Why we serve illy coffee

Plenty of cafes change their coffee every few weeks. A new guest roast, a new origin, tasting notes on a chalkboard. It can be fun. It also means the flat white you loved on Tuesday may not exist by the following Monday.

We went the other way. Every espresso, cappuccino, latte and flat white at Belsize Priory is made with illy, and that is not going to change.

A little history

illy was founded in Trieste, in the north-east corner of Italy, in 1933. Its founder, Francesco Illy, spent the next few years working on the problems that still matter to anyone making espresso: how to pull a shot consistently, and how to stop roasted coffee going stale. The company has been run by the same family ever since.

One blend, on purpose

illy makes one blend of 100% Arabica, sourced from growers in several countries and roasted to the same recipe every time. The aim is not novelty. It is that the coffee tastes the same in October as it did in April, and the same in our cups as it does in Trieste.

That is exactly what we want behind the bar. A neighbourhood cafe runs on regulars, and regulars want their usual. When the coffee is consistent, the only thing left that can change your drink is how carefully we make it, and that part is our job.

What it tastes like

Smooth, rounded and low in bitterness, with notes people usually describe as caramel, chocolate and a little floral. It is a classic Italian espresso rather than a bright, fruity modern roast. It stands up well to milk, which matters when most of what we pour is a cappuccino or a latte, and it is easy to drink as a straight espresso too.

Try it the way it was meant

If you have only ever had illy in a milky drink, order a single espresso once. It is the clearest way to taste the blend, and it is one of the cheapest things on the board. Then go back to your usual. We will not judge.

The full list of coffees and prices is on the menu. If you want to know how we treat the coffee once it reaches us, our coffee page has the detail.