Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. and Intelligentsia Coffee announced the launch of Intelligentsia in K-Cup pods for the Keurig brewing system, marking the first time the super-premium coffee brand will be offered to consumers in this format.
Chicago-based Intelligentsia has been an American specialty coffee pioneer for more than 25 years, founded by Doug Zell and Emily Mange in 1995. The duo placed a deep emphasis on sourcing exquisite coffee, paying a fair price for that coffee and roasting it with purpose and precision.
Mauricio Leyva, president of Coffee for Keurig Dr Pepper, said in the announcement, "The addition of a super-premium brand like Intelligentsia into the Keurig partner ecosystem is a testament to the quality of coffee Keurig brewers can deliver and our ability to offer premium coffee experiences. As consumers increasingly look for sophisticated convenience, partnering with Intelligentsia will allow us to continue offering vast variety and choice across all categories of coffee brands, at the touch of a button."
"Over the past two years we've had several customers tell us that they want extraordinary coffee in convenient formats," James McLaughlin, president and CEO, Intelligentsia Coffee, said in the announcement. "We recently began working with the Keurig team and are impressed with their technological advancements in the brewers. Our Innovation team invested countless hours optimizing our coffee for the K-Cup pod format. We carefully selected the green coffee, went through dozens of roast profiles, and collaborated with Keurig to achieve the finest grind and best taste available for Intelligentsia in a K-Cup pod."
Launching this month with retailers across the country as well as on Keurig.com, Intelligentsia.com and Amazon.com, Intelligentsia K-Cup pods will be offered in two distinct varieties:
- Intelligentsia House is designed to showcase intrinsic sweetness and lively fruit flavors. Milk chocolate, citrus and apple are tastes consumers love and are presented with clarity.
- Intelligentsia El Gallo is a balanced organic blend with a smooth, candied sweetness. Flavors of citrus and stone fruit meet hints of creamy nougat and caramel.
The Intelligentsia and Keurig partnership is grounded in innovation. New features within the Keurig brewing system, such as MultiStream technology, which uses five streams instead of one to thoroughly and evenly saturate the grounds to extract full flavor and aroma, ensures beloved artisanal brands like Intelligentsia will deliver the quality and taste consumers expect in every Keurig brew. Additionally, signature BrewID technology introduced in Keurig's first connected brewer, the K-Supreme Plus SMART, recognizes the specific K-Cup pod brand, variety and roast and customizes the brew settings.
