The cafes in question come from Intelligentsia Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters. This feature is our TL;DR breakdown of Mr. Strand’s reportage on both.

Highline Hotel image via Curbed.

Intelligentsia‘s NYC expansion was first reported right here on Sprudge back in January, and Mr. Strand has more details on their cafe via an interview with director of communications Stephen Morrissey. Here’s the takeaways in USA Today bullet point fashion:

* Intelli NYC will be located in the lobby of the Highline Hotel, located at 180 Tenth Avenue (at 20th Street). There’s not a ton of info online about this new hotel property, but Curbed NYC has some deets.

* Guests can expect a variable pour over bar, including brews produced via Kalita Wave, Eva Solo, and other methods, with multiple coffee selections cupped out each morning.

* Intelli NYC will be open “next week” sometime; it will be the Chicago-based chain’s 9th location and counting, with more stores due to open throughout 2013.

Stumptown’s new home in Greenwich Village (Image by NY Observer)

Stumptown‘s new cafe plans were leaked by The New York Observer back in early January. The space’s opening has been hampered by the post-Sandy construction and permitting milieu in New York City, which is why we’re seeing a May opening date. Here’s some more bullet points:

* Permits permitting, Stumptown’s second NYC location opens sometime next week. It will include a “separate brew bar” offering a wide variety of brew to order methods.

* The cafe is located in Greenwich Village, in the former home of Eighth Street Bookshop, a noted Beat hangout.

* Guests can expect, in Strand’s words, a series of “demonstrations, free cuppings and an easy flow of jargon-laced conversation.”

Read the full feature here via NYT Dining & Wine.

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There’s a double dose of US coffee champs in the news today, and they’re both worth your gander. First up, the most talented 2013 US Brewers Cup Erin McCarthy sat down with Sprudge contributor Liz Clayton over at Serious Eats last week. Mr. McCarthy (of Counter Culture Coffee) talks the Serious Eats crowd through the 5 common mistakes many home coffee enthusiasts make, including “Using Unfiltered Water” and “Giving Up.” As always when Liz Clayton is involved, it’s a great read.

But that’s not all for Mr. McCarthy, who’s also featured in this bit of radio love from Heritage Radio Network. Questions answered by Mr. McCarthy include “Why does soy milk coagulate in certain brews?” and  “What are the differences between the different types of iced coffee?” Go have a listen!

Meanwhile out in Los Angeles, 2013 Southwest Regional Barista champion Eden-Marie Abramowicz of Intelligentsia had a Hollywood moment with the gang at ABC News LA. The video below includes jaunty music, a basic latte art tutorial, and the near-maiming of this almost-too-perky ABC News host:

Aww, Eden is a great teacher! That latte art definitely shows improvement…from a solid “F” to a generous “C-”. Next week on “Champs In The News”, Eden-Marie Abramowicz teaches Barbara Walters to make a shakerato, Pete Licata puts down a full rack of Oklahoma Joe’s alongside NBC’s Brian Williams, Devin Chapman signs on to call TV & radio play-by-play for the 2014 Portland Timbers, and Sam Lewontin accepts a war correspondent position for Al-Jazeera English. Stay tuned!

The post Champs In The News: Eden Abramowicz & Erin McCarthy Conquer All Media appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Breaking this morning via Chicago Eater, a glut of first-look photos of the brand new Intelligentsia cafe in Logan Square. This is the first of 5 planned new cafes for Intelli in 2013, including their first locations in New York City and San Francisco. Eater has more deets:

The paper is off the windows under the sleek logo at 2642 N. Milwaukee, showing a white brick interior within and modern booth and table combinations immediately in tow. The centerpiece is a long rectangular coffeebar surrounded by metal stools and clad in sky blue trim, state-of-the-art java equipment in the center and on the counters. Trendy magazine racks and shelves line the walls.

Here’s 8 more photos of the new cafe not from the Eater piece, shot by Intelligentsia in-house designer Andy Wickstrom.

Note the assortment of Kilogram Tea.

The aforementioned trendy magazines, including Bust, Juxtapoz, and Lucky Peach.

Gorgeous bar stools.

Opaque matte white Strada.

The post Chicago: Intelligentsia Logan Square Opens Today, And We’ve Got Pics appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Bowery Boogie reports a “artsy, multi-purpose cafe” is underway at 40 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. The facility, similar to Milk Studios in Chelsea, will be a reverse mullet of sorts: party in the front (in this case, the party is a cafe serving Intelligentsia coffee and fresh-pressed juices) and business in the back (a fully-functional photography studio). More from the Boogie via an email with 40 Ludlow Street proprietor Bjorn Brandt:

The first part of the space will be the Café at Ludlow Studios. It will serve as a coffee shop for the public, and also for cast and crew for the space. I already have a verbal agreement with Intelligentsia Coffee to carry their product in the café at Ludlow Studios. It will be equipped with a Norwalk cold-press juicer, and a La Marzocco fully-automatic espresso maker. I am also going to make the entire space rentable, i.e. if a photographer wants to rent the space for a day, he or she can effectively rent the ‘Café’ as well. The primary space, or the majority of the square footage, will serve as a multi-use. It will primarily be marketed as a Photo / Video studio, but will also serve as an event space, and also as a gallery.

(Bowery Boogie)

Read the whole thing here via Bowery Boogie.

The post NYC: Ludlow Studios To Serve Intelligentsia, House Photo Studio appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Your 2013 United States Barista Championship finalists, featuring original photography by Charlie Burt for Sprudge.com. For a complete look back at the 2013 United States Barista Championship cycle, including photos of every regional competitor, join us on The Road to Melbourne.

Sprudge.com’s coverage of the 2013 United States Barista Championship was made possible by direct support from Counter Culture Coffee and Nuova Simonelli.

Charles Babinski, G&B Coffee, Los Angeles – 2nd Place Overall.

With his second consecutive second place finish on the national stage, it’s tempting to trot out one of those old cliches about bridesmaids and brides, but that sorely misses the point of what Charles Babinski continues to accomplish with his competition routines. If you follow barista competitions, you know – and have known for some time – that Charles Babinski is one of the very best and most respected competitors in the world. It’s the sincere hope of this publication that Mr. Babinski will some day earn the chance to prove this fact on the world stage. It just won’t be this year.

Mr. Babinksi’s began his routine by reciting for the judges a wrote, clinical definition of espresso, and then upending that definition by declaring that  “to me, espresso is any wondrous thing that comes out of that machine over there.” He competed using 49th Parallel’s Colombia El Descanso, a coffee that yielded espressos with notes of “blackberry acidity & sweetness, cane sugar, and honey.” In a unique twist, Charles pre-dosed and pre-ground his espresso during his 15 minutes of prep time, storing the grounds in little silver canisters on stage; this is similar to the style of espresso prep that folks can expect at the new incarnation of G&B Coffee. He made two distinct signature drinks: the first with an uber-luongo 70 grams out shot, paired with orange blossom honey and meant to express “espresso as a canvas” for a beverage’s deliciousness; and the second, a more standard 30 grams out shot mixed with pomegranate juice and sparkling water.

Charles Babinski (LF) year-end stats for the 2013 season: 489 ABs, 119 runs (NL-1st), 159 hits, 33 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 65 SB, 97 BB (good eye), .439 OBP (NL-1st), .577 SLG, 1.016 OPS, 189 OPS+, 1st in National League MVP voting.

Trevor Corlett, MadCap Coffee Company, Washington DC – 3rd place overall

Since packing up their lives & families and shipping out for Washington DC in late 2011, the folks at MadCap Coffee DC – Trevor Corlett and Colin Whitcomb – have enjoyed pronounced competition success both regionally and nationally. Let’s review, shall we? In 2012 Mr. Corlett made USBC Semi-Finals; in 2013, Mr. Whitcomb was edged out from winning the SERBC outright by just a half point (by Lem Butler), and both Corlett & Whitcomb made appearances at the Semi-Finals round in Boston. Mr. Corlett advanced on to finals, and wound up placing third nationally in an historically competitive field. Oh, and Trevor was featured by Good Morning America and the New Yorker.

What we’re saying is, success at USBC is measured by a number of metrics, only one of which is points. We were captivated all three times by Mr. Corlett’s finals routine for a variety of reasons, including its exploration of “past crop” and “fresh crop” terminology, his stunningly sparse and mannered stage setting (our Twitter feed called it “Midwestern minimalist”), and Trevor’s ability to compete with a resting heart beat that never rises above a leisurely chat. His routine featured two distinct harvests of MadCap’s Didier Reinoso Colombia, one from July 2012 and another from December of that year. Mr. Corlett’s signature drink layered shots from both harvests with grapefruit, maple syrup & egg whites.

Sam Lewontin, Everyman Espresso, NYC – 4th Place Overall

Now in his third of competition, Sam Lewontin has emerged as one of the major talents on the US Barista Championship circuit. Winning the NERBC will do that for you, especially in this day and age, as New York City continues to establish itself as one of the world’s specialty coffee capitals. But this reality has a quirk; as New York has became a major destination for coffee talent and high-level work, it has remained a real bastion of barista community and closeness within the ebb tide of that massive, anonymous city. Specialty coffee can make strange bedfellows – that’s part of why we love it so much! – but it can also make dear friends, and watching Sam Lewontin carry the cheers and adulation of his peers on stage at USBC was living proof.

Sam Lewontin competed at USBC using Counter Culture Coffee’s Burundi Mpemba – click that link for featured tasting notes written by Mr. Lewontin himself. Sam’s routine included the second appearance of his “choose your own adventure” signature drink, in which his sensory judges were asked to choose flavor notes they might expect from a washed Burundi. These notes were used to tailor a sig drink with more than a dozen possible variations – you can read more about this aspect of Mr. Lewontin’s routine here.

At times a stream of consciousness mumble, or baseball statistics in-joke, or mad reporter dash, every once in a while we get something right in our live barista competition Twitter feed. Of Sam’s finals routine, we wrote, “You are watching just one shining moment in a coffee career so bright, it requires shades.” If you don’t mind us saying so, that’s about exactly right.

Charlie Habegger, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago – 6th Place Overall

There’s something in the water at Intelligentsia – perhaps added in directly via their filtration systems, who knows – that creates top-flight barista competitors year after year, in regions all across the country. This year was no different, as Chicago’s Charlie Habegger took his automatic Semi-Finals bid from North Centrals all the way to his first-ever appearance on Finals Sunday.

Mr. Habegger’s stage setting was perhaps the most visually striking of any competitor: each judge sat down to gracefully arranged white ceramic fruit bowls, full of vanilla, white chocolate, blackberries, basil, and other flavors found in Mr. Habegger’s coffee, a little number from Huila, Colombia marked by Intelligentsia as Tres Los Santos. His signature drink focused on the “lot building” practice common at origin, where different flavor characteristics are pulled coffees grown in a geographically contiguous set of farms. Charlie pulled different pieces of fruit from his judges’ table setting – a piece of vanilla here, some blackberries there – to visually anchor the flavors and ingredients they’d find in his signature drink, which included espresso shots pulled directly on top of blackberry and basil jam.

Educator at Intelli Broadway, green buyer in charge of Intelligentsia’s purchases in Peru, and now a USBC finalist… Charlie Habegger may well take over the world out from under us all.

Nick Purvis, The French Press, Santa Barbara – 5th Place Overall

Every Finals Sunday has its dark horse, a Cinderella story, a competitor who’s name may not have made the early predictions of competition watchers and bracketologists. This year it was Nick Purvis, representing a two-shop cafe brand in Santa Barbara called The French Press. Prior to USBC 2013, Nick had never advanced in a barista competition, having bowed out in the first round at two consecutive Southwest Regionals. His Semi-Finals appearance was a first, and there was much joy from the Verve Coffee Roasters delegation at USBC when his name was called for Finals Sunday.

Much joy, sure, but not an ounce of shock. We were lucky enough to watch all three of Mr. Purvis’s USBC runs, and he shone brightly all three times with a service that felt educational, comfortable, and tirelessly classy. Like spending a half an hour with your favorite bartender before the room opens, or enjoying a private dinner at the best table in your favorite restaurant, Nick Purvis was able to make his coffee (Verve’s Colombia Los Naranjos) come alive in a routine that focused on customer service itself, and the power baristas wield as public educators. Nick’s signature drink was drool-inducing, a combination of caramelized tangerine juice, red apple juice reduction, and a liquified coffee cheesecake made with cold brew and marscapone. On paper at least, it was probably the tastiest sounding sig drink of USBC finals, because honestly who doesn’t want liquified coffee cheesecake? Let’s be real here.

The thing about dark horses is, next year they come back as 1 seeds. Should he continue pursuing competition – and we sure hope so – Nick Purvis is one to watch in 2014, and his 2013 USBC run is one we’ll remember for a long time to come.

Pete Licata, Parisi Coffee, Kansas City, Missouri – 1st Place Overall

A huge congratulations to Pete Licata, your 2013 United States Barista Champion! A full accounting of his exploits is available in our exhaustive Pete-focused feature here. Learn more about the coffee Pete used to win it all right here!

The post The 2013 USBC Finals In Words & Pictures appeared first on Sprudge.com.

We’ve got some first-look imagery at the tea’s packaging, and an excerpt from a forthcoming Kilogram press release:

“Since the very beginning, tea has been an integral part of Intelligentsia, sharing the same devotion to freshness and quality as our coffee program. While Intelligentsia’s pioneering work in sourcing, roasting and brewing has become increasingly renowned, the tea has not enjoyed the same exposure. To remedy this, Intelligentsia Tea is being rebranded as Kilogram Tea.

“Kilogram Tea is an American tea company that sources fresh, compelling teas reflecting peaks of season, land, and process. The new brand will continue with the same offerings and buying principles, however the packaging and messaging will present tea in a different light. Intelligentsia is a distributor of Kilogram, therefore the packaging will have its own marketing materials. The remaining retail stores and website will all migrate to Kilogram on Monday April 22nd.”

“In devising a new kind of packaging, we wanted to create something contemporary and vibrant,” Stephen Morrissey told us earlier today in a phone interview. “We’ve long loved the range of colors found in tea, and wanted to devise packaging that could celebrate that. So the packaging is divided into five categories, each with its own color palate. White, Green, Black, Oolong and Herbal.”

In addition to loose-leaf tea, Kilogram will also start offering pyramid tea-bags. “The bags use a coarser nylon mesh which allows the leaves to expand and extract.”

The debut of Kilogram is happening tonight at the newly remodeled Intelligentsia Broadway location in Chicago. The event will have beer by 3 Floyds, charcuterie and wine from Red & White, and food from Floriole bakery. Party starts at 6PM.

The post Meet Kilogram, The New Tea Brand From Intelligentsia appeared first on Sprudge.com.

People are buzzing over a recent lawsuit between Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and former COO Bob Quinlan, now of Metropolis Coffee Company.

More from the Naperville Sun (emphasis ours):

Intelligentsia, in legal papers, alleges Quinlan violated a confidentiality agreement he signed upon his “termination” when he alerted the head of Human Resources that she would be losing her job. The suit also alleges that as top boss of Metropolis, Quinlan — if he hasn’t already — would likely divulge Intelligentsia’s trade secrets, also in violation of the confidentiality agreement.

“As CEO of Metropolis, given his knowledge of Intelligentsia’s marketing plans, business plans, pricing, marketing, and sales strategies, coffee roasting and production processes, and its global network of coffee farmers and suppliers, Quinlan has used or disclosed, and/or will inevitably use or disclose Intelligentsia’s confidential information and trade secrets to its direct competitor,” the lawsuit states.

“Quinlan’s inevitable disclosure of Intelligentsia’s trade-secret information will cause Intelligentsia to suffer damages in the form of lost revenue and profits,” the suit states.

Albert F. Ferolie, a River North attorney representing Quinlan, said: “Bob denies the allegations in the complaint.”

Read the whole thing here. For the record (and because it’s germane to this coverage), Intelligentsia is a longstanding sponsor of Sprudge.com; we reached out to them for comment, and they politely declined.

Developing…

The post Coffee Court: Legal Battle Brewing Between Intelligentsia And Former COO appeared first on Sprudge.com.

During his routine, Charlie called out the fact that Buesaco comes from three specific farms, each around 2 hectares each – “an area smaller than Kansas City” – and questioned the notion of “single origin” as a true descriptor for small coffee lots. Lot building then played into Mr. Habegger’s signature drink, whose ingredients were meant to mimic the process of putting together a single lot of coffee from multiple small farms. This signature drink included blackberry and tarragon jam, a 10 gram vanilla infusion, shots of the Amigos de Buesaco, and “the right amount of lime for clarity” – around 3 drops per beverage, ever-so-carefully applied by the sure-handed Mr. Habegger.

Charlie called time in his finals routine at 15:23, and finished by telling his judges the following: “Coffee quality is birthed by producers – it’s up to baristas to pass that along.”

A sincere congratulations to Charlie Habegger and Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea! Mr. Habegger now has an automatic birth into the semi-finals at the 2013 United States Barista Championship, and he’ll join Southeast winner Lem Butler on the 2013 Cafe Imports Origin Trip to Kenya.

Original photography by Charlie Burt for Sprudge.com  – @Tiger_Friend on Twitter.

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Breaking news here at Sprudge HQ, as we’ve received word that Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea are planning to open five new retail coffee bars in 2013. This information has been confirmed by Intelligentsia’s Director of Marketing and Communciations Stephen Morrisey. Intelli’s plans call for three new cafes in the Chicago area, a previously reported retail expansion into San Francisco, and an expansion into New York City with a cafe in Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood. Here’s more on each space, as confirmed by Mr. Morrissey.

New York City:

Intelligentsia’s first-ever New York City retail space will open in March 2013, in the West Chelsea section of Manhattan. The cafe will be on the ground floor of an as yet unnamed development project; an auxiliary space on the same lot is planned for the development’s public gardens, which will open later in 2013.

Chicago:

An astonishing three new cafes are slated to open in Intelligentsia’s home city of Chicago throughout 2013, including retail spaces in the Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Old Town neighborhoods.

* The Logan Square location is located directly adjacent to the Logan Theater (2646 North Milwaukee Avenue), and will feature two La Marzocco Strada EP espresso machines behind the bar. Patrons can expect a variety of manual pour over services, as well as batch brewed coffee available to go. Chicagoans familiar with the neighborhood can pass by this location in its build out phases – perhaps on their way to brunch at Lula. Intelli Logan Square is slated to open in spring 2013.

* The Old Town neighborhood cafe will be located in the 1225 Old Town development (located at 1233 North Wells), the new mixed-use residential / commercial project from Hines Residential. Intelli’s new cafe in Old Town will be close to 1225 anchor tenants Plum Market, located right down the block from the historic Second City Theater, and within easy strolling distance of Old Town’s historic Victorian homes. This location is expected to open in early summer 2013. *UPDATE* This cafe’s opening date has been announced as June 13th, 2013.

* Intelligentsia Wicker Park will be located at the intersection of N. Ashland and W. Division, making it a cafe space that serves both the Wicker Park and East Ukrainian Village neighborhoods. Intelli Wicker Park is scheduled to open in fall 2013, and will feature a 25 x 80 foot mural wall as part of its exterior facade.

San Francisco

As previously reported, Intelligentsia’s expansion to San Francisco will focus on the Potrero Hill neighborhood. Intelli’s SF roasting works is already operational; the space will be expanded to include a cafe in fall of 2013, featuring tasteful outdoor seating options and a chance to observe Intelli’s production process along a series of touch points, from roasting to cupping to cafe service. Mr. Morrissey also let us in on an interesting tidbit: Intelli SF’s cafe will feature “brewing equipment not currently available on the market.” Your guess is as good as ours, and we’ll update when more information becomes available.

As you might expect, Intelligentsia is hiring – learn more here. 

The post Exclusive: Intelligentsia To Open 5 New Cafes In 2013 appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Quoth Mr. Watts: “What we’re doing here today is really special. These are probably some of the best Kenyan coffees produced in the 2012 harvest season, and so this is really a treat. I’ve cupped hundreds of Kenyan coffees in a room before, but never ones that have been pre-selected by top roasters. What an amazing opportunity.”

It was every bit as much of a treat to put this event together with our friends and partners at Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea. But ooh, damn, those coffees — this was perhaps our most delicious cupping yet, with a couple of real stunners on the table that we’re *still* thinking about 5 days later.

Here’s a complete list of the coffees served at Kenya Dig It?, arranged in “wine list” style with easy buying links (when available) for those who want to play along at home. Take it from us, you’d do well to order a few of these coffees, and it was our pleasure and honor to be able to table contributions from a who’s-who of the best roasters in the world.

Plus three additional Dormans samples (not pictured above):

West Coast:

Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz - Karie

Sightglass Coffee Roasters, San Francisco - Kiawamururu AB, Kanguru AA

Handsome Coffee Roasters, Los Angeles – Kiawamururu

Bows & Arrows Coffee Roasters, Victoria, BC – Gatomboya AB Nyeri

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland  – Gaturiri

Caffe Ladro, Seattle – Gaturiri, Kiawamururu

Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, Sacramento – Iyego Cooperative AA Plus

Kuma Coffee, Seattle – Karogoto

East Coast:

Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters, Atlanta – Kiambara AA

Toby’s Estate, Brooklyn – Yara Estate

Gimme! Coffee, Ithaca, NY – Gatomboya

Counter Culture Coffee Roasters, Durham, NC – Thiriku, Ndaroini Peaberry

Ceremony Coffee Roasters, Annapolis, MD - Kaimbu Ruiru

New Harvest Coffee Roasters, Pawtucket, RI – AA Gichi Estate

Middle West:

Kickapoo Coffee, Viroqua, WI - Riabai Peaberry, Kangocho Peaberry

Oddly Correct Coffee Roasters, Kansas City, MO - Thiriku Top Auction Lot

Greenway Coffee, Houston – Kamacharia Cooperative, Kiambaa Cooperative

Ipsento, Chicago – Josra AA+

Overseas:

5 Senses Coffee, Melbourne – French Mission Washed

Coffee Collective, Copenhagen – Kieni Kenya Nieri

Square Mile Coffee Roasters, London – Kangocho Peaberry

In addition to these fine coffees, it was our privilege to cup no fewer than 9 Kenyan offerings from our hosts at Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea. Many of these coffees were obtained from Dormans and roasted special for our event.

Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, Chicago - Gichathaini, Karatina Peaberry, Kangocho, Embu AA, Kirinyaga AA, Kirinyaga AB Plus, Irinyaga AB Top, Western Region AA, Nyeri AA

We’re currently planning one last cupping party for 2012, after which we’ll be taking a break from this format to throw other kinds of parties with Sprudge readers around the world. Stay tuned for the announcement of our final cupping party for 2012 in the coming weeks, and thanks again to Intelligentsia for making Kenya Dig It? a great big delicious success.

You can relive our cupping party realness by clicking on the links below:

Portland: The intimacy and riotous deliciousness of Rwandalust, sponsored by Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Seattle: The controlled chaos and bonhomie of Colombiana, hosted by Milstead & Co. and sponsored by La Marzocco USA.

Los Angeles: A jaw-dropping roaster roster from around the world at International Delight, hosted by Handsome Coffee Roasters and sponsored by Visions Espresso and Wilbur Curtis Co.

San Francisco: The collaborative glory and stunning setting of Cupping California, hosted by Blue Bottle Coffee Roasters and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, sponsored by notNeutral and Sweet Maria’s.

Minneapolis: A personal favorite among Sprudge staff, Hüsker Brew was an absurdly delicious evening of coffees and local foodstuffs hosted by Cafe Imports, with support from Dogwood Coffee Company.

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