Intelligentsia Coffee

It has been a pleasure to come here literally everyday after work and enjoy a delicious Cappuccino, or Mocha Latte as my regular daily drinks. Too bad this Intelligentsia at the Herald Square location wont be open. Today is the last day it will be open for the public. I hope I can find another place near by with the same outlook and coffee quality I would love to thank each one of the barista staff from Intelligentsia for being so nice and friendly to me, also for making my drink look nice and taste delicious. (Lol) Thank you all it was great meeting all of you.
«Hasta Pronto»!
Antoinette

Where do I begin? Almost at a loss for words, as this location is closing its doors for good tomorrow :(
Best cold brew in the entire city. Hands down. And yes, I’m including Stumptown in saying this. Truly remarkable customer service — every barista here is friendly, personable, always smiling a GENUINE smile, — not to mention the fact that every one of them knows their sh*t when it comes to making a «damn fine cup of coffee,» to quote Agent Dale Cooper.
The fine folks of this establishment made my workday brighter. I will truly miss you guys :(

Have you ever felt like you wanted to «treat yo self»? If the answer is yes, consider going to Intelligentsia Coffee. It is definitely not cheap by any means if you’re just looking for a cup of coffee. Expect to pay minimally $ 4 for any coffee beverage.
At Intelligentsia, they brew your coffee with the chemex coffee maker. It is really quite cool and I’ve never been anywhere with something similar. I think this in its own is a bit of an experience. The overall brew that I had was quite good as well. I can’t remember the name but it did not really have a sour or buttery after taste.
Go occasionally, when you need a little pick me upper.

Stopped in here to get out of the cold with a friend and picked up some coffees. I thought it strange that the coffee shop was connected to the Urban Outfitters but there’s not much you can do about it. Coffees were a good pick me up but the shop was kind of deceiving by seeming spacious at first but not having much seating.
I probably won’t go out of my way to come back here but if I’m in the area I may stop by again.

In this part of town, it is pretty hard to find decent coffee, so I am pretty happy that this place exists in a coffee desert, this is an oasis.
The coffee shop is located inside one of the nicer Urban Outfitters. This store is never severely packed with people, lots of room to roam around. They even have charging areas, in case your cell phone is going to die.
On a cold and dreary winter Saturday, I found myself in here, relaxing and powering up for the rest of the night.
I ordered a soy latte and they offered me almond milk, and I was ok with that. I also got a ginger snap cookie to go along with the coffee. The coffee was made right, no burnt taste, and almond milk was fine. When a cup of third wave joe is made right, no need to ever add sugar. It is mild and less acidic, for those that have stomach issues (like myself).
The ginger snap cookie was one of the best I have had in a long time. Moist, and just the right size. Each morsel released more and more endorphins in me.
I ended up loitering for an hour in here, my tummy filled with sweets and my brain caffeinated. Too bad no bathrooms here, but I guess people have to leave sometime right?

BF and I strolled into Intelligentsia after perusing UO. I opted for the chai latte, he opted for a regular latte. Let me tell you — there are fewer things in life more dreamy and satisfying than expertly steamed milk. When you take a sip of your espresso drink and get that delightfully airy, yet creamy and flavorful foam on top, you know it’s the real deal. Hat tip to the awesome baristas who know their stuff. I’m a fan of Intelligentsia!
My only «complaint» is a slight lack of seating — not an issue on a calm Sunday afternoon, but I can imagine a crowd on weekdays.

Came here for a quick pick me up latte. The staff is friendly and the service is fast
I did find it weird that this is located inside an Urban Outfitters.
The latte was acceptable, but it is pricey. I probably wouldn’t come back again.

I almost didn’t come to this location because of the complaints that it was inside of a Urban Outfitters. As if that matters. This is great stinken coffee. The design of the bar is really cool and it in a separate space connected to the store.
At the end of the day the price you pay will result in some of the best coffee you will ever drink. Latte art was beautiful and espresso was on point. I will be back.

So, this place is definitely pricey. But it has the PERFECT cup of coffee. After only 3 hours’ worth of sleep, I was looking to meet up with my sister to shop around in the neighborhood. When I don’t make my own coffee, I Unilocal for a good cup because I’d rather pay more instead of walk over to McDonald’s for a dollar cup.
Anyhow, this place is cute, like a lab. No hipster in sight, though this is attached to an Urban Outfitters.
My coffee was superb. It was the perfect blend of hot and spicy. Yup, spicy. It kept me going for the day.

I’ve never been to the Chicago home base, so I can’t compare, but this one is solid. So what if it’s inside of the Urban Outfitter’s building. In fact, I’m jealous of the UO staff for having access to such great coffee each day. The space is a bit small to sprawl out and get comfortable (is this possible anywhere in NYC?) but perfect as a stop in before the work commute.
The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it just did not live up to the hype. I expected to ascend to a higher plane upon my first sip. Also, something about this location felt mildly sterile and devoid of feeling. Like the baristas’ hearts weren’t in it. This may seem absolutely petty but when you see people working with coffee at this level (assuming they went through extensive Intelli training) you’d think they wouldn’t be slinging the stuff with such defeated dead-​eyed stares.

Let me start by saying Intelligentsia really has some of the best coffee I have ever tasted (I specifically love Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore for serving their brews in a french press), but boy oh boy was I disappointed in this location.
It’s attached to an Urban Outfitters — that should have been my first hint to just grab a coffee to go & be on my merry way. I was hungry though so I grabbed a pre-​made shrimp ceasar salad — worst choice ever. I had 3 bites and literally gagged — it was awful and I ended up tossing it.

Simply: wow.
I hate to be a hater, but I’ve never been a huge fan of Chicago. I can tell you why but we don’t have time for that. Hence, as Intelligentsia prides itself in its native windy-​city origins (which have – now – understandably expanded to cities such as LA or NYC), I felt no gravitational pull towards its beans. Besides, on this side of La Colombe, life is oh so very sweet.
If there’s one thing Chicago does right, it’s this (or maybe it was all just the craft of the barista?). I’m usually a black coffee type of gal. That’s my go-​to when I try new coffee because it’s what I’ll end up drinking if I’m bought in to enjoy the beans. However, partly because it was a post-​9 hour work day, and partly because I just like to partake in psychedelic coffee experiences, I ordered a macchiato ($ 3.75).
It took a while to come out, and I don’t think it’s because they were backlogged in the barista department. This guy was taking his time for MY benefit. This proved to be true as he carefully placed the macchiato on the counter with the appropriate glass of water. It wasn’t sparkling, but I most definitely appreciated the gesture nonetheless. It automatically made them look far superior than any standard coffee shop that lacks in the «craft coffee» department. (We are talking a lot about departments here because it is alluding to the location of this joint.)
Being semi-​located in a brand new Urban Outfitters, however, has its downsides. I took my seat at a barstool facing a window. The window overlooked the inside of the Urban Outfitters, so I was able to see the blasé Urban employee refolding the men’s quilted trouser pants in the color slate as I took a sip of my water. Well by the time he finished, I tried the exquisitely perfected macchiato. I have a hard time drinking macchiato sometimes, but it has definitely grown on me. This one was just enough bitter to keep me wanting more, and that hasn’t happened until this moment.
Of course, this was simultaneously being sipped on as the typical Urban clientele browsed through the contents of the store in such drab movements. While this was slightly off-​putting, I thoroughly enjoyed this macchiato.

Not the best cold brew, but decent.
The place itself is reasonably nice (they fit a lot of counter seating in a relatively small space). It’s also inside an Urban Outfitters, so… there’s that.
They also have salads and sandwiches for sale made in-​house by Markt. Didn’t try any of it though, though the made-​to-​order salads looked decent.

After a horrific and disappointly week, it ended with a visit to Herald Square. With a beloved blood relation we came to Intelligentsia in hopes of achieving an inner calm. The moment of stillness. Two hot Green teas were prepared traditional Chinese style like professional Chinese tea masters by use of a thermometer attached to the water kettle. The white cups were rinsed by boiling hot water turning 360 degrees. Traditional loose tea leaves were used for serving as opposed to the standard fast food version– tea bags. Brown sugar is available. No regular white sugar. While waiting for my tea to be prepared, another patron received his Latte complete adorned with a signature Latte leaf. Nice. They carry my favorite– Chocolate Chip cookie (no nuts) $ 2.85 plus a fruit salad $ 5.50. Our bill totalled $ 16.00 (with tax).
Seating is very limited. There are stools and counters but no tables and no chairs. Space is small. Service is very attentive and polite.

Last few years I’ve become a fairly plain coffee drinker; hot Americano, black.
Intelligentsia coffee has great flavor in their coffee it’s distinct, mild, and extremely smooth! It’s no wonder the brand is spreading quickly across major cities!
Give them a try and you won’t regret it.

My fiancée and I were in the Herald Square area today and decided we had to stop by. The cold brew is ridiculous. Very little acidity and full flavored. If you’ve never had a cold brew before I definitely recommend you try it. It will change your life.

Bravo for a midtown coffee pit stop… but pls remove the hipster wannabe hats. The reason it works @ stumptown at the ace because those hipsters would actually wear a hat when they leave the café… Not just when wearing it as a «uniform».
The cappuccinos were nice but not blow me away amazing. Mine was made on 2% & the cappuccino wasn’t well made. The art disintegrated after one sip (see pic of it in the breakfast sandwich pic) & just lacked substance.
Disappointing when we know the calibre served in the Chicago mothership. The food on the other hand looked great. Fresh, healthy & yum. The breakfast sandwich was yum! It is new (1 month old) & maybe it’s just kinks that need to be ironed out… I would def come back because it’s so convenient when shopping in/​around Macy’s & the staff were all friendly… especially the dude at the salad station.

Welcome to Herald Square :) this stretch of lunch deli and greasy pizza wasteland has needed good coffee for a LONG time haha.
This Intelligentsia outpost, along with the Urban Outfitters it’s housemates with, opened last Saturday.

I’m not sure where to start — with the staff, I suppose. They are, by far, some of the friendliest and genuine people I’ve ever met across a counter. 5 stars.
Now as for what I ordered — a plum blossom oolong tea and a chocolate chip cookie. The cookie was pricey, but very good. It’s easy to forget about the great potential of the simple chocolate chip cookie, but this one excels.
As to the tea — I don’t think I’ve ever had a more finely-​balanced flavor profile. Every single ingredient had a purpose and made itself clear, without overpowering. It took a whole to reach me though. This would have bugged me, but it still came at the perfect temperature, and with a second, free cookie to compensate. 4.5 stars.
Lastly, the atmosphere — a bit hip, a bit hipster, my only complaint is that it shares a glass wall with some kind of faux-​artsy Urban Outfitters warehouse or something. 4 stars.
Next time, I’ve really got to try those breakfast sandwiches.
UPDATE: I tried a breakfast sandwich! Now $ 5.50 is a lot for a ham egg and cheese. But you know what? That was a REALLY good sandwich.

What a pleasant surprise to find this new location!
It’s right next to one of the b/​d/​f/​m subway entrances at herald square and open & airy. And actually has a pretty vast selection of food & cold pressed juices.
What actually brought me here was their intelli egg cream was featured in a ny times article and sounded amazingly delicious. Thank you NY Times because you were right, it almost tasted like a milikshake, but had chocolatey frothy notes and a clear hit of coffee. I loved it.
The location is also really bright and airy and the staff are some of the nicest I have encountered.