Italy's contribution to modern civilization comes in the form of its roasted coffee beans. Italian coffee beans are known throughout the world, and are the preferred beans of choice amongst coffee experts from Barcelona to Rio.There are dozens of coffee bean roasters in Italy, and each region has its own preference in terms of strength, aroma, and crema. For me, my favourite brand of roasted coffee beans is Illy Caffe, with its elegant aroma and nutty, caramel-like velvety texture and smooth, subtle aftertaste.
In recent years, Illy has been busy setting up a series of modern and stylish concept coffee bar/bistros all over the world known as Espressamente Illy. I am a big fan of these Espressamente Illy bars, and have always made an effort to locate them wherever I go. The good thing I love about Espressamente Illy is, in addition to wonderful espresso and coffee at reasonable prices, they also have simple yet tasty bistro lunch, savoury hot snacks and pasta, as well as freshly prepared salads, desserts, pastry and cakes on offer.
And the good thing about Espressamente Illy is, the kind of food available at each Espressamente Illy bistro varies from country to country. They place great emphasis on the freshness and locality of the food available to customers: for instance, if you visit an Espressamente Illy in Italy, you will find marvellous salads prepare with fresh local ingredients such as authentic Italian mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk, seasonal vegetables from Liguria or Piedmont, as well as sauces made with extra-virgin olive oils from Tuscany. Whereas if you have lunch at an Espressamente Illy in Portugal, you will be confronted with a swaggering variety of sweet pastery and egg tarts, sandwiches etc. Their effort to utilise fresh local produce and seasonable fruits and vegetables ensure that no matter where you are, you can always be assured of a healthy and delicious lunch accompanied by high-quality coffee.
In recent years, Illy has been busy setting up a series of modern and stylish concept coffee bar/bistros all over the world known as Espressamente Illy. I am a big fan of these Espressamente Illy bars, and have always made an effort to locate them wherever I go. The good thing I love about Espressamente Illy is, in addition to wonderful espresso and coffee at reasonable prices, they also have simple yet tasty bistro lunch, savoury hot snacks and pasta, as well as freshly prepared salads, desserts, pastry and cakes on offer.
And the good thing about Espressamente Illy is, the kind of food available at each Espressamente Illy bistro varies from country to country. They place great emphasis on the freshness and locality of the food available to customers: for instance, if you visit an Espressamente Illy in Italy, you will find marvellous salads prepare with fresh local ingredients such as authentic Italian mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk, seasonal vegetables from Liguria or Piedmont, as well as sauces made with extra-virgin olive oils from Tuscany. Whereas if you have lunch at an Espressamente Illy in Portugal, you will be confronted with a swaggering variety of sweet pastery and egg tarts, sandwiches etc. Their effort to utilise fresh local produce and seasonable fruits and vegetables ensure that no matter where you are, you can always be assured of a healthy and delicious lunch accompanied by high-quality coffee.
Given that Turin is the hometown of the coffee giant known as Lavazza, it took some time before Illy Caffe managed to consolidate its position in the heartland of Lavazza. But they are certainly doing a good job with their efforts to establish themselves in Turin, and making great inroads: the recently opened Espressamente Illy, situated on the third floor of La Rinascente, a department store located on Via Lagrange (a.k.a. Via Giuseppe Luigi Lagrange), is busy with locals during lunch time and afternoon coffee times.
In addition to the cafe bistro at Via Lagrange, there is another Espressamente Illy at the popular pedestrian shopping zone of Via Giuseppe Garibaldi. A wonderful latte macchiato made with Illy espresso, drank over the bar counter, costs just 1.20 euro.
There are also an increasing number of privately owned cafes and bars in Turin which have chosen Illy caffe over Lavazza to be their coffee supplier. I will focus on some of them in another blog entry.
Copyrights@2010. All photos and text by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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