Nonpareil, January 9, 2011

I've been brewing espresso at home for over 25 years, and have tried just about everything (including lugging suitcases full of coffee from Italy). This coffee is indeed superior to everything else. What's interesting is that the coffee is ground perfectly for espresso machines, so I'm saved the chore and mess of grinding my own. For some reason, the chief competitor, Lavazza, although selling decent coffee, for less than half the price, does not grind it optimally, forcing me to buy their beans and grind them myself. Illy is expensive, at least double the runner-up. But then you could argue, that 45 cents a cup, instead of 20 cents, amounts to less than a dollar per day difference (assuming 4 cups per day), an amount you could afford spoiling yourself. Unfortunately, Amazon's price is even higher than our local supermarkets (Safeway, Giant, etc) where it's sold for $12.99 a can. You could save 15% by subscribing, but then you could stock up locally when it's on sale.