I recently had the opportunity of cruising up to LA with Kevin and our significant others and  pay a visit to Intelligentsia’s Silverlake cafe and Roast Works, which was not a bad trip. I had visited the Venice coffee bar, but had been looking forward to checking out where the magic happens. I was sitting at the cafe waiting for Nick  and he says to me “welcome to Silverlake, the home of skinny jeans”. So true, everyone there definitely has their own air of coolness. This cafe really embodies the essence of the Silverlake’s Latin influence and hipster vibe, from the Honduran tile, to the bar where you see people sitting next to each other with their Mac laptops, shades worn inside,  and the outside patio full of musicians, writers, and trés cool people.

Our group got in line and I ordered up 3 cappuccino’s and a single origin Munama, Zambia espresso for me. If you like cappuccino’s this is the place to order one up, their Organic Strauss milk delivers the creamy rich sweet texture that just compliments the espresso so beautifully. The single origin espresso had a nice citrus and soft spice nose, with a thick mouth-feel and a sweet-smooth finish.

After some coffee and catching up with Nick and his wife we headed over to the Roast Works, aka “where the magic happens”. The cafe and the roast works are only about 10 minutes from each other. I met Colin, the guy I call to place an order with, it was kind of nice to finally put a face to the person whom  for the past year I’d only known through phone. The place is tiny, but just the right size for whats needed.

Jared, one of their artisan roasters, had come down for lunch at the link about a month ago. He had invited us to go tour the roasting works so I had to take him up on that. It was such a small, casual environment. Everyone who works at Intelligentsia always has passion, pride, and knowledge pouring out through their veins. Much love and thanks to all for such a pleasant Monday.

Here is Jared, a roaster, showing us his baby.

Green coffee sitting in the bins ready for roasting.

The beautiful and rightfully angelic logo, coffee on wings!!!