Intelligentsia is quite possibly the best roaster in Chicago. Their coffee is probably the richest I’ve tasted, second to but tastes close to (in my opinion) Italy’s Illy coffee based on my experience tasting Illy both here in the states and in Italy during a trip I took a couple years ago. Not only is Intelligentsia Coffee very good, but the entire culture around their stores and the way they make coffee is not like your usual roaster.
I had the opportunity to take their coffee tour a couple years ago. And a great tour it was. We got an in-depth look at their facility and the huge roasters inside that ranged from 25k – 50k or more. It was simply amazing to see these machines and to also learn how they test their coffees in their tasting room and actually saw coffee plants growing there as well. So all around it was not only a tour of their facility but we learned how well they control quality and pick their coffees around the world.
Here are a few pictures I took while at the tour. I Hope you like them.
