Intelligentsia Coffee’s buying philosophy is not very complicated. We believe that to get dazzling coffees we need to work closely with actual producers, not just importers or exporters, so that we can build great coffees from the very start. This idea forms the basis for Intelligentsia’s Direct Trade Program.

Each year Intelligentsia invests at least seven months traveling to our coffee’s source. We visit farms, roll up our sleeves, and get to it. We take 24-hour redeye flights and 10-hour, high-altitude pick-up rides over serpentine roads. Many people say that they are doing these things, but we want you to see us doing them.

This section will focus on Intelligentsia Coffee’s work with farmers, usually with Geoff Watts (our Coffee Buyer) as a guide, consultant, friend, interpreter and/or merry prankster. Our coffees have stories to tell… and this is where we tell them.