While on the road riding our motorcycles, always the same question comes up: Where to find the best cup of coffee? Maybe we’ve had the most brilliant idea recently. We should just take the coffee machine with us. It has a removable tank, runs on electricity and uses capsules. So long as we find a power outlet anywhere, we’re good to go. And which masterpiece fits into our backpack?
Just barely, but still: it’s the X7.1 Iperespresso by Illy. The first model of this espresso machine using ground coffee was launched over 20 years ago. The colour red of the machine reminded us somehow of Ferrari, even if it is the classic Illy red – and it turns out, we weren’t so wrong: the designer Luca Trazzi found inspiration in the iconic designs from the house of Ferrari. We thought, with its attachment to motorised vehicles, the machine fits well with us.
Nowadays, you can choose whether to use ground coffee (in this case, your choice would be the X1 Ground or the Pulcina – an ingenious cooperation between Illy and Alessi), or coffee in the form of capsules. Usually we don’t favour coffee capsules, but those of Illy are made from recyclable PP plastic while the coffee inside can simply be composted. The capsules are super practical, especially while you’re away on travel.
We love the Italian coffee culture and almost everyone in our team drinks espresso. It’s quite obvious that we like Illy as our CEO Dominik is from Carinthia, and from there Trieste, where the family-run company is situated, is just a stone’s throw away. Almost throughout the entire city, you drink Illy coffee and so we acquired a taste for it as well. The Illy blend is comprised of nine different varieties of Arabica beans: Illy’s own blend is selected from the world’s best Arabica beans, finding the most suitable varieties to get the ideal flavour combination for an espresso. Only the balance of these varieties ensures that the espresso, so to say, the elixir of coffee, reflects the marvellous mix of aromas of the coffee bean.
The company’s knowledge on excellent coffee production was acquired with continuous development work for decades in collaboration with coffee farmers across the world. From the early beginning, Illy maintains close relations to those farmers who sell their green coffee beans to the company. In contrast to most other companies on the market, Illy purchases the raw product directly from growers, without intermediaries. As a consequence, not only long-term, intensive relationships to the farmers developed, but it is also possible to permit growers better earnings above the market price on their coffee quality (as there are no intermediaries to pay).
In every country Illy operates and at every place where coffee is grown, the family-run business is also endeavouring to provide knowledge transfer in terms of environmental protection. Sustainability begins with promoting participation in the community, the construction and development of the villages, the caring for soil and water, and ends with the ways and means to cultivate the plants and harvest the coffee. Illy has set high goals for itself as well. Diverse initiatives by Illycaffè are part of a comprehensive programme that is based on the EU energy-climate package setting the following targets in terms of sustainability and environmental protection to be met by 2020: reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, a 20% cut in energy consumption and a 20% increase in the use of renewable energy sources.
And because we love Illy coffee and want to share it with you, we are giving away 2 X7.1 Iperespresso machines, among all those who can tell us the name of the current president of Illycaffè!
Like us on Facebook and leave a comment with the right answer under this post on FB. The lottery ends on 15th October 2017 , the winners will be notified via email or via Facebook!
Good luck!
You can find more info on Illy here: www.illy.com
Illy coffee machines are available here: shop.illy.com