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Intelligentsia Coffee

Ethiopia Ayla Bombe — Espresso

Ayla Bombe

WashedDark69Cherry's Index

Cup profile

lime zest · black cherry · stone fruits

  • Fruit
  • Citrus
Ethiopia Ayla Bombe — Espresso by Intelligentsia Coffee
Farm / Co-op
Testi Coffee
Process
Washed
Altitude
2000–2150 m
Varietals
heirloom
Harvest
—
Weight
340g
Bag price
$24.00
Price / oz
$2.00/oz
Brew
espresso

from the roaster’s storeread by Cherrybook from the listing“estimated” below = inferred, not stated

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Roasts to order · ships in ~3d

Your bag is roasted after you order; expect a short delay before it ships, but it arrives as fresh as the roaster can make it.

“signature blends, roasted to order” source ↗

Cherrybook last checked this listing today.

Cherry's Index

Evidence-of-quality score, not a cup score. Methodology

69

Noted

Sparse signal

Confidence23% coverage / 2 of 7 signals

Score is heavily shrunk toward 50; treat as a placeholder until more sources arrive.

How confidence affects the score

Coverage measures signal availability, not cup quality. Missing sources are dropped, remaining weights are renormalized, and the result is shrunk toward a neutral 50 baseline by 43% so one thin signal cannot carry the score on its own.

Missing: SCA grade, Coffee Review, YouTube reviews, Buyer reviews, Cherrybook tastings

  • Reddit sentiment
    Sentiment across specialty-coffee discussion
    80/ 78% weight
  • Roaster transparency
    Producer / farm / lot disclosure depth
    70/ 22% weight

Bonuses applied

  • Sprudge press coverage
    This roaster has been featured by Sprudge
    +2
  • Editorial coverage cluster
    This roaster has 3+ recent editorial mentions across trade press
    +1

Renormalized base 77.8 shrunk to 66.0 at 57% confidence + bonuses = 69.

Sensory profileestimated

Acidity
4
Body
3
Sweetness
4
Balance
4
Clean
4

Flavor wheelestimated

Comps & alternatives

Tasting flight

Taste this against three others Cherry picks.

Brew a set side-by-side. Cherry varies the picks along axes that pair with this lot; origin, process, roast, or producer; so you learn the difference, not just drink four good cups.

Build the flight

Reference · About the varietal & origin

About Intelligentsia Coffee

Community reputation · Reddit

Well-regarded· sentiment 80/100

Intelligentsia is consistently recognized alongside pioneers like Stumptown and Counter Culture as a foundational name in specialty coffee. Community members frequently reference them as accessible, high-quality beans available in grocery stores, while also noting their historical role in shaping the industry. Discussions mention their educational materials (like cupping forms), experiments in cafes (such as shifting focus to Aeropress at their original location), and placement among favorite legacy roasters.

pioneer of specialty coffeewidely available in grocery storeseducational resourceslegacy roasterconsistent quality
Threads cited (10)

Press · Sprudge

On YouTube

8 videos · 23649k combined views

Intelligentsia Coffee has 3 videos on their channel; 5 videos come from outside reviewers (Team Coco, boingboingtv, 12 for 12, and others).

From Intelligentsia Coffee

Coverage from others

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