anyone come close to an Ill-y blend?

by **coffee_joe** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:27 am

yes I think you're all correct, been drinking illy out in Italy, being Italian lol .... but the coffee in tins in the UK is rather stale, little crema :-(

shame!

hence why I'm trying to recreate a FRESH Illy version :-)

by **toast21** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:17 am

do the businesses that buy illy get the fresher supplies while the domestic users get the older beans? Or is it just the time that it takes to ship it to the UK?

by **Steve** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:02 am

coffee_joe wrote:yes I think you're all correct, been drinking illy out in Italy, being Italian lol .... but the coffee in tins in the UK is rather stale, little crema shame!

hence why I'm trying to recreate a FRESH Illy version

But Joe what do you like about it. What ios it that makes you want to re create it then you can build a unique blend to bring the atributres.

by **bruceb** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:24 am

It always tastes like dusty cardboard to me...even in Italy.

by **scottwhite** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:33 pm

Illy coffee stand in Barcelona airport (main drag) serves excellent coffee.

by **bruceb** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:25 am

scottwhite wrote:Illy coffee stand in Barcelona airport (main drag) serves excellent coffee.

I wonder what kind of coffee they use.

by **chemistone** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:04 pm

Apparently bruce is not a Illy fan. It is not the best coffee. One of my best friends came for a cup of coffee on her motor. She saw the Illy cups on top of my machine and pointed at one. I want a espresso from a real cup. When I was just starting making espresso I bought two cups, it was the only heavy cup that I could find in that period.

Many people associate Illy with real espresso. It is not that bad, just like starbucks, it makes people interested in coffee, which is a good thing. IMHO Illy is not the certainly not the worst of the big brands.

Back on topic, I don't know the mixture.

by **Steve** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:46 am

chemistone wrote:<snip> IMHO Illy is not the certainly not the worst of the big brands.

And Certainly not the cheapest, on average double the price per kilo for wholesale than anything else good I've seen.

by **lukas** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 7:26 am

If it's expensive, it must be good, eh?

by **ivdp** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 7:59 am

Although it has been said before: roasted beans stay fresh for about 1 week.
You can't expect Illy to deliver fresh beans to their customers. Logistics just prevent this.
So lower your hopes to find "fresh" Illy.

by **Sunnyfield** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:06 am

All jokes set aside about the stale Illy blend, I know what the OP refers to. Even stale Illy has a distinct Illy flavour that appeals to me. Having said that, last time I had a home-brewed Illy is probably 5 years ago.

Unfortunately I have never tasted a fresh Illy and I have no idea how to recreate it either.

by **bruceb** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:58 am

OK, no more jokes then. I actually have had fresh Illy. It was in castle Miramar in Trieste, however it was very long ago. I have no idea anymore what it tasted like. All the rest of the Illy coffee I have had has been stale and the flavour was that of stale coffee, somewhat reminiscent of the taste of stale Lavazza (I have never tasted fresh Lavazza either). If anyone gets to Trieste, the home of Illy, they should try the coffee there...and visit Miramar (which was restored under the direction of my great-grandfather over 100 years ago).

I do know this, however: The main bean is Brazilian. There is always some Indian Mysore and/or MM in it. I am guessing that it is this component that gives Illy its characteristic flavour, whatever that is. There are also usually some central American coffees in it as well.

Illy invented the use of inert gas storage (evacuating the cans and replacing the air with nitrogen and/argon). They insist that this keeps the beans fresh for 24 months and that the beans undergo an "aging process" like red wine...so that perhaps it is this "aging" that gives Illy its particular flavour.

Illy offers their espresso blend as "medium roast" and "dark roast." I don't think I've ever tasted the dark roast. If I see some I may buy a can just to try. I will report back here if I live through it. (ohhhh, forgot about not joking) :oops:

by **scottwhite** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:34 pm

ivdp wrote:Although it has been said before: roasted beans stay fresh for about 1 week.
You can't expect Illy to deliver fresh beans to their customers. Logistics just prevent this.
So lower your hopes to find "fresh" Illy.

roasted beans stay fresh in a one way valve bag for 6 months before they go downhill,if stored in a cool dry place, that's a fact.

by **Steve** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:43 pm

Not sure if your trying to wind me up or not Scott, so I'm going to sit in the corner and nod

by **lukas** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:44 pm

Ah well, this discussion again! Every now and then I change camps

, but when I open a bag that I know is 2-3 months old and the coffee that I make out of it is as good as I remember it to be from another bag I had 2-3 months ago - well, then I'm thinking about the possibility of coffee that was kept fresh in a valve bag for 2-3 months. It also seems to go downhill quite fast after opening, but that's not what we're talking about here, ain't it?

anyone come close to an Ill-y blend?

Stale.... :-)

Re: Stale.... :-)

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