Intelligentsia Whole Bean Coffee, Medium Roast, Black Cat Analog 12 Ounces

The sugar and chocolate and marshmallow hints are great. Once they accidentally sent me citrus and cola espresso and it was definitely not to my taste. As long as the right flavor shows up though I have no complaints.

I used to prefer Italian coffee brands, but after trying Intelligentsia Black Cat Analog, I completely changed my mind. This is on a different level. The flavor is rich, smooth, and very balanced, with a great aroma and no harsh bitterness. If you drink espresso, you absolutely need to try this coffee. It really shines in a shot and has a much more interesting, refined flavor than the Italian brands I was used to. I’ll definitely be buying it again.

I got these refunded. There's not much point in ordering whole-bean espresso if it's gonna be months old and useless in a proper machine. I used them for grinder adjustment, and I got a few half decent shots cranking the grind to near Turkish and packing the heck out of it. If you need to put a bunch of cheap whole beans through for seasoning etc, then ok but otherwise for serious espresso, AVOID. Go direct to Intelligentsia and buy the same blend fresh with roast date on the bag. The difference is night and day.

I’ve been buying Intelligentsia Black Cat Analog for quite a while now, and that alone says a lot. Most coffees come and go, but this one has become my regular morning espresso. For years, I stopped at Dunkin’ and later Starbucks. Once I started making this at home with my Breville espresso machine, I found myself looking forward to my morning coffee even more. These days, I’d rather make a shot of this than make a coffee run. The flavor is rich, smooth, and balanced without tasting burnt or bitter. It consistently produces a beautiful crema and makes a coffee-shop-quality espresso at home. What surprised me most is that I don’t feel like I’m settling by staying home. I genuinely prefer the taste of this coffee, and I’ve been buying far fewer coffees out as a result. Pros * Rich, smooth flavor * Excellent crema * Consistently fresh beans * Great for home espresso Cons * More expensive than grocery-store coffee If you’re a regular Dunkin’ or Starbucks customer and have an espresso machine at home, this coffee is worth trying. It’s one of the few I’ve purchased repeatedly because I genuinely enjoy it more than most coffee-shop espresso drinks

My review is for medium roast espresso flavor. That's ok coffee, with good aroma, taste is light and with strong bitter notes. Biggest problem for these beans is relative long on the shelf time - mine were roasted in May and I bought them in Aug. That result in a weak concentration of oils, thus thin crema. To get at least average quality I had to increase grinding size and do pre phase with a low flow/pressure, plus increase shot time. All this compared to my regular beans supplier that is out for the summer. Overall it's ok for the money, but definitely far from roasted to order