"Sounds like a whale," hip-hop artist Madlib told Kyle Glanville of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea after hearing the slurp of the professional coffee cupper. "Don't be surprised if you hear that on one of my records."

Glanville, who warned Madlib that the sound could be "jarring," said he was "certifiably star-struck" during shooting for an Adult Swim video (below) a few months ago at Intelligentsia's roasting plant in Los Angeles. "I'm a big fan."

Glanville cut his teeth in the mid-2000s at Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle, where he was head of training. He's now director of innovation for Intelligentsia, which has five stores in Chicago and Los Angeles and is working on a new shop in Pasadena.

The chain also runs a training lab in a high-rise in New York, but has no plans to open retail shops there or in Seattle.

"I think putting a coffee bar in Seattle would be like putting a coffee bar in Rome," he said.

"Seattle coffee culture is very ingrained; it's kind of like the paint is drying on Seattle coffee culture, and a lot of the players are already in place, and it kind of is what it is, whereas in a town like Los Angeles, when we came here [opening in 2007], there was nothing."

Although it's become known for its competition-winning baristas -- including Glanville, who was the 2008 U.S. barista champion, and Michael Phillips, who last month became the first U.S. winner of the World Barista Championship -- Intelligentsia has decided its baristas will no longer compete.

Founder Doug Zell explains on his blog, "Our hope is that in 2011 we can work with qualified Baristas from our wholesale customer base to help foster regional champions and perhaps a national champion that does not necessarily come from a roasting company. You can expect to see a number of folks from Intelligentsia become more involved on the other side of the table as judges."

Intelligentsia's only wholesale account in Seattle is Aster Coffee Lounge, Glanville said.

And now for our feature presentation (with thanks to Zachary Carlsen of Stumptown and Sprudge.com for the link on Facebook):