Perfection has come a long way
From bean to cup, the purest tradition has its roots in the soil.
SELECTION
The first step towards quality
The quality of illy coffee starts with selecting the raw materials: only our best Arabica, from over 20 countries around the world. We nurture long-term relations with the finest coffee growers, because we believe that only a relationship based on exchange and personal growth can come up with quality results and excellence.
BLENDING
The perfect balance
Unique. This is the illy blend: its flavour stays the same wherever you are. That’s because it’s the result of a deft balance of 9 different types of our finest-quality Arabica beans, from South and Central America, as well as from India and Africa.
ROASTING
A process blending art and science
The fusion of art and science – roasting. Over the years, illy has perfected this process to achieve a coffee with a rich aromatic profile, a balanced taste and a medium-high body – the unmistakable qualities of a cup of illy espresso.
AGEING & PRESSURIZATION
How to maintain excellent flavour
Just like fine wine, coffee undergoes an ageing process. In 1934, illy pioneered pressurization, a system for preserving ground coffee in which the air in the can is replaced by an inert gas at a pressure higher than the atmospheric one. This gives the coffee fullness, roundness and intensity, enabling its fragrance to last over time.
PREPARATION
80 years of innovation
For over eighty years, innovation has been one of illy’s main features, beginning in 1935 with Illetta, the ancestor of modern coffee machines, all the way up to the high-tech Iperespresso system.
A period of intense rain helps the coffee plant to flower. From there, the fruiting process begins. After about 9 months, the drupes appear – shiny, fleshy red berries.
Brazil
Alluring hints of chocolate and toasted bread. These are the aromatic notes in the coffee that is grown in Brazil, the world’s leading producer of Arabica.
Central America
Light and sweet with acidic notes – these are the qualities of the coffee grown in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and Honduras.
Guatemala
A remarkably sweet coffee with an intense aroma of chocolate and medium acidity. The ideal complement to all blends and one of the main ingredients in filter coffee.
Colombia
With production of almost 12 million bags a year, Colombia accounts for roughly 10% of the world’s Arabica. It has a sweet delicate flavour.
India
A full-bodied coffee, with a touch of positive bitterness and a spicy aroma. Just one sip conjures up the unique flavours of India.
Ethiopia
The country that gave birth to coffee offers the best washed Arabica, kissed by gentle notes of jasmine, citrus and other fruits.
Kenya
Although Kenya produces less coffee than the other countries, its temperate unchanging climate produces the finest quality Arabica.
THE HISTORY OF COFFEE AND ITS ORIGINS
500 AD
500 AD
An Ethiopian shepherd know as Kaldi, accidentally discovered the invigorating and energetic effects of coffee cherries, when his goats casually tasted them.
1500 AD
1500 AD
Coffee began its long journey, reaching Damascus, Cairo and Istanbul.
1591 AD
1591 AD
Science began to show interest in coffee – the physician Prospero Alpini described it in his De Medicina Aegyptorum.
1645 AD
1645 AD
Italy also fell in love with coffee: the first coffee shops opened in Venice.
1700 AD
1700 AD
Coffee was now a widespread drink throughout Europe, imported directly from the colonies.
1737 AD
1737 AD
Linnaeus describes the first coffee species (Coffea arabica)
