A few years ago, I was in Chicago and went to a comedy show (ok, a puppet comedy show – this one – and I know how dorky that sounds), and they never missed an opportunity to skewer Intelligentsia Coffee for being a pretentious hipster hangout.

And since there isn’t an Intelligentsia outpost near me, I still haven’t made it there.

Except: my local Target had a fire sale last week on Intelligentsia beans, and I picked up a bag of Frequency Blend and one of El Gallo Organic Breakfast Blend.

I cracked open the Frequency Blend a few days ago, and I have to say, I am impressed. Those beans made a damn fine cup of joe, even in the decidedly un-fancy Mister Coffee machine I’ve been using for the past year.

(Even worse, I am still using the same entry-level bean grinder I’ve had since college, which has zero settings and basically offers no control over the grind. Some day I will upgrade again to a nicer coffee maker, but I’ve been paralyzed by indecision).

I checked out Intelligentsia’s homepage and discovered that they offer monthly barista classes, which sound like something I would absolutely love to do.

In the meantime, though, I’ll settle for the Brew Guides in their iPhone app.

Made me laugh: