An Intelligent way to do coffee

Sounds crazy or maybe just normal but I have been drinking coffee since I started college...like all my friends trying to stay awake among books and papers to write I was introduced to coffee. I never liked it, hated even walking down the coffee isle in the market! I don't even know why I disliked it so much maybe because my mom is a heavy coffee addict and I guess I never thought it was delicious.

Over a year ago while working long 36 hour shifts with my husband we discovered Intelligentsia. A sweet coffee shop right smack in the middle of Sunset Junction. As we'd go flashing down Sunset Blvd. with lights and sirens or sometimes just cruising we got curious over this place where there were usually lines for a cup of joe. We walked in one Sunday morning a little after 6am just clearing from running a call at Temple Hospital, we had no idea how this place would change our lives. I ordered a vanilla latte and the barista politely replied "we don't serve vanilla, but I can add agave" and I was like sure whatever you call it I just want a flavored latte so I can go on for the next 12 hours of my shift. Jorge ordered a "decaf" version of what I was getting because this man can drive at any hour of the day and feel good about it. He knows LA like the back of his hand and has many times been called the walking Thomas Guide. In other words he doesn't need coffee to function and he drinks it just for the taste.

So our experience began that morning with the most delicious, outstanding latte I have ever had in my entire life! Their mission involves bringing the coffee from the hands of the farmers themselves allowing them to have the best tasting coffees from Guatemala, Panama, Peru and Rwanda to name a few. It is a treat to see the baristas putting so much passion in what they do. All of them are carefully trained so they know everything there is about coffee and it shows! Everyone is sweet and friendly and ever since we stepped into Intelligentsia we have not stopped recommending people to go and try this amazing place. When we are not working Jorge and I drive from our house to Intelligentsia which is about 30 miles away to enjoy a beautiful day in LA with our coffees in our hands as we hold each other tight.

Last Friday a new Intelligentsia opened in Venice...right on Abbot Kinney Blvd. I'm sure over a few hundred people showed up! They were mixing tunes, free cappuccinos, wine, tea....it was fabulous! I snapped a few pictures and wanted to share and spread the word that if you live in LA I hope to find you there one day and if you are coming to visit you must stop by and emerge yourself into the world of Intelligentsia.