People who are new to the rich, luxurious world that is espresso drinking may find themselves overwhelmed by the options and amazing merchandise available. There are so many choices to be had. How do you want your espresso? Will you travel to exclusive café clubs to purchase it? Would you rather sit at home and read a book while sipping your drink? What kind of flavor would you prefer it to have? Bold? Tame? It can take some time to fully understand what espresso drinking is all about. It is essentially a culture in some countries, where people take specific time off to visit their favorite café and laugh with friends and family as they enjoy their drinks. Offices have now begun putting espresso machines within their break rooms and large meeting chambers. Travel hosts showcase the latest and greatest cup of espresso (and sometimes they don’t even know what to expect and find themselves surprised).
Many companies recognized this desire for gourmet coffee brewing and have created various machines and accessories to go with them for people to use in the comfort of their own home. Have you ever heard of an illy espresso machine? Then it’s about time you did your homework. There is a fascinating array of both United States vendors selling high-end products as well as international brands that are slipping into homes across the world. With their architecturally stunning twisting tower at their headquarters in Italy, illy makes sure everyone knows that they bring style to their illy espresso machines as well as their reputation in general.
illy History
Francesco Illy began his company in 1933. With his main base of operations in Trieste, Italy, he began to develop new ideas for his company early on. Within two years he created the patented “illeta.” The “illeta” was the precursor to future espresso machines. He coupled this innovation with pressurization, which was his patented system for preserving the coffee blend. By using this ground-breaking technique, he was able to ship coffee across Italy and grow the company. Typically, sending coffee on such a long journey was extremely difficult. Under normal circumstances it would lose freshness or simply would never take the trip because it would not last. Francesco’s new ideas allowed the coffee to survive the journey and arrive in a fresh, useable state.
In 1939, the company continued to extend espresso culture and brought it to Northern Europe. Sweden and Holland obtained the privilege of experiencing espresso for the first time in the whole of the area and people were surprised and delighted at the taste and smell of a single cup of concentrated coffee. The positive response gave the company a chance to expand its market and it continued to grow throughout the years, weathering World War II and beginning to look to new technologies to increase its influence even more. They had not yet begun manufacturing illy espresso machines, but the time would come soon.
Francesco’s son, Ernesto, jumped onboard the company in 1947. A “cocktail of science and business” as he called himself, Ernesto had all the reason in the world to claim such a thing. As a chemistry graduate, Ernesto brought new insight to the company, proving that looking into new technology and utilizing various sciences and research would strengthen the company. They began to create bonds with different and useful businesses, science centers, and even universities. In 1957 the company decided to build a can manufacturing plant in order to fully control the freshness of their coffee. Being able to have such control allowed them to offer guarantees to clients, reinforcing their already stellar reputation. They also opened a chemistry lab to seek out better methods than before of keeping coffee fresh and improving flavor. Knowing that people were looking to experience the joy of coffee within their homes, they began to develop smaller cans for everyday consumers, much to their delight.
After moving the headquarters to Via Flavia where both the lab and plant were located, the company reaped in the benefits of good management and in 1974 they became the first company in the world to offer individual coffee pods meant for people to be able to mimic café-style coffee right at home. Keeping up with their standards, these pods also offered the same high caliber of taste all while being quick and easy to produce in the kitchen.
From there the company continues to develop newer and better products from illy’s line of cups to illy espresso machines. They’re stronger than ever and constantly seek out the most delicious coffee to bring to consumers as well as embracing all things coffee, from photography art to creating new Italian style cafés across the globe.
What illy is Known For
Not just known for their amazing illy espresso machine, illy also promotes the world of the specialty coffee bean and the spread of coffee culture. They have created what is known as “espressamente illy.” This is a plan to create a whole chain of coffeehouses across the world in order to bring Italian coffee to the international community. They aim for high quality service and coffee, as well as an aesthetic value to the cafés themselves, bringing in various architects known for their innovation and unique style. Within only 3 years, 150 cafés have opened in a total of 20 countries.
Bringing coffee culture is one of illy’s passions, so along with their franchise plan, in 2000 they created “Università del caffè” (University of Coffee). They bring students of the university a full education in everything coffee and café. The range is wide, from entrepreneurs to coffee growers to hotel staff to regular coffee connoisseurs. They are taught theoretical and practical preparation of coffee, learning about coffee culture and all manner of preparation techniques.
Italian style espresso is not far away. Think it’s hard to get an illy espresso machine? Not quite. illy has a comfortable spot in the United States, illyUSA, where you can visit in order to find exactly the right machine to fit your needs.
