Black Cat Classic Espresso - Intelligentsia Review

Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso Project is dedicated to sourcing the best coffee beans to create the best espresso. We brought home the Black Cat Classic in search of rich, dense coffee flavors that bring our love of espresso to our daily brews. This is our first exploration of Intelligentsia coffee, so let’s brew!

Black Cat Classic Espresso is a blend of beans from Brazil and Colombia. The whole beans are rather dry and emit a citrusy aroma. After ground to a medium-fine grind, we brewed in our French press to our usual specs: 50g coffee grounds, ~32 oz of 200-202℉ water, steep 3-5 minutes. (Although a French press is not how espresso is typically brewed, it is how we first critique every coffee we review.)

Right away Classic Espresso produces an active bloom—revealing how freshly roasted our beans were. The citrus aroma from the beans turns into a distinct lemon and brings an acidic quality. This is not what I would expect from an espresso. Once fully brewed and poured, the lemon is more subdued in flavor, but still quite prominent. It has a light body and is more red in color than black.

The tasting notes included orange, cola, and cherry, but I struggle to find much else aside from lemon and a very light coffee flavor. Perhaps the lemon I am tasting is within the “cola” description, but the cherry and orange are not present on my palate.

Barista Note: We couldn’t review an espresso without brewing it as an at-home latte in our Moka pot. Using 30 grams of medium-fine grounds, we brewed a hot and iced latte and added chocolate and salted caramel syrup. The lemon note was still present in each latte, but more subdued in the hot latte, likely because of the warm milk. Neither of them tasted acidic, again as a result of the sweeteners and the milk balancing the sharper notes.

A good latte, but when I am searching for espresso I want something dark, bold, and with a tobacco-leaning quality. If you are like me and want a bold, earthy brew, consider a different bean for your cup. But if you are a fan of light coffees with a citrus forward flavor, give Black Cat Classic Espresso a go. 

Cheers,

Mrs. Brew