Intelligentsia Coffee

I am a regular here since they opened. I love the many blends of coffee, the latte is great and I’ve bought all my own paraphernalia for home as well. the kids that work here are stellar. it is definitely my 2^nd or 3^rd place in the hood. if I don’t go for a couple of days I miss it! I’m definitely home here and the people make that possible.

This was my first café stop in Chicago ever. First thing I noticed was the décor. The walls are light and feature a Chicago map. Also, they have a huge Speed Racer print hanging up. YES. The two baristas were incredibly friendly and let us sample some brews for flavor profiles prior to ordering. They even gave us one of our drinks for free because «hey, it’s Monday.»
This particular location has a bar that wraps around the brewing area in the center of the café. I really enjoyed that aspect because I could watch all the magic happen; as a former barista myself it’s truly a pleasure to watch perfect cups of coffee/​tea being expertly created. One barista chatted with my s/​o and I about all things fancy about coffee. I wish I could remember his name to give him a shoutout for being so well-​versed and passionate for his craft. Such a great guy.
They have lots of blends and single origin beans and a TON of badass swag to take home. I’ll definitely be back when I’m in the Windy City! Great work gents.

Love Intelligentsia Coffee, but in particular… I am obsessed with this location!
Such a sleek, modern, clean coffee shop with friendly baristas. I love the bar stool seating here that makes you feel like you’re at a local bar, but instead of downing your thoughts with alcohol, you’re feeding off amazing caffeine filled drinks they have to offer.
The espresso and coffee offered at Intelligentsia is top notch. You can really tell that they care about the drink they are preparing for you. I went here right after brunch, so I was already loaded up on coffee. I decided to go for tea instead, which I really enjoyed how they prepped it for you. While, I thought the tea itself a bit light in flavor — I like more of a bold taste — I still enjoyed my glasses.
If I lived in Chicago, I would be here daily with my laptop and pretend I’m working on something important (since I’m not longer in school).

I love coffee. I love freshly roasted, high quality coffee that is expertly roasted by a mustached-​hermano. Ideally, this is the right place.
Intelligentsia displays the inspiration of many Midwest and East Coast roasters, which this classical pawn truly dominates. I had a Red-​roast, that was pure and delightful.
I wish I didn’t live over 250 miles away, or I’d be a regular!

I was really excited to have an intelligentsia near me. The staff is very nice and unpretentious. How ever I was really disappointed when I found out that they buy all their pastries from Starbucks every morning.

Extremely attentive and knowledgable baristas and I love mineral water so I appreciate that they serve it.

On my most recent trip to Chicago, I visited 3 Cafes. Intelligentsia, despite its size and reach in the Chicago area as being «over» in the eyes of the hippest and most discerning coffee lovers, I had a great time and it ranked the highest to me. Each coffee location is different but the quality of the coffee, staff and preparation methods offered were top-​notch. I wish a café was like this in my area although the $ 42 a month I currently spend on beans would be greatly increased at the $ 4 a cup they’re charging for a pour-​over to-​go. That is the price of convenience.
Overal:
I had a fantastic time for an hour talking to baristas and watching them make coffee. The setup is very similar to Sight glass in San Francisco. A spacious rectangle with points of sale and coffee making equipment all around. You can sit down, a barista takes your order and prepares your coffee to order. I would love to work at this location because every thing was so well thought out. Hardware for making coffee (Chemex, kettles, cups) were stored in an easy to reach hanging shelf at the center of the setup. A hot water dispenser was available to fill a kettle and there were different grinders for each of the brewing methods offered.
Espresso:
Fantastic. Dense, thick, creamy but maybe a bit too sweet for my liking. I’d give it a ⁷⁄₁₀ and the body of the espresso fell apart much faster than I would have expected.
Soy Chai Latte:
Well done! The steamed almond milk didn’t do a lot to modify the quality of the tea a bit and actually sat on top of most of the tea-​goodness and added a bit of texture and sweetness on every sip. ⁸⁄₁₀
Pour-​Over with a single origin bean from Kenya:
This brew was done with a Chemex + Paper filter and a non-​familiar gooseneck kettle I hadn’t seen before. I actually ended up taking this coffee to go so I could sip on it for a while because it was so good! Smooth, zero acidity and that trend lately where third wave roaster use half of the beans per water you’d think they would so that the drinker can pickup «nuance» was nowhere to be found. This was a very dark brew that had taste and kick. I don’t know why cafes are using less beans per ounce these days beyond «nuance» because the coffee just ends up tasting like tea. This was done right. ⁹⁄₁₀ for presentation, preparation and overall quality of the cup! I even bought a bag to go.
Pastries:
I had 2 pastries, both were excellent. I can’t even remember what they were called. One was scone-​like and tons of really moist berries, ⁹⁄₁₀
I’d return to this location over and over again. I’ve had Intelligentsia beans before, sometimes fresh and sometimes not. This café did a great job of showcasing the bean quality with a lot of choices. Price though was a bit on the high end.

Friggin love this coffee. Cute little place, helped right away. Worth the money for the coffee — especially if you can be a coffee snob like me.
Wish there was an Intelligentsia near me in DC!

Service here is friendly in this clean but small Intelligentsia store. But I think $ 4.25 may be the most I’ve ever paid for a 16 oz. drip coffee.
As Logan Square is flooded with hip restaurants (with millions in investment banker backing), shops are happy to drain your wallet. I used to bemoan living in Logan Square in 2002, when there was nothing around. But now there’s no turning back. Food and drink options are nice, to a point, but $ 17 for a pound of coffee and over $ 4 for a cup of drip coffee are de rigeur here. Good luck trying to hold onto your hard earned cash, dual income families and Hipsters.

I walk in and the barista asked me, «what can I get started for you?» I respond, «a large chai tea latte made w/​soy.» I pay my bill and the barista hands me a medium. I tell him I asked for a large. He doesn’t say anything to me and looks at the curly hair female cashier and says, «what did u charge her for?» She tells him a medium. That’s it they were done with me. Went about there business cleaning up the counter. I was a regular but I’ll never step foot in here again. Too many other options to settle for stank attitude.

Tenth stop on Chicago caffeine crawl.
The main question here is, why does this Intelli have such a lower rating than the other locations? I personally found it to be quite pleasing. Like usual (I’m not a very picky person) I didn’t really find anything to complain about. Other than its kind of expensive. (My NotNeutral Intelligentsia 20^th Anniversary cup was like 20 bucks.) And the baristas had cooler beards than I do. And it’s like 400 miles away from where I live. And they haven’t realized that I’m a special customer and began delivering coffee every morning via some kind of teleporting drone or something.
One of the things I like about Intelligentsia is design. Intelligentsia should start a design company. Mercedes recently made it possible to get a Mercedes designed house or apartment. Why not have an Intelligentsia designed house or apartment? Sound like a plan? Good.
On a more coffee related note, I had coffee here. It was made in a café solo which produced a French press-​like cup. French press is not my favorite, but I enjoyed this all the way down to the bottom of the cup, where there were some grounds residing. Actually I needed coffee for a long drive ahead of me and this did the trick quite well.
You can park across the street and don’t bother to feed the parking meter. Unless the police dislike you more than they did me.

I’m a huge fan of Intelligentsia’s Logan Square location. The atmosphere is casual but professional, and the staff is knowledgeable and attentive without being obnoxious. It makes for a nice spot to hunker down and get some work done for an hour or two
And, of course, there’s the coffee. To say that Intelligentsia has good coffee isn’t exactly novel, but it really is my favorite coffee in the city. In particular, their espresso options (I’m a macchiato person) are really excellent.
If you’re in Logan Square and enjoy a good cup of coffee, Intelligentsia is worth your time and money.

I no longer drink coffee (alas, coffee occasionally gives me anxiety — weird, I know) but I have stopped in here a few times recently to cool off with their amazing ginger plum ice tea. I got in on a whim while waiting for my friend to use the facilities. Let’s face it, it was a little out of guilt since we went in JUST for her to use the loo.
I am so glad I did, the iced tea is superbly refreshing, a dark red, icy wonderland that sated my parched gullet. It’s not really sweet at all (I am resoundingly NOT on the sweet tea train) and has a fantastic, slightly tart, slightly warm (from the ginger I take it) flavor that dances happy circles on your tongue like Friday night square-​dancing at a barn party in Kentucky. The service is also efficient and pretty friendly, which is not always the case at coffee shacks. I had a sip of man friend’s iced coffee and it was also divine.

My three stars is based off of hate. I guess this is wrong but it is a part of my nature. I dislike certain brands and atmospheres that seem to exude «look at my status».
After some research though, I suppose I could support Intelligentsia a little more. Being a Chicago company and all.
Essentially, IC is a step above Starbucks. Starbucks opened this market that was non-​existent in the US for a long time. Once they created this third space, other coffee shops were able to set themselves apart. Either going lower end or high end. IC is the higher more expertise driven end of the coffee drinking experience.
This is a third space kind of atmosphere where your barista will engage with you as you sit at the bar area while your working on a project for work.
Not for me but I understand the draw for some people.

In terms of Rosa J.‘s lifestyle, working on Sundays has been normal for the past five (5) years. Thankfully, she had an unexpected opening shift, got off early enough, and headed to Intelligentsia of Logan Square, located in between the Spaulding and Kedzie exits of the CTA Logan Square Blue Line station.
Hubby and I were working on some paper work for the mortgage application, while enjoying our mocha and latte. You can always count on the quality of Intelligentsia coffee, for it’s bold, flavorful, and properly-​brewed by a well-​trained barista every single time.
This Intelligentsia location equips all the necessities: free wifi, comfy chairs, conversation-​friendly bar seating, and a cute patio for the summer time. I also recommend this location for solo travelers with their personal laptop or tablet. There are small «tray tables» fixed along the wall that are designed for people who intend to get stuff done instead to socialize with their peers.
Thus, this location rates a solid four (4) stars for me!

Trendy and clean. Kinda over priced though. I would call it ok. We live in the neighborhood and walk by all the time. It’s generally a place to sit with your computer and get a cup of coffee.

So helpful!
After a long day on the road we made it here right before they closed and they were just as welcoming as if it were in 8:00AM. This was great. Josh the manager took care of us and made our experience the best.
You must sit down at the bar and order from the baristas there.
They also gave us some amazing recommendations for other sweet bean in Chicago. They’re not too proud!
Thank you!
Thanks for the awesome coffee!

First trip to Intelligentsia for a pretty little latte! Great atmosphere that was quaint. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon coffee pick me up!

My brother has decided that our addiction to coffee is hereditary. All three of us get it from my Mom. So it’s basically in my genes to seek out coffee wherever I go. And if it’s a cool sleek independent coffee shop? Even better.
I’ll admit, I came here to try a flat white. But this was way before the hype. I read about the flat white in a book and googled it and found Intelligentsia would be a good place to try it.
My first visit, I chatted with the friendly Barista about the flat white and he explained the concept to me and what I ended up with was a wonderful full bodied and creamy coffee drink. I have nothing to compare it to but I liked it and so did my cousin who said it was pretty comparable to his favorite coffee shop in London where he lives.
Future visits included sitting at the counter, enjoying an espresso, this time the Persephone blend – brighter and fruitier than my usual Black Cat.
I love this space. It’s definitely made for working or relaxing. If you forget your book or kindle, there is a magazine rack with current items if you need some reading material.
One thing that I have yet to try is their Black Cat shake made with Jeni’s Splendid (another favorite brand). Weather’s warming up and I guess my DNA is programmed to seek it out soon!

Amazing. Intelligentsia stores are all good, yes, but this one in Logan Square I think is my favorite out of all locations in Chicago.
Great. GREAT environment and atmosphere. Nice use of the blue, sky blue, and white along with the clean colored countertops to make it feel very refreshing and relaxing.
Its really calm and relaxed, chill, in the store and none of the baristas were your stereotypical ‘douchy’ or ‘pretentious’ type — they are friendly, helpful, and very open.
As for the coffee itself it is amazing, I’m always a cappuccino kind of guy but anything goes well with the great range of pastries they have.
⁵⁰⁰⁄₁₀