Illy Coffee

Illy coffee is a brand that's well-known around the world and has recently begun to make inroads in the American market. From a coffee-lover's standpoint, that's a good thing–Illy coffee is one of the best tasting espressos available to the mass market. Let's take a look at the history of the company and some of the products it offers.

The Story of Illy Coffee

Illy Coffee was founded in 1933 by Francesco Illy in his hometown of Trieste, Italy. The company started out of his house, but within a few years Illy had invented a revolutionary espresso machine that caused his business to expand. The machine was the "illetta" and it was the first automated machine that substituted steam with compressed air.

Illy has been in the coffee business for over a half-century, but retains its corporate roots in Trieste to this day. The company was founded on the principle of consistency, which is an important trait for a coffee company. To this day, Illy only uses one type of coffee bean–100 percent Arabica–and despite (or perhaps because of) this fact it fills over five million cups of coffee every day.

Illy coffee is available ground or in whole bean form, but it always comes in the trademark aluminum cans. The consistency of the brand is evident in these cans–every time you pick one up you know you're in for some good coffee. If you've ever tasted Illy coffee, you'll know why so many cafés and homes use it exclusively.