Check-ins
Come here for
Black Cat Fizz
Black Cat Classic espresso with Fever Tree tonic water and Fee Brothers orange bitters.
Black Cat Classic Espresso
A blend of coffees from Brazil and El Salvador.
Bread Lounge Kouign Amann
A kouign amann from Bread Lounge, the coffee bar's pastry vendor.
Thursday7 AM – 6 PM
Curator’s note
Doug Zell, who had worked at Peet's in San Francisco, and Emily Mange opened Intelligentsia in Chicago's Lakeview on October 9, 1995, roasting in the store on a Probat L12 because no coffee in the city met their bar. Peet's bought a majority stake in 2015, and in August 2025 Peet's parent, JDE Peet's, agreed to an $18 billion sale to Keurig Dr Pepper.
The Coffee
Black Cat is the house espresso blend, and the single-origin bags note how long the company has worked with each producer. Intelligentsia is a financial backer and data donor for the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide and pays into World Coffee Research by the pound.
- Ethiopia Ayla Bombe SOE
Ethiopia, Bombe, Sidama region · Up to 2,150 m
- Process
- Washed
- Producer
- Ayla washing station, Testi Coffee
ripe stone fruit · fresh lime zest
- Ethiopia Kirite Washed
Ethiopia, Guji region, Oromia
- Process
- Washed
- Producer
- METAD's Kirite network
fresh peach · sweet meyer lemon · hibiscus
- Burundi Yandaro
Burundi
brown sugar · orange · dried cherry
- Colombia Santa Barbara Pink Bourbon
Colombia, Timbío, Cauca
- Varietals
- Pink Bourbon
- Process
- Washed
- Producer
- Santa Bárbara, Ruiz family (Banexport)
- Kenya Kamwangi AB
Kenya, Kirinyaga County
- Varietals
- SL-28, SL-34
- Process
- Double fermentation
- Producer
- Kamwangi Factory washing station, New Ngariama Cooperative Society
- Honduras La Tortuga Anacafe 14
Honduras, Marcala
- Varietals
- Anacafe 14
- Process
- Washed
- Producer
- Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera
florals · citrus · sweet melon
- Ethiopia Gesha Village 1931 Natural Special Selection
Ethiopia
- Process
- Natural
- Producer
- Gesha Village
strawberry · ube · tangerine
The Vibe
The room is a 2,000-square-foot Old Pasadena space Danny Wicke of Prospect Studio rebuilt in 2022, lit by laser-like strips that run wall to wall and by mirrors that bounce the light around. It runs in three zones front to back, the pastry case, the bar and a tea station, with a patio outside.
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