Intelligentsia Coffee

In April of 2006, Intelligentsia Coffee opened its third Chicago location at 53 and 55 East Randolph, between Michigan and Wabash Avenues. The post-industrial décor of this coffeebar is designed to echo the art and structure of nearby Millennium Park. Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, colloquially known as Intelligentsia, is a coffee roasting company and retailer with its headquarters at 1850 W. Fulton Street in Chicago, Illinois. Intelligentsia has several cafe retail locations throughout the Chicago area. The company was founded in 1995 by Doug Zell and Emily Mange. They supply coffee to various Chicago-area cafes and restaurants, as well as other locations in the US and Canada. They generally buy their beans directly from growers in Central America, South America, East Africa, and Ethiopia. They currently operate four gas-powered Ideal Rapid Gothot Roasters at the Chicago Roasting Works. Two 90-kilo roasters and a 23-kilo reside in Chicago and a 40 kilo in Los Angeles. The machines date from the 1950s and were handcrafted from cast-iron and steel in Stuttgart, Germany.