INFORMATION QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where do you roast your coffee?
Our roastery and packaging facility is located in Chicago, IL where we always roast to order.
Is coffee, like produce, seasonal?
Yes! And like seasonal produce, coffee is best when it is freshest from the farms on which it is grown. In fact, we refer to our two annual coffee buying periods as seasons, each of which corresponds with the peak of harvest in a different part of the world. Across most of the Northern Hemisphere, the harvest is busiest during our winter months, and we introduce these northern season coffees to our menu beginning in the spring. Southern Hemisphere coffees are generally harvested in late spring and early summer, and these southern season coffees find their way onto our menu starting in the fall. Regardless of the season, we mark all our freshest single-origin coffees as 'In Season' to let you know they are less than nine calendar months removed from harvest. You can learn more here.
Where are you currently sourcing your coffee?
Intelligentsia sources coffee from dozens of Direct Trade suppliers in 14 countries around the world. Our Northern Season origins are located in North America and East Africa: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Our Southern Season origins are located in South America and Central Africa: Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Peru, and Rwanda.
How do you make sure your farmers are paid fairly?
We address this through our commitment to direct trade, a structure that promotes monetary transparency, socially and environmentally progressive practices, and strong relations with farmers by directly working with them. Read more about our direct trade practices here.
Are your coffees certified organic?
We always carry USDA certified organic single origins, blends, espressos, and decaf coffee. See here.
INFORMATION ABOUT US