illy: for moka pots

illy makes a coffee specially ground for use in moka pots.  In short, this is delicious: strong enough to not taste watered down, but not overstrong; very smooth; and finely ground enough for the moka pot.  An excellent standard!

Lavazza: Qualità Oro

Bought this because I liked that other Lavazza.  With a name like "Qualità Oro", I expected some high quality coffee, but sadly, it did not meet the exacting standards I set out for it.  Lavazza's website claims that this blend is "a selection of the finest 100% Arabica coffees from Central America and the African highlands" and lists it first among its selection of coffee blends.  So why didn't I like it?

• Weaker flavour compared to the "Caffè Espresso" blend: I prefer my coffee tasty, not tasting like it's a bit watered down.  Lavazza's website gives it a 4/5 for "Intensity"; Caffè Espresso had gotten a 5/5 for that one.  Was this part of the issue?  Perhaps...
• Price: rather more expensive than the espresso blend, and to make matters worse, the price listed on the shelf did not match the price it scanned for at checkout.
• The most egregious offense: for whatever reason, it was effectively a decaf coffee, and when it's 6.45 AM, that is most definitely not what I'm looking for.

Verdict: would not buy again.

Qualità oro? More like, qualità piombo, I'd say.

Lavazza: Caffè Espresso

I have one of these coffee pots:

The Bialetti Moka Pot.

It was a great pickup and it's already saved me a lot of trips to the coffee shop.  I only wish I'd found out about these in college!

I drink coffee every weekday and the moka pot gives me two mornings' worth of coffee, so I end up using this 2-3 times each week; the day-old stuff isn't nearly as tasty as the fresh, but it's no less effective.  Since the time that I bought this back in September, I've been trying out different brands of coffee, so I figured I should start keeping track of which brands work out and which...not so much.

Lavazza Caffè Espresso

This Lavazza passed the test: not so strong as to be bitter but certainly flavourful.  Only too late did I realize that all of the info about the coffee itself is on the side of the can, but that info is also at Lavazza's website.  It's a medium roast suitable for all coffee makers but optimized for espresso makers--the moka pot is technically not an espresso maker, but the coffee still seems to work just fine.

Verdict: would buy again.