illyCoffee Beans, Luxury Arabica Coffee Beans Selection, Brazil, 250g

Bought this to try in our new Sage machine as he loves stronger coffee and his exact words were “best coffee beans he’s ever had” (not counting freshly made ones) and he enjoys buying them regularly now. Excellent taste and flavours. Definitely worth the price for the quality of the coffee. I definitely feel like they are even fresher than usual bags of coffee beans as they’re in a tin with a full can seal on them (like tins have) and this makes them way more durable during delivery if we can’t get them whilst we are out shopping.

Great flavour arrived as advised

Illy coffee is excellent and I keep coming back to it after I have tried any other make of Arabica coffee but I will probably keep to their Illys’ generic beans in future as these special origin beans do not really merit the extra price tag

Love these coffee beans! Not the first time I have ordered. Really good value, great taste, the smell is amazing! 👌🏽 recommended to me and 100% passing the recommendation on!

Really good quality coffee. Good aroma and roast flavour. Taste great with oat milk

Nice taste and strength, found slightly bitter if fine ground so went coarser and made very good espresso, lattes and cortado's, prefer to the red standard can

We keep returning to these excellent beans even though our coffee-loving son keeps getting us to try locally roasted ones.The locally roasted beans are fresher and a little fruitier but just a little. The Illy beans, though, manage both strength and roundness, avoiding all unwanted bitterness.We’ve now tried so many over several years, but find these to be the best coffees beans for our DeLonghi bean to cup coffee machine.

This was ok but, for me, nothing exceptional. Of course coffee, like wine, is very subjective. Some people prefer a ‘stronger’ or darker roast while others prefer a lighter roast. In terms of taste there wasn’t anything objectionable. The coffee had a round smooth flavour that was nutty, sweet with undertones of chocolate. Nonetheless I prefer a darker roast. I have also grown somewhat fond of coffees that blend both Arabica and Robusta beans, which is an acquired taste but popular in parts of Italy and Portugal in particular. Not to everyone’s taste, I would concede. Indeed the Portuguese term for an espresso, Bica, is often said to mean Beba Isto Com Açucar [drink this with sugar].Most countries prefer 100% Arabica coffee beans for their espressos, making the drink creamier and more fragrant. Portugal, however, uses a mix of Arabica and Robusta beans, usually to a ratio of 4/1.Lavazza Qualità Rossa is an Italian blend of Robusta and Arabica beans with an aromatic and smooth flavour which I have grown to enjoy. And being a far more complex flavour with darker chocolatey notes, many other coffees, particularly medium or lighter roast Arabica coffees seem somewhat pallid to my palate.Of course, at the end of the day, it’s a personal choice. Italians in Milan like a subtle, sweet yet lively espresso. As such coffee blends in this area will incorporate more Arabica beans. Italians in Naples, on the other hand, enjoy a more bitter and intense style and their blends will incorporate more Robusta beans.So in summary, this illy coffee was nice, but lacked the intensity and punch that my current favourite, Lavazza Qualità Rossa, gives me.