illycaffè invites all coffee lovers to take part in the blind tastings of the 9 coffees that qualified as finalists for the 2023 Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award

Trieste, October 23rd, 2023 – illycaffè announces the launch of the blind tasting events that will nominate the winner of the “Coffee Lover’s Choice”, the special award assigned directly by consumers to one of the 9 finalists for the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award is an annual international award now in its 8th year. Named after illycaffè's visionary leader, the son of the company's founder and a pioneer in virtuous collaboration with coffee farmers, the award celebrates the best coffee batches in the world in terms of sustainable quality and highlights over three decades of virtuous collaboration with coffee farmers in order to fulfil the dream of offering the world's best coffee.

It is now time for consumers to taste the 9 coffees that qualified as finalists and express their preferences in order to decree the winner of the “Coffee Lover’s Choice” award. On October 24th and 25th, the illy cafés in Milan Monte Napoleone, London Kensington, Paris Auber, Williamsburg, Virginia and Sao Paolo will host the first blind tastings of these nine coffees: consumers will be able to taste three shots of them free of charge and express their preference.

The award will be bestowed during the 8th Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards, to be held on November 16 in New York City, and pays tribute to the sustainable quality pursued by coffee farmers in the nine countries that best represent this year's crop.


Here are the dates for all the blind tasting events:

  • 25th October illy Monte Napoleone Milan
  • 25th October illy Paris Auber
  • 25th October illy London South Kensington
  • 24th and 25th October illy Sao Paolo
  • 25th October illy Williamsburg, Virginia