Small. Medium. Gone.

chris gray wrote:

I'm sorry, I love Intelligensia coffee but that is utter b.s. With that same line of thought, does a magnum of wine taste like sweaty boots compared to a pocket bottle? Of course not. It's nonsense.

Uh, have you tried to drink the hours-old end of a once cold bottle of champagne? Or, maybe the last 3 ounces in a 40oz? Yeah, it does taste like dirty dishwater, and that's Zell's point. Your post is nonsensical.

Zell sources some of the best coffees in the world. If you'd rather get a $1.50 liter of cooked black bitter swill, then maybe this post is wasted on you. Pretentious? I think the phrase is "Pearls before swine." Besides, It's Zell's business. If you don't like it, move the **** along. Intelli is doing just fine without competing with 7/11 and Dunkin's.

diy wrote:

P.S. I will try out a (small) brewed coffee from "Intelligensia" some day, but I'd be willing to bet that, for all Zell's blathering about artisanal flavors and so forth, it doesn't compare favorably with a European-style espresso.

What the hell does that even mean? If you can drag yourself to an Intelli shop, order a black cat espresso, and see what a real espresso tastes like, DIY. The term "European-style espresso" is like saying "American style hamburger"- there is some good, some bad, and a whole continent in the middle. The best Barista in the country right now works for intelligentsia, and their training program is top notch. They don't use automatic machines, and you obviously have no clue what their coffees taste like, so why are you piping up, again?

Rob wrote:

What a bunch of elitist BS! If I want to drink a 20 oz latte or coffee, so be it... I guess Intelligencia won't be getting my business when I'm in the City anymore!
Did the Nanny State mentality fester into Zell's brain?

Dude, bring yer own cup ... der.

Being a "full-time" Italian, I totally agree that coffee is best had in small cups. And of course... not "to go"!

A fancy drink in the world of coffee is a 6oz trad capp or 10oz trad latte. Fancy and Starbucks don't belong in the same sentence.

Another reason why small business loses out to big chains. Rather than provide customers with a product they clearly desire, this loopy owner decides to impose his own views on the matter. When they lose out to Starbucks, who provides customers what they want, rather than what they think they should want, they should remember this and not moan and wail for people to buy local.

as to where coffee comes from here in these comments.

if you do want a huge coffee, for the caffeine and the 6oz of cream you're going to add... drink some mass produced robustas. Arabica beans are grown for their unique attributes and flavours. Roasters like intelligenstia, ritual, even starbucks (sometimes), blend them to highlite their qualities.

KMF wrote:

<quoted text>your coffee isn't any better or worse and def. isn't worth paying more or putting up with your condensation.

Didn't even know they could condensate. I'll have to watch for that next time I'm there.

Besides my snarky remark, I have three words: different target markets.

I persoanlly prefer to give my dollars to businesses that serve MY needs, not they own agenda. What elistist arrogance to decide for us what cup size is best and eliminate the best seliing size. Not to metion the whole 'beyond fair trade' argument they are perpetrating, her at the Art Insititute some are boycotting the company because of this, apparently. I predict a few intelligantsia stores just might close soon too!! Viva the Free Market!!

ah finally! a coffee company that cares more about the quality of their drinks than about a couple of extra bucks and competing with starbucks! medium sizes are already too large to really enjoy a nice cup of coffee, those enormous grande things are just caffeine drips or coffee-sodas. the point isn't size, it's to enjoy real, well made food at it's best, always. yay intelligentsia!

and all these comments about arrogance seem ill thought out - if the customer wanted burritos with their coffee, and a coffee company decided it wasn't fitting with their preferred business model or philosophy, do you call them arrogant? no, it's just not what they're about. not arrogant.

I think it's great. I personally drink espressos pulled into an ounce of water, somewhat of a short americano. The flavor is great, and it doesn't have the "ewwww bitter" taste people expect from coffee.

Ok, everybody whining please just quit it with your fat american entitled gluttony.
We are talking about of a world leader in increasing the quality of coffee, as well as knowledge about that coffee.
Everybody in Chicago, and in citys where a local cafe serves Intelligentsia should be thankful to even have coffee like this available to them.
Coffee across 99% of America is stale crap sourced and produced by people with no knowledge of that product.
Try asking some questions of the people making your coffee.
Try it at Intelligentsia and see what you get.
Answers, duh.
Learn a little about what you are consuming, and then make your decision.
Base it on quality and taste, not on value.
You are after all purchasing a luxury product.
Hence why it's "expensive"
So are fine cigars in comparison to phillies.
Get it?
Coffee just happens to be accessable to almost everybody, and even at the high end, still affordable.
So quit complaining about the price.
Your complaints are invalid in a discussion about premium goods if your taste is based on the value of cheap commodity goods.
If you want a good espresso drink, it's only going to happen in a smaller cup.
Why?
Because espresso is a small concentration of oils and solids ripped from the surface of freshly ground coffee, under the water pressure from a machine and pump.
Currently espresso machines and their accomodating accessories can only fit upwards of 28grams(an irregularly high amount),of that freshly ground coffee to produce an espresso.
Most espressos are made with anywhere from as low as 7 grams, to as high as 25 grams to produce that espresso.
An espresso made properly will be no more than 3 oz in volume, and as such WOULD ABSOLUTLEY LOSE its flavour when combined with the 17oz of milk it would need to fill a 20 oz cup.
So now you're saying, why cant they just add more and more shots of espresso to the drink then, to even out the proportions?

Reason.
Ever notice how people drink their straight espresso almost immediately as it is served to them?
It is because espresso ages and goes bad VERY quickly, infact, it is garbage if not consumed within a minute and a half after being extracted.
The crema will dissipate, sharp acidic flavours will become dominant, bitterness will be very evident as the sensitive coffee concentration becomes oxidized, and the subtle flavours will be lost into the atmosphere as the aroma dissipates.
So while the barista is preparing the second and third shots for your 20oz latte, the first shot which you still pay for, is as good as garbage.
Another reason 20oz is stupid is that steaming smaller volumes of milk creates a much better final product, with much silkier texture, an even distrubution of heat from the steam wand, less giant bubbles, and more sweetness.

So to pair the last 2 points, you would have to add an inferior quality steamed milk, to a variety of varying quality espresso shots, to create a 20 oz drink that may be close in balance to the favour of a smaller latte, but will NEVER EVER be as good.
NEVER.

More reasons why 20 oz is unneccesary in next post.

More reasons why 20 oz is unneccesary.

It takes much longer to create that drink.
IE. making MORE shots, and steaming MORE milk takes MORE time, therefore you little piggies that somehow need to guzzle 20oz of milk first thing in the morning, because youre in a rush, have to wait longer, and make everybody behind you in line wait longer.

Making drinks like this becomes more costly to produce in raw material, as well as labour, therefore you have to pay an even bigger premium for it, which is somehow always a complaint of the large coffee drinker.
"why should I have to pay more if I get more??"

Drinking a 20oz latte is straight up BAD FOR YOU.
No matter how you cut it, its bad for you, and devestating on your digestive system.
Your body is not meant to drink that much milk, especially that early.
No wonder people think coffee makes them poop.

You look stupid being a grown adult, walking around with the same size cup as 13 year old children skateboarding past you with slurpees.
Its childish ok, so grow up and drink your coffee like a person of class and distinction.

All too often 20 oz lattes get made with SKIM milk, because it somehow negates the fact that its a giant cup.
You all know what skim milk tastes like, why it sucks, and has more chemicals.
This is a no brainer.

20oz of liquid goes cold before you can finish it, unless you guzzle it like a swine.
Milk loses its texture, and goes watery.
Drip coffee breaks down, and certain flavour qualities become dominant, usually acidity, in the worst manor as well, often as a sour sharp dryness.

If that isnt enough to convince you, I dont really think this is a debate you are open to learning from.
You should keep your money and spend it elsewhere, because quite literally, you are not wasting your money on the coffee, the coffee is being wasted on you.