# Very interesting documentary



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

With so many people having their heads up their backsides when it comes to coffee, this is a fascinating documentary

http://entiredocumentaries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/illy-coffee-megafactories.html

It is all about Illy. The first 8 minutes are advertising but from their on it, I think not many will realise either the scale of the operation or the vast QC that goes on. Go on, watch it!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

What is it you enjoy about coffee btw ?

Ps I've seen this before.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> What is it you enjoy about coffee btw ?
> 
> Ps I've seen this before.


The whole process from start to finish. Please explain how a country can be so in love with a product that is the single largest brand of coffee in the world yet you poo poo it because Uncle James has not endorsed it.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Having tried it I don't like the taste. I don' know who uncle james is anyway . Enjoy what you like , no problems with you liking it at all. I just don't feel the need to use " head up arse " comments about people who like to explore other types of coffee and tastes or disagree with your point of view

Peace out .


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I enjoyed watching the documentary btw , its worth seeing how these massive concerns control their quality and production , its just i have no affinity for the way they make stuff or the end product they produce ( referring to their espresso blends ) .


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Having tried it I don't like the taste. I don' know who uncle james is anyway . Enjoy what you like , no problems with you liking it at all. I just don't feel the need to use " head up arse " comments about people who like to explore other types of coffee and tastes or disagree with your point of view
> 
> Peace out .


did you think I was referring to you, boots darling? I was simply stating, that Costa and the likes serve far more coffee per day than all your 3rd wave artisan lightly roasted superior coffee shops put together.......like it or not. I quite agree, it might not be to your educated taste, but the vast majority of people who buy Illy and use Costa are not educated in coffee terms. Simple fact, more people use pods than fresh


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Not bothered if you are referring to me tbh. I have Costa about once a month or so when on travels . I've said before if you get the right barista and the old paradise street stuff it can be ok . Taste is taste , educated or not ( wouldn't say mine is educated ) . 90 percent of people who enjoy Costa etc don't end up on here - as most want to explore what's beyond those chains . 3rd wave is my most hated coffee term , it means sod all to most people ( myself included ) and tends to be more bandied about by people who want to characterise a perceived set of common bales or tastes they they don't enjoy or disagree with .

What's you point re pods though ? This place is full of people spending £1000s on gear to make coffee at home . Your talking to the wrong crowd .


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

" third wave " owes a massive debt to the work of illy and Starbucks on the 70s . Just their coffee nowadays ain't for me ...


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Not bothered if you are referring to me tbh. I have Costa about once a month or so when on travels . I've said before if you get the right barista and the old paradise street stuff it can be ok . Taste is taste , educated or not ( wouldn't say mine is educated ) . 90 percent of people who enjoy Costa etc don't end up on here - as most want to explore what's beyond those chains . 3rd wave is my most hated coffee term , it means sod all to most people ( myself included ) and tends to be more bandied about by people who want to characterise a perceived set of common bales or tastes they they don't enjoy or disagree with .
> 
> What's you point re pods though ? This place is full of people spending £1000s on gear to make coffee at home . Your talking to the wrong crowd .


The point of the video, is to show people the sheer scale of the operation. The qc was amazing even if the end product is not. If you have not watched it, please do, not to try and convert you to Illy, but to let you see a side of coffee you probably did not know existed


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> Simple fact, more people use pods than fresh


You say this is a fact, presumably you have a source for it?


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Watched it and the scale is impressive. Does pressurising the tins with nitrogen really enhance the flavour ?

Back to the McD analogy - does big and consistent really mean good ?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

working dog said:


> Watched it and the scale is impressive. Does pressurising the tins with nitrogen really enhance the flavour.


Eliminating the oxygen helps preserve it, Illy pack under pressure, Lavazza vac pack (as has been done for decades by them & others), lots of others nitrogen flush or pack in an oxygen free environment.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> You say this is a fact, presumably you have a source for it?


For once, use your imagination Mark! How many adverts on TV do you see for pods and instant, compared to what we would define as fresh coffee


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> For once, use your imagination Mark! How many adverts on TV do you see for pods and instant, compared to what we would define as fresh coffee


I don't define any coffee as "fresh" personally, greens are dried & processed. Current crop, recently roasted make sense to me. To the population at large any roast and ground coffee is perceived as "fresh", as opposed to instant.

Nevertheless, I have been known to use my imagination but I am aware that there are 'facts' & the 'things that I imagine', they might not always be mutually exclusive, but they're generally not the same thing


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> I don't define any coffee as "fresh" personally, greens are dried & processed. Current crop, recently roasted make sense to me. To the population at large any roast and ground coffee is perceived as "fresh", as opposed to instant.
> 
> Nevertheless, I have been known to use my imagination but I am aware that there are 'facts' & the 'things that I imagine', they might not always be mutually exclusive, but they're generally not the same thing


Maybe not in your world! In mine, advertising sells which is why it exists. I used the word fresh as a perception. I imagine you perceive that you make drinks from fresh coffee, be that freshly roasted or freshly ground. I doubt you buy pre ground supermarket coffee as you will not consider it fresh, even though the Trading Standards do not have a definition for the word fresh in food terms. I was comparing the type of coffee that forum afficiandos drink compared to the masses, and asking, does a little knowledge really make the fresh, forum drinkers superior to the proles who drink chain/mass produced stuff


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

@MWJB

congratulations on your 5000!


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

MWJB said:


> Eliminating the oxygen helps preserve it, Illy pack under pressure, Lavazza vac pack (as has been done for decades by them & others), lots of others nitrogen flush or pack in an oxygen free environment.


Preserving I can accept but in the film it made a big deal of the pressure and nitrogen enhancing the coffee which, although not a big deal, was misleading.

I'm now wondering why I'm worrying about nitrogen in Illy coffee.

Interesting to see the section about art and design which is important to the company. Love it or hate it, their marketing is very good


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

I've seen this documentary on History or Discovery or whatever. It's part of the "how it's made" or "megafactories" series.

Your right David, it's absolutely fascinating


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

Was an interesting watch. I guessed it would be a big operation, but its much bigger then I thought.

I was hoping they would mention decaf as I'm interested to know which process they use.

While I have yet to buy a tin for home use, I have had many a good cup in cafes and restaurants.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Hibbsy said:


> Was an interesting watch. I guessed it would be a big operation, but its much bigger then I thought.
> 
> I was hoping they would mention decaf as I'm interested to know which process they use.
> 
> While I have yet to buy a tin for home use, I have had many a good cup in cafes and restaurants.


I drink Illy Decaf quite often at home and it is one of my favourite beans. I can drink decaf only these days......buy a tin.......if you like a coffee with a typical bit of a kick, it might be for you


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

I may well get a tin at some point, but fully stocked with beans at the min.


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## joltuk (Oct 27, 2016)

Thanks for this. Interesting viewing!


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## oursus (Jun 5, 2015)

working dog said:


> Preserving I can accept but in the film it made a big deal of the pressure and nitrogen enhancing the coffee which, although not a big deal, was misleading.
> 
> I'm now wondering why I'm worrying about nitrogen in Illy coffee.
> 
> Interesting to see the section about art and design which is important to the company. Love it or hate it, their marketing is very good


The nitrogen is just used to purge oxygen - stops oxidation (funnily enough!) for pre-ground it's a step beyond vacuum packing


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

I haven't clicked the link yet - is this the one where the Illy president talks about how it's like the champagne of coffee and so will only sell it through certain outlets, followed by selling it through every pub across the UK 12 months later?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

filthynines said:


> I haven't clicked the link yet - is this the one where the Illy president talks about how it's like the champagne of coffee and so will only sell it through certain outlets, followed by selling it through every pub across the UK 12 months later?


nope......it is mainly about the factory and how they make it, after the first 8 mins anyway


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Sounds interesting - I will check it out


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## salty (Mar 7, 2017)

Thanks for the link. I thought it was an interesting documentary - I had no idea that Illy was such a massive operation. I like their coffee, I like their tins and I like their espresso cups and logo.

I had no idea about the scale of their operation - which I find a bit scary, I guess because I have a general suspicion about companies that control so much of a market, particularly when they are working with growers in developing countries. Having spent a lot of time in Nicaragua and Costa Rica and seen first hand the devastation to the environment when single mega buyers dominate a market, pushing producers into methods which are harmful to both the environment (deforestation, growing in direct sunlight with a dependance on fertilizers and pesticides) and to the people producing their crops. Illy highlight their environmental credentials (including "Minimal water usage, waste water reduction, natural shading of plants with native trees and minimization of synthetic product usage" and welfare of their producers on their website but aren't Fairtrade members, which seems a shame given their dominance in the market. However I've spent 5 minutes googling Illy & environment and didn't come up with anything apart from criticism that they aren't fairtrade. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be the outcome if I did the same search for McDonalds, Del Monte or Starbucks.

So those concerns aside, and lets face it, I don't do an environmental impact assessment for every other pack of coffee I buy, I thought it was was interesting and thought provoking and worth a watch - so thanks!

Tim


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Enjoyed watching that


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

I have no knowledge of the nitrogen thing but I once ordered from Gardelli who pack their coffee in some sort of nitrogen processed bags, can't remember exactly the name of the process, and I must say I felt the beans tasted surprisingly good 3-4 weeks after roast date.


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## Blue_Cafe (Jun 22, 2020)

Interesting thread.

I keep coming back to my first steps in coffee and the tin of Illy i enjoyed and get confused by the 3rd wave-ers who wouldn't use it to clean the grinder. I enjoyed it when i had it and i have had far worst stuff from local roasters.


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