Intelligentsia Coffee opens renovated roastery and new training lab
Intelligentsia Coffee re-opened its newly renovated Roasting Works —including a rustic-modern wholesale Training Lab and sales office — in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco in late January. The new space, located at 1125 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, California, will also host ongoing education, training, tools, and support for customers.
Intelligentsia Coffee is committed to creating the highest quality coffees throughout the Bay Area and Northern California—roasting up to 4,000 pounds of crafted coffee weekly. “Our growing customer base in and around San Francisco inspired our expansion,” said James McLaughlin, president of Intelligentsia Coffee. “In addition to providing locally roasted coffee, we wanted to extend our world-class barista training program to Intelligentsia coffee enthusiasts and wholesale customers in the Bay Area. Our relentless focus on quality throughout the supply chain and our pioneering direct trade sourcing model are ingredients in making Intelligentsia unique and the leader in specialty coffee.”
The 5,000-square-foot location, which Intelligentsia has occupied since 2011, features state-of-the-art brewing equipment by La Marzocco, Mahlkönig, Fetco and Marco. All coffee is roasted in small batches daily on a 1952 Probat UG 22 roaster. The new space was designed within the existing industrial shell. A new, oak-wrapped espresso bar and marble cupping tables anchor the space, framed by a tiled wall with Workstead’s brass lighting and a 10-foot steel and oak sliding door.
Intelligentsia’s entire line-up of coffee — including single origin, blends and espresso — will be roasted to order at the facility and available to the Bay Area. Orders placed by 1pm PST are roasted and shipped the following business day. Intelligentsia roasts coffee at three different facilities located in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The coffee is then shipped directly to the customer from the closest roastery.
At the San Francisco Roasting Works, Intelligentsia will offer customized programs that teach wholesale customers to serve perfectly prepared coffee and espresso drinks at scale. The public also will be able to experience classes led by award-winning baristas about the fundamentals of making an exceptional cup of espresso, among others. The coffee presented will rotate with Intelligentsia’s single origin release menu along with a demonstration of different brewing methods.
Through these events for both wholesale and retail customers, Intelligentsia will speak to its work at origin and commitment to direct trade relationships and sustainability. Geoff Watts, vice president and green coffee buyer, works in partnership with farmers around the globe to improve coffee quality. “Our aim is to carve a more exciting pathway for the coffee, one that leads to coffees of exceptional beauty and improved livelihoods for the people who cultivate them. We recognized long ago that the best way to realize that vision is to align ourselves with growers, build lasting relationships and work together in close collaboration to create extraordinary coffees that deliver more value for everyone they touch,” he said.
