FRENCH PRESS: 9 – Vampire coffee equivalent!
Espresso shot: 8 – Hell yeah, I’ll drink it again!
ANY WAY YOU LIKE IT: 8+ BECAUSE YOU LITERALLY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS COFFEE.
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Joe recently ordered a bunch of different coffees from Amazon. As we were unboxing them, he says to me (Pegritz): “I got some of this Illy. It’s supposed to be one of the best brands in the world.”
“Huh,” I said. “Never heard of it.”
“What do you mean you never heard of it? It’s everywhere!” And then, after a pause. “Well, everywhere in Europe.”
Joe first saw the iconic Illy Classico can when he was studying in Budapest back in 2010. And it is indeed ubiquitous on the Continent: stores in Europe carry Illy like stores here in the States carry Maxwell House (which confirms for us the manifest superiority of Europe over America). Illy is an Italian company started in the early 1930s, so they have nearly a hundred years of experience in the coffee game, and, godDAMN, is that apparent in the quality of their flagship coffee. This stuff kicks all the ass. It is easily one of the best medium roasts we have ever had—which just goes to show you that coffees produced by large corporations are not necessarily crappy.
We first drew a few shots on Joe’s espresso machine to see how well it worked in that format. The unground beans have a wonderfully rich nutty smell that I really hoped would persist in the flavor. It sure as hell does! As an espresso shot, the Illy Classico is smooth and tangy, with just a hint of bitterness to add some extra piquancy. The nutty notes are strong but not overpowering. It’s not the absolute greatest espresso we’ve had, but it’s up there.
On the other hand, when prepared in a French press…hooooooooo, boy—it is Tha Bomb Diggity! Now, we kinda screwed up the grind, as there was still a bit of the fine espresso grounds in the coffee grinder’s shoot that got mixed in with the coarser French press grounds. But so what?—if it makes good coffee, who cares. We plunged the press and doled out some cups and got to sipping.
Seriously, the Illy Classico makes a damn good cup of coffee. The flavor is distinct from the espresso, with the nuttiness thinned out but still present—and it is so smooth it’s like drinking silk. Joe likes his coffee piping hot, but once it cooled off a bit, it got even better. I noticed that too: as the coffee cooled, the flavor profile didn’t drastically change, but it did grow richer. As the iced coffee drinker, I was just floored when the cup had reached a tepid temperature—and even more impressed when I dropped a few ice cubes into it. The cubes never melted enough to water the cup down, because I slammed it so fast they never had a chance to.
So yeah…this is the Real Deal here. Illy Classico is one of the best coffees I’ve ever had. Period. I’m honestly surprised to be saying that, since my experience with coffee produced by giant American coffee companies has been pretty abysmal—but Illy’s based in Europe, and that’s where they’re roasting formula was created. Just drink it. It’s amazing.
—Pegritz from pegritzandjoedrinkcoffee.com
Pegritz and Joe Drink Coffee 
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