Ernesto Illy, honorary presidente of Illycaffè, died yesterday. Luigi Odello, secretary general of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and of the Italian Espresso National Institute, remembers him.

“In 1992, when we started studying tasting methods of coffee based on sensory analysis, those at the basis of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, we always found Mr Illy welcoming us in Trieste. Then we hosted him in important events. People listened to him as to an oracle because he was the first to pose questions that would change the way people thought of espresso. He knew everything about it and had catalogued even its misteries without a scientific explanation. And he never gave up looking for it.”

Tags: Ernesto Illy, illycaffè, luigi odello

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