Ernesto Illy (July 18, 1925 – February 3, 2008) was an Italian

food chemist Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemist ...

and businessman, known as the chairman of the Illycaffè S.p.A. coffee manufacturer. He was deeply and widely respected, and is considered "an absolute giant" in the world of coffee and espresso, He spearheaded Illy's research into coffee and espresso quality, as summarized in his son

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

's book, ''Espresso: The Chemistry of Quality,'' which was written with Ernesto's assistance.

Biography

Born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, Illy was the son of the Hungarian-Italian chocolate maker

Francesco Illy Francesco Illy ( hu, Illy Ferenc (7 October 1892 – 1956) was a Hungarian accountant, bookkeeper, businessman, philanthropist. He founded illy and invented various coffee machinery. Biography Illy was born to a middle-class family in Temes ...

, a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

officer, who had established the espresso making company in 1933. Ernesto studied

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

(1947) and immediately joined Illy, and later took over the company from his father (1956). Ernesto created a high-tech manufacturing process, specializing in the making of

espresso Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and ...

coffee, for which he also was an

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

. He was chairman of Illy 1963-2004 and then honorary chairman. Ernesto Illy took part in the establishment of Association Scientifique Internationale pour le Café (chairman, 1991-). He was married to Anna Rossi. The Illy company is run by their son

Andrea Illy Andrea Illy (born 7 September 1964) is an Italian businessman. He is the Chairman of illycaffè S.p.A., a family coffee business founded in Trieste in 1933. He has additionally been Chairman of Altagamma since 2013. Life and education Illy was ...

(born 1964), and among the board members are the daughter Anna Illy and son

Riccardo Illy Riccardo Illy (born 24 September 1955) is an Italian businessman and former politician. Biography Riccardo Illy was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His paternal grandfather, Francesco Illy, was of Hungarian origin. He's Waldensian. A ...

(born 1955), who has also been mayor of

and President of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

region. Their first son, Francesco, is also involved.''Small is big.''
from

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

, May 26th, 2015

Awards

* Cavaliere del Lavoro of Italy (Knight of Industry, 1994) * honorary doctorates and master's degrees (such as

University of Udine The University of Udine (Italian ''Università degli Studi di Udine'') is a university in the city of Udine, Italy. It was founded in 1978 as part of the reconstruction plan of Friuli after the earthquake in 1976. Its aim was to provide the Friul ...

, 2005) * Centromarca brand organization (president, 1996-) *

Specialty Coffee Association of America The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), founded in 1982, was a non-profit trade organization for the specialty coffee industry. With members located in more than 40 countries, SCAA represented different segments of the specialty coffee ...

(S.C.A.A.). "Lifetime Achievement Award" (1997) *

Monte Carmelo (Brazil) Monte Carmelo is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 47,931 people living in a total area of . The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaiba a ...

county (honorary citizenship, 2002) * International Coffee Organization, London (chairman of the promotion committee, 2002-) *

Anacafè Coffee production in Guatemala began to develop in the 1850s. Coffee is an important element of Guatemala's economy. Guatemala was Central America's top producer of coffee for most of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, until being ...

member of the order, Flor del Cafè (Guatemala, 2004).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illy, Ernesto Businesspeople in coffee Scientists from Trieste Businesspeople from Trieste Food scientists Italian people of Hungarian descent 1925 births 2008 deaths Illycaffè 20th-century Italian businesspeople

Biography

Awards

References

Further reading

External links