A couple of weeks ago, Mitch McMullen, owner of Newhall Coffee Company, issued a challenge. He said that his coffee was better than Intelligentsia. This set off a series of tweets both on his part and on the part of us devoted Intelligentsia fans. There are some of us that actually go all the way to either SilverLake or Venice just to get some Intelligentsia. If you follow my blog or know anything about me, then you know just how loyal I am to Intelligentsia. You also know that I’m a coffee doofus and I only like my coffee iced and shaken with agave, aka an Angeleno from Intelligentsia. I don’t drink coffee on a daily basis, and I don’t even drink that much coffee. Usually every other Sunday or whenever I can get to Intelli, I’ll have an Angeleno.
Since the owner of Newhall Coffee issued the challenge, this became the perfect opportunity for my coffee enthusiast friends to gather and figure out if Mitch’s points were valid. The showdown would take place at Mike’s house, and he would act as a barista. An Evite was created and people started to RSVP. So exciting!
A little background. Mitch’s Java and Jazz at the mall was the hangout spot when I was at Valencia High School. Everyone went there on Friday nights to hang out. I never drank coffee at Java and Jazz though. I always opted for a non-coffee beverage because before my first visit to Intelligentsia SilverLake in 2007, I was not a coffee drinker.
After unsuccessfully searching the SCV for Newhall Coffee espresso beans, Mitch himself offered some for the challenge. Perfect! Yesterday I went to Newhall Coffee headquarters and was surprised to receive a whole box of coffee, books, stickers, and a special espresso blend that was freshly created that morning, just for us. Wow! As for the Intelligentsia Coffee, Mike was able to pick some up from the SilverLake store this past weekend.
Today, at 1:30 we all gathered at Mike’s house, ready for a taste test. Those in attendance were: Carrie, Brian, William, Jason, Scott, Greg, Kendra, and RE. Mike would serve as the coffee preparer and let me clarify that this was a double blind taste test. Mike did not know what brand of coffee he was preparing at any given time since his wife Allison is the one that separated the beans and she was the keeper of the beans. Meaning, only she knew which coffee was in each bag. Newhall’s California Blend and Intelligentsia’s Finca Santuario Columbia Heliconias Bourbon were each separated into two bags: product C and product D.
We were allowed to smell each of the bags as they were passed around the table. We were soon ready to get this party started.
Did I mention there were plenty of desserts on hand? It seems like almost everyone brought a little something! Of course, Mike also baked some goodies for us. Scott’s homemade biscotti (using his grandma’s recipe) was a huge hit!
Round 1: Cold Brew
We were each served a cup of cold brewed coffee and were given paper and a pen to take notes. We weren’t giving scores, rather we were just putting down comments and deciding which one we liked better. Some people took the note taking process more serious than others. At this point we could add half and half, sugar, but had to make sure to write down what we added. I’m a fan of iced coffee, so starting off with the cold brew was nice.
Round 2: French Press – Hot Coffee
Each mug was different so we wouldn’t confuse which one belonged to who.
I got a mug from The View. I totally channeled my inner Star Jones Reynolds.
After tasting the cold brew and the hot brew, we compared notes on which one we liked the most. This is my paper. I did not write a lot, but you can clearly see that for cold coffee I liked D, and for hot coffee I like C.
After some sharing about what we thought of each, the coffees were revealed.
So, for the cold brew, Intelligentsia won 9-2 over Newhall. As you know, I drink my Intelligentsia cold, so I guess my taste buds were spot on for picking them in this round. Phew!
For round 2, the winner was Newhall, 8-1-1.
At this point everything was starting to taste the same to me. Between 2 cups of cold brew and 2 cups of hot coffee? This filled my coffee quota for the year. Luckily, we were all given a water glass in an attempt to cleanse our palates.
Round 3: Newhall Espresso
vs
Intelligentsia Black Cat
Here’s a little behind the scenes look at the effort that went into taking these photos…
As I noted earlier, I did not participate in the espresso tasting for a couple of reasons. Mainly that I don’t drink that much coffee and felt like I had reached my coffee limit for the day. However, I would like to say that Greg was such a trooper when it came to the coffee tasting! Kendra definitely offered a lot of moral support too!
I am confused was it a split vote? Newhall one Round and Intelligentsia one round?
I am super upset I am missed this! 😦
Pretzel was a joke! I can’t do latte art.
That should be your trademark.
Fun times. Mitch is a super cool dude and also gave us some love at KGMC. I love their coffee. I really only drink hot coffee. And I’ve never been to Int. but I know that nothing beats Newhall.
A beautiful summary of the coffee throw down! I am looking forward to an espresso rematch! I love the pretzel latte art Mike and I agree it should be your trademark design! Own it! Mike, thanks again for hosting the event and for your excellent barista skills! Definitely good times!
Great recap. The espresso portion was sort of a choke, which is my fault. I must have pulled really bad shots for Carrie/Brian and Will for sample “B”, because I thought it was much better than the other. I’m taking some time with each, but it would be great to do an espresso drinks-only thing pretty soon.
Hopefully I can make the next one, too! I would love to see the two of them side by side under controlled circumstances. When I make Newhall at home it’s fantastic, but I have certainly had it from Newhall branded coffee services out in public where it’s been poorly prepared and poorly handled, and would convince no one… Maybe if Mitch builds a coffeehouse in Newhall with a killer atmosphere and amazing barristas there might be a direct comparison with the Intelli that you love!
Mike M. – Funny you should say that because I had a “Newhall Coffee” latte this past week at a shop in town and it was awful! Last night I had an Intelligentsia Latte that was the most magical thing ever. Perhaps the handling of the coffee is the issue.
Carrie, Mike D. – Let’s have a rematch. Definitely.
Thank you. love this! The California Blend is: Organic Peruvian, Organic Papua New Guinea, Organic Sumatran Mandheling… a beautiful blend. We do NOT have a Roasted ON date, but rather a Best Before date, which is 18 months from the roast date, and is stamped on all our retail bags. The coffee we gave you for the throwdown was roasted the same day you picked it up. The new signature espresso… really looking forward to feedback on that one. we love it.
lady (do you mind if I just call you Lady?) – I love the Intelligentsia business model! Java ‘n Jazz barista’s were chosen more for their personalities rather than their latte knowledge or passion. if I open up a coffeehouse again, I don’t know if I would do it the same or more like an intelli. if you remember the Mitch’s on Lyons, the ambiance, the vibe, the events, were all a part of the experience, and it was the experience that I sold. I sold a good time. and it was!
I am sorry I didn’t sign those books. I do hope you read it and understand why I am a little *out-spoken* and passionate about my brand, my company, my revolution! Starbucks opened up and declared that I would not last a year. That was in 1993! as far as Dunkin Donuts goes…. I have not even started with those posers yet!
I joined the SCAA (specialty coffee assoc of america) so that I could then join the Roasters Guild so that I could compete for the National coffee title in 2010. The P.R. alone from entering that competition will be good, although I fear that the judges are as political as our state legislature with Lingle Bros and other *gourmet?* coffee posers running things. I am not a politician of coffee, I am a Maverick! I am the small business hero, taking on Goliaths and giving hope to all mom and pops!
WHY DID I BASH INTELLI? I saw a post from an old friend and got mad that they went there and didn’t support me. Like I said, I wear my emotions on my sleeve! sorry intelli…. you guys are cool! We are all in this together, trying to bring better coffee to the world!
Mitch, thanks for the info on your California Blend. I am quite partial to Papua New Guinea and Sumatra, so that would explain why I like your blend. If you don’t mind giving out your secret, what was in the espresso blend that you gave us? And btw Mitch, if you open a another coffee house you should hire me ; )
Mitch: Thank you so much for your informative reply. We had a lot of fun doing the taste test and appreciate your support.
Yes, I now understand that your outspoken nature is just part of your passion for your brand.
I definitely think we should do an SCV/Intellivenice field trip in the new year.
Thanks again for providing us with the supplies needed for the challenge.
=)
-L
So disappointed I missed this! Hopefully if there is an espresso rematch, I can make it.
I do see a couple of flaws though. Did you guys taste straight espresso? I’m not sure that is the way to taste it.
Perhaps you should have done cuppings where the ground beans are steeped in water for a bit, then you push the grounds away with the spoon, and slurp a small spoonful. This is the way most coffee places do taste tests.
also, if the Newhall beans were roasted the same day, I’m not sure that was the way to taste them, my understanding is beans need to outgas a day or two before they are at their prime (not trying to stick up for them, any of their coffee I’ve tried I haven’t liked)
Unless you have a very high end grinder and machine, I’ve found its pretty difficult to produce a shot of espresso worth drinking on its own.
Just my 2 cents.
Straight espresso in usually fine with this machine, but it usually take a few shots to get a new coffee dialed in. It produces enough pressure to make 2 oz of espresso in 25 seconds through grounds tamped with about 30 lbs. of pressure. A La Marzocco would be great, sure, but a Silvia is certainly up to the task.
I considered cupping, but I wanted to keep it familiar since we were judging these in terms of their suitability for home enjoyment. We probably would have fouled it up, too.
Lisa,
Ultimately, this was all done in good fun among friends. It certainly wasn’t a professional cupping (like LA Mill or Intelli style).
We just ended up having a lot of fun with it, and still have our favorites, despite the outcome.
=)
I recently had Intelligentsia for the first time not too long ago and was blown away, actually went for a tour of their roasting facilities in the valley…so cool!
I’m going to have to try Newhall very soon…
Nah, just stick to Intelli. Once you’ve had Intelli it is hard to go on to anything else.
Newhall is just a local roaster in my ‘hood and that is why we had the showdown. It was more so in good fun.