Intelligentsia Coffee
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Chicago specialty coffee roaster.
We couldn't confirm where Intelligentsia Coffee gets most of its coffee.
Also worth knowing
Most coffee is grown in countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, where pay is usually below a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where coffee is usually grown: worker rights are poorly protected in Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced and child labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Intelligentsia Coffee's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its coffee is grown
We couldn't confirm where Intelligentsia Coffee gets most of its coffee, so this shows where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 35% | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 20% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Colombia | 10% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ethiopia | 7% | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Peru | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Uganda | 5% | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Guatemala | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
- Direct trade (self-reported)
- Modern slavery statement
- Invests in worker and farming communities
Research notes Intelligentsia has run a Direct Trade programme for about 20 years, with regular visits to growers and higher prices paid as coffee rises through five quality grades, but it publishes no prices, farm list or origin shares; it names Central and South America and East Africa as sourcing regions. It shares price data with the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide and says 20% of its 2024 purchases were organic. It holds no Fairtrade or similar certification and has no living income target. Owner JDE Peet's publishes a group modern slavery statement.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Owner JDE Peet's lodges a group modern slavery statement for 2025 (approved May 2026), naming child labour risks on coffee farms in Honduras and Uganda. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Owner JDE Peet's scored 63/100 in the World Benchmarking Alliance 2026 Social Benchmark, as listed by Ethical Consumer Australia. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | BHRRC records JDE's response to the 2024 Bitter Brew report on slave labour in Brazil's coffee supply chain; Intelligentsia is not named. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Coffee from Brazil is listed for child and forced labour, and coffee from several Latin American and African origins for child labour. View |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Intelligentsia buys through its own Direct Trade programme rather than Fairtrade. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Neither JDE Peet's nor owner Keurig Dr Pepper is among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Four farms in Brazil's Cooxupé cooperative were added to the government's slave labour 'Dirty List' in 2025 over 36 workers, including a 16-year-old; owner JDE was named as a buyer of an affiliated exporter, and the buyers named said they had not sourced from those farms, and no link to Intelligentsia coffee has been shown (Repórter Brasil via BHRRC, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Jacobs Douwe Egberts Australia (Ethical Consumer Australia) · search the archive · JDE Peet's WBA Social Benchmark 63/100 (2026).
- Brazil: Cooxupé blocks suppliers after entry into Dirty List (BHRRC, 2025) · search the archive · Cooxupé farms on slave labour list in 2025; JDE said it had not bought from them.
- US DOL List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor · search the archive · Coffee from Brazil listed for child and forced labour; several other origins for child labour.
- Weekly Coffee News: Stumptown president signs off (Daily Coffee News, 2026) · search the archive · Keurig Dr Pepper completed its purchase of JDE Peet's in spring 2026.
- Intelligentsia Black Cat Classic Espresso (Amazon Australia) · search the archive · Intelligentsia beans sold online with delivery in Australia; no Australian cafés.
- Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea (Wikipedia) · search the archive · Chicago HQ, founded 1995, 16 cafés, owned by JDE Peet's since 2015; buys in Central and South America and East Africa.
Published by Intelligentsia Coffee or its owner
- Intelligentsia Direct Trade · search the archive · Direct Trade for nearly 20 years; sourcing visits; quality-tiered prices; data to Transaction Guide; 20% organic in 2024; no prices published.
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Intelligentsia Coffee ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/intelligentsia, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded beans and roasters
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Intelligentsia Coffee.