- Published: Thursday, September 29, 2016 04:46 PM
On National Coffee Day, we’d like to shine a spotlight on Chicago-based coffee roaster Intelligentsia. Intelligentsia pioneered the Direct Trade purchasing model in which they source directly from coffee roasters and incentivize high-quality cups.
Doug Zell and Emily Manage first opened Intelligentsia Coffee’s doors on Broadway Avenue on Chicago’s North Side in October of 1995. Since then they have expanded from coast to coast, opening shops in LA and New York City.
They have earned several awards for their work and in 2016 were recognized on Thrillist’s list of best coffee roasters in the country.
Intelligentsia works with farmers and coffee producers in 20 countries to develop high quality beans.