El Diablo

***Edited to add:*** I ordered this when it was sold out, so it was pretty fresh when it finally came to me after a week presumably right after they reordered it--I didn't check the roast date, but it got nice and foamy on top while brewing in the French press. Ordering when Amazon is out of stock is probably the key to guaranteeing you get fresh-ish beans. Requires patience, but if you don't live somewhere you can run out and buy a bag and don't feel like paying crazy shipping fees from the Intelligentsia site, what you gonna do? This coffee has a vivid, complex, dark flavor, yet it's incredibly smooth with no bitterness if you brew it properly. I'm not usually a black coffee girl, but I can drink this one straight up. Since Intelligentsia's description says El Diablo Roast offers a look at some of the coffees available each season, I'd imagine different "vintages" would have a slightly different flavor. Check out the brew guides on Intelligentsia's website. The French press guide will yield you a pretty strong cup if you follow the proportions (which go by grams of coffee to grams of water). But that's just how I like it! Finally, if you're going to drop this much cash on coffee, be sure to buy the whole bean and grind it yourself. I hope Amazon gets more in soon!

I’m not a coffee snob. I can’t tell you if these beans have hints of caramel, leather, or “equestrian." I’m just a guy with a Breville Barista Pro, a caffeine habit, and a love for a solid dark roast. These beans hit the spot. Bold, rich, and reliable. They make a great espresso and hold up well in an iced americano too. That said, I’m not loving the new packaging. I’ll admit it—I’m a label guy (same with wine), and the old design was way more appealing. If I had seen the current branding on the shelf, I probably would’ve kept walking.

This brand has been ruined by private equity. This roast is a ghost of what it used to be. It used to be so flavorful and one of the best roasts. I was so proud that it was from the Chicago area. Now its a dark roast whittled down to nothing. It literally tastes like nothing and this new rebranded label is awful! The old one looked so chic. I’m not sure if the roast from Amazon is different from the site itself but this is not it!

I have been ordering this for over a year and loved it. However, the batch i have now is different- not full bodied or carmel-ish. i guess they changed the formula. i’m having to add espresso to make it full bodied. I’ll have to find a new brand.🙁

Nice strong aroma strong but not bitter very smooth taste can smell and taste the chocolate

My wife is a dark roast fan (FRC’s Black Knight being at the top of her list) so I bought this as a treat for her. I opened the bag expecting to see very dark and very oily beans and saw what appears to be a light roasted coffee bean. I made a batch in our French press and it certainly looked light a light roast coffee. I don’t know if the product was mislabeled, or the roasting was cut short and QC missed something, but I don’t know how this stuff could be a dark roast. I’m running at about a 60% “miss” rate from Amazon on coffee choices, so I guess it’s back to fresh roasted coffee roasters products for me. If this “el Diablo” is a light roast miss packaged, it has a slightly unpleasant bitter taste and would cause me to steer clear of their highly rated products.

I'm no connoisseur but my xBloom Studio allows me to reproduce more or less identical pourovers, across different batches of the same branded roast. I usually prefer brighter medium roasts, but let me say: over the past year, I've not found any other roast that's as consistently delicious, month after month, as Intelligentsia's El Diablo. Rich, smooth, and never bitter or burnt tasting like some dark roasts. I give this "safe choice" two thumbs up.

Beans seemed past expiration date or were stored poorly. Inconsistent espresso pulls. Burnt flavor.