In the May issue of Esquire magazine, the following was listed as #5 on a list entitled “60 Things Worth Shortening Your Life For”:
5. Black Cat espresso from Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea.
A triple. Note the exceedingly heavy body, with chocolate, caramel, and dried-fruit notes. Also note that you’re vibrating. That means it’s working. intelligentsiacoffee.com.
While it’s true that we pull double shots downtown with triple baskets (that’s over 21g of Black Cat!), please keep in mind that coffee and especially espresso has been shown to have significant beneficial health effects when consumed in moderation.
More importantly the stuff is just plain delicious- isn’t that reason enough?
You’re right, black cat is delicious. That’s what’s served at the best café in Pittsburgh, my local place.
While it’s great to ride the rails of the taboo, it’s worth noting the exaggeration Esquire has made. It’s really hard to die from caffeine:
Like the other members of its family, caffeine, as a poison of sorts, can actually be toxic—even lethal. But a person would have to consume a really huge amount of caffeine to die from it. A deadly dose of coffee—or any of the other caffeine-bearing products, like chocolate or cola—is equivalent to 40 strong cups (5,000 milligrams) and your body would most certainly reject it before it could do any harm. An injection of this amount of pure caffeine, however, would more than likely do the trick.
All things in moderation, as they say.
Hi Casey- thanks for reading the website. I thought it was a funny little blurb too.
We don’t really consider coffee a serious risk unless you are talking about quitting your job and starting up your own coffee shop(s). Anyway, we love Aldo (we have a link to their shop on this site) and visit there every chance we get. They really do a wonderful job there. We like to think we do a darn good job as well. I’m glad that you have found them and hope that you’ll stop by our place if you’re ever in the neighborhood.
Stay safe and enjoy your coffee responsibly
My wife and I have stopped at your place in the Strip, and we love it, too. It’s the first time we got latte art in Pittsburgh. We don’t get as many chances as we do for Aldo. I should have made it clear that I was stating my opinion.
To be perfectly frank, I forgot I was on a blog from another local coffee shop. I realized this morning and felt very silly.