# Illy



## Graham (Feb 4, 2013)

I think illy coffee is the best .I know a lot of people don't think that.What would you suggest to try next


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## tcr4x4 (Jan 2, 2013)

What else have you tried?

Are you talking pre ground or beans?

I thought I liked Illy ground until I tried fresh beans from Hasbean ground myself.

Different leauge in my opinion


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Graham said:


> I think illy coffee is the best .I know a lot of people don't think that.What would you suggest to try next


Am assuming you are using an espresso machine with the Illy beans.

Illy beans, like most beans sold as 'espresso' beans are dark roasted. They give a pronounced kick at the price of being rather bitter and lacking in depth of flavour. If you are accustomed to darker roasts, do an experiment, get a bag of freshly roasted beans medium plus roast. If you don't have a local roaster, try a roaster such as Londinium - their roasts are slightly darker than the offerings from roasters like Hasbean who roast lighter for more citrus notes.

With fresh beans, you will get very little if any bitterness. Instead, you will have a complex range of flavours - something Illy beans will never give. But, in the end, if you are happy with what Illy beans deliver - fine but I recommend a bit of curiosity - you might be pleasantly surprised.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Illy beans aren't necessarilly bitter and can be complex, pungunt perhaps? They benefit from being pulled long, traditional ~60g from 15g dose. Great base for a long black.

Union and Londinium will probably have beans up your street. HasBean have great beans, perhaps start with Takengon Gayon Mountain, or the Bibi Peaberrry Bold. Lots of their beans are delicious but can be challenging if you are expecting traditional espresso, both in terms flavour & in getting a good espresso extraction (until you get into the swing of things, typically grind finer & pull shorter).

You'll only know, if you try...


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Illy beans are pure muck, I wouldn't go near them. Stale, over-roasted, expensive for what you're getting. Once you try one of the top roasters e.g. HasBean, Extract etc you wont touch Illy ever again.


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## painty (Jul 25, 2011)

A week ago, Lidl had Lavazza crema e arome beans, which are somewhat similar to Illy*, at £10/kg. I believe they ship batches in for these one-off specials, so the beans should have been relatively fresh compared with usual supermarket stock. They are probably all gone by now, though perhaps worth a look if there's a Lidl nearby.

* Edit: if I recall, Lavazza are a little lighter roasted than Illy?


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## Graham (Feb 4, 2013)

Thanks for that I will give them a try


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## Graham (Feb 4, 2013)

No not muck not to your taste


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Not to anyone's taste who uses freshly ground beans


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Graham said:


> No not muck not to your taste


Quite right - each to his own. But recommend a trial of Illy against some freshly roasted beans with a medium dark roast. Then you can be reassured what's best for you.


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## sup3rdup3r (Jan 14, 2013)

I'm new to the espresso game and I got the espresso starter pack from Has Bean and so far have been really impressed


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Try some of Has Bean's Single Origins as well sup3rdup3r, I'm not a massive fan of the blends but the Single Origins blow me away.


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## series530 (Jan 4, 2013)

We used illy pre ground coffee for just under two years. To us, it was great coffee and even Italian colleagues at work commented that it was the best.

Then we tried Union Roasted beans and there was no contest. Illy is fine as pre ground but is a million miles away from decent quality freshly ground beans. Favours suddenly come alive. Different tastes come as the coffees are routed around the mouth. Crema appears like It never did before.

Cost of the grinder aside, it really isn't any more expensive to buy coffee from Union than it is to buy the tins of coffee from illy but the experience of trying a wide range of coffees rather than having just the one from a tin cannot be beaten.


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