Illy

I pay $5.00 . I really enjoy this coffee . Use it daily in my stove top percolator . Only problem is the opening of the can . It does have a… Read more

warning . Best advice is to open the tin outside as there is a big gush of coffee powder . If you are a lover of coffee I would strongly recommend this brand .

Illy is perfect for super autos - review of three bean types below – Illy is one of the few 'supermarket' brands that can be trusted to deliver a reliable, smooth and bitter-free espresso in cup with a decent amount of… Read more

freshness.

First up - if you have a local roaster you love, don't expect to be blown away. If howver you are sick of sour-tasting espresso from home equipment when the notes say things like 'chocolate and berries' but it comes out as raw lemon, then Illy is likley a better choice. Their lightest roast is termed 'medium' but is darker than a boutique roaster would go. This makes the coffee more soluble and likely to release its flavours, resulting in a nice cup in any home machine - particularly a super automatic. I have an admiration for companies that produce amazing coffee while catering for the lowest denominator. There is no elitism or snobbiness - they want as many people as possible to enjoy their product.

Bitterness is a coffee tasting issue on the other end of the specturm. If sour is underextracted, then bitterness is is to do with overextraction. A comon mistake people make is to keep their pod or coffee brewing for AGES when 20-30mls is all you need with Illy. Add a second shot if you need more oomph for a milk drink. But do not keep it running. Then you'll enjoy your Illy.

The three blends I tried included: Classico, a mediuam roast; Intenso, a dark roast; and Brazil, a single-origin bean (more on this later in the review).

Each had its own distinct profile on my Delonghi Magnifica Evo - the Classico is the great all-rounder. Orange notes, cocoa notes, and a smoothness make this drinkable and floral but with the body you'd expect from an Italian espresso. This is a great coffee any time of the day.

Intenso is dark and therefore even at the lowest temp setting resulted in some bitterness in cup. As the name suggests, this is for people who genuinely like darker roasts. I recommend pulling this as a ristretto ('restricted') which is about half the volume in cup and on the lowest temperature setting your machine allows. What you get is something nutty, dark choc and aniseed finish. Not for everyone and if you prefer ligher roasts this is NOT for you at all - but there is still an art to what Illy has done here, one just has to know how to brew the best out of it. From what I'v read online, Intenso is the Illy 9-bean Classico blend taken darker in the roaster. I'm not sure how true that ius as the two blends are distinctly different. I wouldn't say this is the 'dark' version of Classico - it tastes so different.

The Brazillian bean is a single-origin, not a blend. Blending is a popular technique for building unique tastes that cannot be achieved by single origin beans. However this comes at the expense of truly amazing journey -and in my own experience home roasting beans you really do fall in love with each region's offerings. The Illy Brazil blend is INCREDIBLE - it has a cocoa start and sweet finish. This is 'the one' for me as it is so easy to drink and enjoy, and has even encouraged me to pick up some of their Guatemalan single origin to sample that. It is also quite versatile as a longer coffee.

Now for the cons: the Classico can at times taste a bit flat. Illy's vaccum sealed cans are the best packaging one could hope for - I find 1kg of beans stales easily even when put into specific coffee storage canisters. Having it in 250gm lots and in tins with a one-way-valve is genius. But the Classico more than the Intenso and the Brazil just tasted a bit muted in a way that only coffee sitting on the shelf for a while could. This seemed to change from tin to tin, so perhaps I got a dud. Later tins were better and wow, just wow, the Classico is a distinctly beautiful blend when it fires! The 'Melbourne sours' stand no chance.

Yep - Illy is 'up there' if you take your time to brew it properly. More so than Lavazza and Vittoria for sure. I would wait for sales or specials and stock up.

For what it's worth, my favourite coffee bean by far and away is the Number Six Blend by Melba Roasting. It's roasted locally and much fresher and even more affordable when Illy is not on special - so this is another con: the price of Illy.

Recommendation? Add Illy to your rotation of coffee beans. Grab the Brazil and Classico for sure when cheap. Only go Intenso if that's your thing.