Illy Ground Espresso Coffee, Classico Medium Roast - Mild & Balanced - 100% Arabica - Pre-Ground for Espresso - Pressurized Packaging Sealed for Freshness - 8.8oz (Pack of 2)

The best coffee for my taste

In my opinion this is the finest coffee on the market for making espresso or cappuccino. There's no comparison. I make a lot of espresso and cappuccino. It also makes a wonderful cup of drip coffee. Not too dark of a roast. That's what I like. Great Aroma and very smooth. Not too acidic either.

This stuff is just fabulous, which is clearly why it gets top magazine ratings for Best Coffee AND why Illy can command such a high price even in this down market. Once you begin your day with it, nothing else seems to measure up. Note that the Illy USA website offers a 6 pack for a dollar less per can ( i.e. $ 78.00 for 6 ) than Amazon's current price for 2 cans - and ordered from Illy any order over $ 75.00 gets free S/H. It would seem that Amazon should be able to get this price from Illy as well. [ Also Note: the title of this review is coffee-type specific given as labeled on the can itself, since this is the only Illy coffee i have tried. ]

Sorry folks, but Starbucks has nothing on the espresso, cappuccinos and lattes I make at home with Illy. A friend introduced me to this brand almost 15 years ago and I've never found its equal (and I've looked). The problem was finding it locally. Often I would have to go to 3 different stores and still come up empty. You can often find it at World Market or William Sonoma, but not always this particular roast. I prefer the medium ground espresso blend. I prepare the espresso in my Breville "Infuser" Espresso Machine (previous I had Krups). I know there are purists out there who prefer to grind their own beans (and Illy has whole beans if you prefer), but the ground beans come in a vacuum sealed can and the grind seems to be perfect. Every shot comes out with just the right amount of crema and the flavor is full and not too tart as I've found other espresso blends. With the exception of days when I'm away from home traveling, not ONE day has gone by in the past decade + where I haven't had my morning Illy. And I miss it when I'm on the road. On the occasions where I ran out of my Illy (that is, until I starting using Amazon Prime and now I'm never out of stock), I've tried Lavazza, which is touted as Italy's favorite, and it serves well as my backup, but nothing compares to my Illy.

I wish I would find another coffee that is as good as this one. Each time I am more adventurous and buy a different brand, I always come back to Illy. The espressos create a great foam on top and a great tasting presso. Not the most affordable, but the quality is worth it. (If you go to Europe, you can buy them a bit cheaper. I paid around 50% of what we pay here - though admittedly it was on a sale at the time).

I love this coffee, when I feel lazy and don't want to grind coffee for my espresso machine this is finely ground enough for that. I wouldn't use this coffee in a Moka pot, drip coffee maker, pour over, or French press. I will continue to rebuy this when my stock get depleted. It is what I drink mostly when I am home by myself or when I have guests over and don't want to open a bag of whole beans to grind.

I had a coffee at the airport and was blown away by Illy---never heard of it so looked it up on Amazon, which has EVERYTHING-- ordered a couple of cans. It tasted better at the airport but I figured maybe it was the coffeemaker so I bought a different kind, a perculator. It is very good, but too expensive for me to use on a daily basis.

We used to use individually wrapped pods but the box of 150 (the only affordable way to purchase) took up too much room. These Illy cans are small enough for one person to use most of the product up having one double a day before it starts to turn rancid. Perfect size for two people or a heavier drinker; your espresso will always be fresh. It costs a bit more per shot than the bulk pods but we save on the space. And it costs much less per shot than say a box of 12 pods. The flavor is excellent, never bitter, and the grind is very fine. It basically packs itself. I can't apply any pressure or my machine won't be able to handle it.