1: Intelligentsia House Blend
Trendy Intelligentsia coffee isn’t worth the steep price.
Katherine Peach/CNET
Intelligentsia is a Chicago-founded roaster that’s become a widespread specialty coffee brand in grocery stores coast to coast. At $20 for a 12-ounce bag of whole beans at my local Brooklyn grocery store, Intelligentsia House Blend coffee can be considered an investment. The lack of a “roasted by” date on the bag, however, means freshness is a gamble. This tester ended up with a whisper of flavor with three months left on the “best by” date. It lacked any noticeable tasting notes, potentially due to an overstay in the grocery aisle. The Intelligentsia House Blend bag also lacks any tasting note descriptors or instructions whatsoever on the packaging.
Even with low expectations, the beans still produced a bland cup of coffee, firmly placing it in the “low” category. If you’re interested in drinking Intelligentsia coffee,
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