Intelligentsia Opens a New “Coffeebar” Café in Watertown

This brand's first Boston-area location will be a hub with more branches to follow.

Intelligentsia is now open in Watertown. / Photos provided

Intelligentsia is the latest arrival on the coffee scene, with the Chicago-based direct-trade roaster opening its first Boston-area Coffeebar and Training Lab in Watertown this week.

The brand has stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, and according to Eater Boston, this expansion into Boston has been in the works since last spring. The Watertown location features the same “chef’s table” pour-over bar next to the coffee bar for guests to see the process of making the each coffee. It has comfortable seating, and on-site parking. Next door to the café is Intelligentsia’s coffee training lab for the next crop of baristas and caffeine enthusiasts, along with the company’s sales office.

The café will serve the full range of Intelligentsia coffees from direct-trade sources, as well as its own Kilogram tea line. The Watertown location is also one of the few Intelligentsia locations to offer an exclusive sparkling iced tea, brewed in-house. They will also serve bakery items from Somerville’s own Forge Baking Company.

Last month, Intelligentsia president James McLaughlin told the Boston Business Journal that this location will introduce the brand as an anchor in the neighborhood, and Watertown would be a springboard for more cafés in the area. No more branches are officially planned or announced, however McLaughlin told the Journal, “We’re actively looking for new sites in Boston and Cambridge.”

Intelligentsia Coffeebar, open daily 7 a.m.-5 p.m., 810 Mount Auburn St., Training Lab, 818 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, intelligentsiacoffee.com.

sparkling iced tea intelligentsia watertown

Sparkling iced tea/ Photo provided by Intelligentsia

Intelligentsia is now open in Watertown. / Photos provided

Intelligentsia is now open in Watertown. / Photos provided