's longtime director of coffee, traveling origin to build the framework that would become Intelligentsia's Direct Trade program.

Known for

  • Black Cat Espresso flagship blend, in production since 1995
  • Direct Trade program — a foundational template for the model in U.S. specialty
  • Roast Magazine Roaster of the Year (2007)
  • Vintage 1950s German cast-iron 90-kilo roasters at the Fulton Street Roasting Works
  • First major U.S. third-wave roaster to unionize (IBEW 1220, August 2022)
  • In Season subscription program for rotating single-origin lots
  • Cafes and training labs across Chicago, LA, NYC, Boston, Austin, and Seoul

Why it matters

Intelligentsia is one of the small handful of U.S. roasters that defined what third-wave specialty looks like at scale — Direct Trade as a sourcing standard, light-but-not-Nordic roasting that put the bean ahead of the brand, and a barista training culture that seeded a generation of working professionals across the industry. The 2015 Peet's/JAB acquisition and 2022 unionization vote also make it one of the clearest case studies in what happens when craft brands grow up.

Production

head roaster
null
roaster machine
Two vintage 1950s German cast-iron 90-kilo roasters; Gothot sample roaster
roastery location
Roasting Works at 1850 W. Fulton Street, Chicago (since October 2001)
annual volume tonnes
null

Café

This roaster operates a café.

Recognitions

  • Roast Magazine Roaster of the Year (2007)
  • Acquired by Peet's Coffee / JAB Holding (October 2015)
  • First U.S. third-wave coffee company to unionize (IBEW Local 1220, August 2022)

Sources

More roasters