How dark is Black Cat these days?

#1: Post by **Col_Potter** » February 24th, 2017, 4:39 am

Admittedly, it has been a long time since I ordered Intelly's Black Cat, a coffee that I loved years ago but lost favor in recent years. It has been some time since I have bought it and the current Colombia/Brazil composition seems promising if it isn't too bright. Anyone tried it lately and what were your thoughts?

#2: Post by **sprin001** » February 27th, 2017, 1:24 pm

It's darker than I would have desired - but it is enjoyable. I typically drink lighter roasts so it's hard for me to provide a good comparison. In terms of large suppliers, it's darker than stumptown hairbender, but not close to Starbucks-esque burnt profile. I backed my temp off and pulled it 1:2 with about 18.5 grams in and stopped at 27-29 sec with ~30 grams out. My wife and I both really enjoyed the black cat. Lastly, I had it about one month ago and went through 5 pounds. I'm drinking some Machristay from Chris Coffee, The Black Pearl, and it is darker than the black cat but not by a long shot.

#3: Post by **brianl** » February 27th, 2017, 3:19 pm

I don't find it bright but there is still a little orange thing going on. It's worth looking into again.

#4: Post by **marlodmb** » February 27th, 2017, 4:16 pm

I got 2 lbs of the blackcat classic espresso last week.. you want pics of them compared to redbird?

#5: Post by **Spitz.me** » February 27th, 2017, 4:19 pm

Black Cat is a typical medium roast blend. Analog is too dark and quite gross as a straight shot. I have a hard time picking out ORANGE, but I can say Black Cat is nicely sweet and not just a mouthful of baker's chocolate.

Black Cat is delicious as a daily driver. I purchase Black Cat Classic more than anything else. Not every company has been able to make a good daily driver in my experience. I know that some people are reporting that Intelligentsia has generally become more inconsistent from roast to roast, but my experience is that Black Cat is fairly consistent and the changes haven't affected me.

#6: Post by **cmin** » February 27th, 2017, 4:33 pm

Sounds like the blend changed get again, years ago was a great chocolate bomb. Then for a couple years after I thought it was disgusting when I ordered it, like extremely sour and bright, like lemons that went fowl, even tasted like that at their shop in Chicago.

#7: Post by **mauijer** » February 27th, 2017, 5:43 pm

Ive been a fan of Intelligentsia Classic Black cat for years. Their current Columbia/Brazil is good but their prior Rwanda/Brazil was phenomenal. Still a great choice tho.

#8: Post by **Spitz.me** » February 27th, 2017, 6:26 pm

cmin wrote:Sounds like the blend changed get again, years ago was a great chocolate bomb. Then for a couple years after I thought it was disgusting when I ordered it, like extremely sour and bright, like lemons that went fowl, even tasted like that at their shop in Chicago.

Current flavor profile on the Intelly site. More in line with what I have experienced recently that what I'm hearing.

Black Cat Flavour profile.
Melon
Stone Fruit
Dark Sugars
Dark Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
Sweet Nuts

#9: Post by **Patagent** » March 6th, 2017, 4:32 pm

We're working through two bags at the moment. It's extremely good in milk. Very chocolatey and candy-like. Not overly bright as straight espresso IMO. It also makes an excellent pourover using Kalita filters.

#10: Post by **michael** » March 9th, 2017, 7:11 am

drinking organic black cat; not usually my first choice, but ran out of coffee and found a fresh bag locally

better than I remember, but a bit darker than most of my usual s.o. choices; for me much better in milk