I grew up with coffee as an ever present beverage in the hands of my great grandmother, grandparents, and my father. It was with coffee that you started the day and often what kept you going. I had my first cup around ten or eleven years old and have been drinking it ever since. It wasn’t until my first year in college that I began to see coffee as something more than a quick pick me up or a black liquid inside a ceramic mug beside my breakfast. A friend introduced me to coffee made in a French press. The process of heating the water, grinding and steeping the beans, and then the physical press of the device was incredibly captivating. I can’t say how or why, but it was. It was in that friend’s apartment, on that fall evening that I can point to as the turning point for my relationship with coffee.

I am slightly older now and my understanding of coffee is that it is not a commodity that is made and disposed of in under seven minutes. Rather, it is an artisanal craft with varieties of growing methods, roasts, brewing devices, and social structures that reside within. In recent years there has been a movement in the coffee industry referred to as the “Third Wave” where coffee growers, buyers, and roasters are elevating the status of coffee in the public sphere. Intelligentsia are one of the big three shops in the United States that have been doing a large part in this elevation of coffee. No pun intended.

Chicago is fortunate enough to have four Intelligentsia locations. One in Millennium Park on Randolph and Wabash, one on Broadway, one inside the Monadnock Building, and most recently inside the Merchandise Mart on the Near North Side. While I have only visited two of them, the Broadway and Millennium Park locations, I am confident that the quality of the coffee and level of service at the other two are equal. The Millennium Park location is one that sees a lot of foot traffic and seems to have a faster work pace due to its location in the bustling Loop. Intelligentsia on Broadway has a much more relaxed feel thanks to the rustic, wooded decor which contrasts the Millennium Park location’s slick, modern look.

Design and decor are great, but, a coffee shop is nothing without quality, delicious tasting coffee and Intelligentsia delivers. With single origin, seasonal offerings from Panama to Mexico and blended roasts like “El Diablo” and their “Sugar Glider” espresso. But, let us not forget that drinking the coffee is the last step in a far reaching process. While you wait for your coffee to be served to you, you can watch the baristas craft your drink. Their fluidity and proficiency behind the espresso machine is inspiring to a nerd like myself. The calmness with which they brew using a Chemex or a Hario V60 dripper (the manual equivalents to a Mr. Coffee drip pot) gives me insight, just by watching, on how I can improve my brewing technique when I’m at home. Intelligentsia is accessible to patrons of all types, from the chronic Starbucks drinker to police officers and business persons. It feels like a safe space where you can enjoy your drink, converse with your friends or do work and not have to worry about anything hindering you from enjoying your day.

By now, you may be asking yourself “yeah, but how does the coffee taste?”  Well, I can answer that.  In one word? Great.  In many words?  Well, I can start saying that this or that coffee has notes of blueberry, bergamot, or honey, but I won’t bore you with that in this post.  Intelligentsia has coffee making down to a science, as well as an art form.  Every cup has the right balance of water to coffee and is given to you at a temperature that doesn’t force you to set it on the table and wait a few minutes to take your first sip.  If you like it black or with soy or whole milk, you will be pleased with what what you ordered, whether it comes out of a demitasse or a cappuccino cup.  If you especially like what you sat down and sipped, you can ask the staff what beans were used and you can more than likely purchase a bag for yourself to take home.

Each location is easily accessible by car or a number of CTA options. In my opinion, it is definitely a place that helps prop up the local coffee scene, among a heap of other shops and small roasters. They are a great resource for learning about the coffee process thanks to their tours and barista classes at their roasting works on West Fulton. If you are interested in coffee in any form, Intelligentsia is the perfect place to start because of its fair pricing, accessibility and instant familiarity.