Intelligentsia Coffee, Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee - Black Cat Analog 12 Ounce Bag

I’ve been buying Intelligentsia Black Cat Analog for quite a while now, and that alone says a lot. Most coffees come and go, but this one has become my regular morning espresso. For years, I stopped at Dunkin’ and later Starbucks. Once I started making this at home with my Breville espresso machine, I found myself looking forward to my morning coffee even more. These days, I’d rather make a shot of this than make a coffee run. The flavor is rich, smooth, and balanced without tasting burnt or bitter. It consistently produces a beautiful crema and makes a coffee-shop-quality espresso at home. What surprised me most is that I don’t feel like I’m settling by staying home. I genuinely prefer the taste of this coffee, and I’ve been buying far fewer coffees out as a result. Pros * Rich, smooth flavor * Excellent crema * Consistently fresh beans * Great for home espresso Cons * More expensive than grocery-store coffee If you’re a regular Dunkin’ or Starbucks customer and have an espresso machine at home, this coffee is worth trying. It’s one of the few I’ve purchased repeatedly because I genuinely enjoy it more than most coffee-shop espresso drinks

I've been brewing this in my Aeropress for a while now, and it's become a favorite. this is a lovely coffee -- velvety smooth, slightly sweet, creamy flavor with perfect notes of brightness. it's not too dark, not too acidic, not too *anything.* deep without bitterness, crisp without too much acidity. very quaffable! medium roast, great packaging, no woody, dank or off-notes. the bag seals back up easily. check the roasting date when you get yours to make sure it's fresh (although I think the kinks have been ironed out here). grind right before brewing. I think you'll be happy.

Ordered it on a whim, then read the reviews and wasn't sure what to think. The coffee arrived, the "best by" date is 4 months away, so.. not super fresh but not expired. Then I made a couple pots.. I love it! I'd give it an A, definitely. No complaints, wonder how much better it would be if it were fresh. I'm considering making it a go to favorite.

My review is for medium roast espresso flavor. That's ok coffee, with good aroma, taste is light and with strong bitter notes. Biggest problem for these beans is relative long on the shelf time - mine were roasted in May and I bought them in Aug. That result in a weak concentration of oils, thus thin crema. To get at least average quality I had to increase grinding size and do pre phase with a low flow/pressure, plus increase shot time. All this compared to my regular beans supplier that is out for the summer. Overall it's ok for the money, but definitely far from roasted to order

I'm a little bit of a coffee snob. I tried this brand/flavor more than a year ago and loved it so much that I have stopped buying other brands altogether. In fact, I love it so much that I'm saving the bags to sew them into a fashionable tote bag.