Intelligentsia Coffee, one of the best coffee roasters in the world, broken down by numbers.

3: coffee bars in Chicago (3123 N. Broadway; 53 W. Jackson Blvd.; 53 E. Randolph St.)

2: coffee bars in LA (Venice, Silver Lake; this summer: Pasadena)

159: employees

8-10: thousands of pounds roasted daily in Chicago

2.3 million: projected number of pounds roasted in Chicago in 2010

3+ million: projected number of pounds roasted companywide in 2010

19: countries where the beans come from: Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia (Sulawesi), Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua (New Guinea), Peru, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.

Coffee talk: What should you be looking for in a perfect cup of coffee? Taste for its sweetness, body, acidity, finish and flavor. “Look for a balance of those,” says barista Mike Phillips.

Drink it: “Delicate, smaller espresso drinks have a life span. It’s tragically short,” says Phillips.

Taste for flavors: dark chocolate, baking chocolate, maple syrup, roasted almond, allspice, clove.

Doug Zell’s favorite beans — now: Los Inmortales-Finca Matalapa, Los Guayabos Micro-Lot (El Salvador): creamy cherry, caramel, dried fruit, lime. (Fresh crop available March 12.) Itzamna, La Maravilla (Guatemala): ripe cherry, milk chocolate, citrus. (Fresh crop arrives mid-May.) Yirgacheffee (Ethiopia): floral, bergamot, purple fruit. (Fresh crop arrives in May.)
Thiriku (Kenya): blackberry, sweet citrus with great depth. (Fresh crop in late May, early June.)