Italian coffee brands like Lavazza and Illy are world-famous for their first-rate beans and blends, but picking out the best offers can be tricky.
That’s why I’ve set out to compile the finest Italian coffee brands on the market — a few of which are 100+ years old — and their must-try items.
Italians have been honing their brewing skills for centuries and went on to craft some of the most delicious coffee on the planet, ever since Italy was one of the first Western countries to be introduced to the brew over 500 years ago.
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Table of Contents
Top Italian coffee brands
Illy
Established in Trieste 90 years ago, Illy sells only arabica beans from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and India. Its international presence is enormous, as it now has locations in 30+ countries on five continents.
1. Brasile
Brasile is popular as an espresso foundation due to its perfectly oily surface and intense flavor with a caramel-y aftertaste.
These 100% arabica beans are selected from the finest Brazilian harvests and sent to Italy to receive a careful medium roasting that enhances its deep aromas. You can try the Colombia blend as well and let your palate decide which one is best.
Why you’ll love Brasile:
- Intense flavor with caramel notes
- Highly selected Brazilian arabica beans
- The can enables longer shelf life
2. Monoarabica Ethiopia
These whole beans are all harvested in Ethiopia, the land where coffee originates. Illy has created the Monoarabica series to offer its customers premium grains from specific coffee-growing regions around the planet.
This one, thanks to its medium roast and delicate flowery notes, is guaranteed to become a fixture in your home.
Why you’ll love Monoarabica Ethiopia:
- Flowery notes of jasmine
- Grown in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee
- Medium roast for higher flexibility
3. Intenso
If you own a Keurig machine, you absolutely need to try Intenso’s bold roast blend. This listing comes with 32 pods and boasts a robust flavor with cacao notes.
Other capsules in this line include Classico and Forte. And if you don’t a machine of this sort, get Intenso whole beans instead.
Why you’ll love Intenso:
- Compatible with Keurig machines
- Bold roast with deep cocoa notes
- Only the top 1% of arabica beans are used
4. Classico Cold Brew
Cold brew fans unite: this one is just for you guys. Illy has launched this delectable espresso blend that is ready to gulp.
Better yet, it’s free of sugar and preservatives and low in calories. This line includes decadent cappuccino and latte macchiato cans as well.
Why you’ll love Classico Cold Brew:
- A refreshing alternative for coffee lovers
- All natural, preservative- and sugar-free
- A mere five calories per can
Lavazza
Lavazza vies with Illy for the title of best Italian coffee brand. This household name within Italian coffee culture was founded in 1895 in Turin, the unofficial capital of Italian coffee.
5. Qualità Oro
Lavazza’s signature coffee comes in a beautiful package, but the inside of it is what really matters. Tasting smooth and refined with fruity and flowery notes, it’s been produced since 1956.
The beans for this pack are selected in Central and South America from six prime varieties of arabica, then given a medium roast in Italy to irresistible results.
Why you’ll love Qualità Oro:
- Specially selected beans
- A mix of six Arabica varieties from Central and South America
- 67-year-old blend
6. Espresso Italiano
Espresso Italiano is Lavazza’s top ground coffee blend. Your guests will love its medium intensity, which is made possible by the slow roasting of all-natural arabica beans that takes place in Italy from beginning to end.
Floral and fruity at the same time, Espresso Italiano is made with beans fetched in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.
Why you’ll love Espresso Italiano:
- Amazing on all types of coffeemakers
- Lingering espresso aftertaste
- Mildly intense with floral and fruity notes
7. Gran Riserva
Lavazza’s Gran Riserva is aimed for filter coffee making, yet it can easily be used in other processes to similar results.
Its dark-roasted 100% arabica blend is reminiscent of cacao and dark chocolate, which means it has an unmistakable flavor. Plus, this is an excellent offer because you get 2.2 pounds of beans for $26.
Why you’ll love Gran Riserva:
- 100% Arabica beans
- Cacao and caramel notes
- Dark roast for a bold, full-bodied taste
Segafredo Zanetti
The youngest brand on our list, 50-year-old Segafredo Zanetti hails from Bologna. Segafredo, however, was already a historic roasting company when Massimo Zanetti acquired it in 1973.
8. Brillante
These 10 coffee pods are to be used on Keurig machines and are by far Segafredo Zanetti’s most controversial blend.
After all, this is a light roast, which is not something all coffee lovers enjoy. It gives a sweet, fruity, and smooth beverage. Brillante is entirely made from arabica beans.
Why you’ll love Brillante:
- Chocolate, butterscotch, and citrus notes
- 100% Arabica beans
- Light roast which is also suitable for cold brews
9. Vivace
Segafredo Zanetti’s signature blend is a crowd-pleaser. It has a sweet and smooth flavor that will remind you of blackberries, honey, and chocolate.
Vivace is a medium roast that contains arabica beans only. While this listing is for the ground coffee package, whole grains are available in this blend too.
Why you’ll love Vivace:
- Medium roast guarantees a well-rounded flavor
- Honey, blackberry, and chocolate notes
- 100% Arabica beans
10. Enzo
Enzo is Segafredo Zanetti’s boldest blend, thanks to its dark- and slow-roasted whole arabica beans. It belongs to the same line as Vivace but is stronger and richer.
You’ll taste dark chocolate and caramel as you sip your brew of Enzo, which works great either straight or with milk.
Why you’ll love Enzo:
- 100% Arabica beans
- Dark roast makes for a smoky and unforgettable flavor
- Dark chocolate and caramel notes
Caffè Vergnano
Founded in 1882 outside Turin, Caffè Vergnano is the oldest large-scale coffee producer in Italy. It’s currently run by the fourth Vergnano generation.
11. Espresso Classico 600
This mix of 60% arabica and 40% robusta whole beans by Caffè Vergnano brings together the best of two worlds; you have the full-bodied taste and the nice frothiness of robusta.
The slow roasting creates an intense and lingering aftertaste that will get you hooked. This is the Vergnano blend with the highest ratio of robusta.
Why you’ll love Espresso Classico:
- Slow roasting, which eliminates any bitter aftertaste and leaves a pleasant one instead
- 60% arabica and 40% robusta beans for the best flavor and texture
- Milder and more affordable than Classico 800
12. Cremoso
Help yourself to 50 capsules of liquid happiness that have been specifically designed for Nespresso machines.
This spicy and chocolatey blend yields spotlessly foamy espresso thanks to a small amount of robusta coffee in its composition.
Beans come straight from Central and South America to be turned into a tempting, hazelnut-colored brew.
Why you’ll love Cremoso:
- Extra creamy texture and intense flavor
- A great bang for your buck
- Compatible with Nespresso machines
13. Decaffeinato
Since so many of you love coffee but like me can’t handle caffeine too well, I made sure to include a decaf option on our list.
Caffè Vergnano’s blend is fantastic because it delivers virtually zero caffeine coupled with the same explosion of flavors you’d expect from a legit Italian espresso. This one is made entirely from slow-roasted arabica beans.
Why you’ll love Decaffeinato:
- The same aroma as good ol’ coffee
- Ideal for cutting down on your caffeine intake
- Packaging takes place in a special environment to ensure freshness
Kimbo
The Neapolitan Kimbo is the no. 1 coffee brand in southern Italy. It’s the successor of the historic Café do Brasil and owns three other brands: La Tazza d’Oro, Caffè Karalis, and Kosé.
14. Extra Cream
These whole beans are shipped over from Brazil, Colombia, and India. Though meant specifically for professional use on espresso machines, they’re also an excellent choice for some homemade brew.
Extra Cream is distinguished by its intense flavor and suggestive aroma and particularly for the thick foam it yields — its name is indeed fitting.
Why you’ll love Extra Cream:
- A mix of Brazilian, Colombian, and Indian beans
- More affordable than similar premium blends
- Aroma reminiscent of black pepper and licorice
15. Antica Tradizione
Antica Tradizione is an espresso-quality arabica and robusta blend made through traditional Neapolitan roasting. Its medium to dark roast creates a flawless mixture of sweet and slightly acidic tastes.
You can brew this ground coffee by Kimbo on espresso machines, French presses, Moka pots, and electric coffeemakers for equally mouthwatering results.
Why you’ll love Antica Tradizione:
- Export-quality blend
- Age-old Neapolitan roasting and grinding tradition
- Suited for all sorts of coffeemakers
Bonus: Bialetti
Bialetti Italy is one of the most prestigious Italian coffee brands ever, though not exactly for its blends (which are pretty good, by the way).
It is rather known for the iconic Moka pot, which founder Alfonso Bialetti invented in 1933. The stovetop coffeemaker is the no. 1 device for making coffee in Italian households and went on to become a symbol of Italian design and love for coffee.
A few of the highlights that you should get from Bialetti include their 18-cup Moka pot, as well as the sleek version for induction stovetops. And if you want to treat yourself to a proper cappuccino, invest in their smart milk frother too.
How to choose between Italian coffee brands
Italy’s predominantly Mediterranean climate isn’t fit for growing coffee, which thrives in tropical regions instead. Yet the country is one of the world’s top importers of beans, which quench Italians’ thirst for the brew every day.
Given Italians have quite specific tastes when it comes to coffee, navigating through such a wide range of offers and possibilities can be tricky if you’re not a connoisseur. So check out a couple of distinctions you should bear in mind when shopping for Italian coffee.
Arabica vs. robusta
You may not know there are actually two species of coffee: Coffea canephora, commonly called robusta, and Coffea arabica, popularly arabica coffee.
Each wields a different beverage both taste- and texture-wise, so good coffee brands from Italy and everywhere else always specify which kind of beans their blends are made up of.
Arabica is often considered superior, which is why brands like Illy use exclusively its several varieties. Its taste is strong but smooth and slightly fruity.
Robusta, in turn, is prized for its less acidic flavor and especially for its foamier consistency, which is why espresso brands tend to include at least 10 to 15% of robusta beans in the composition of their blends.
Ground coffee vs. whole beans
This boils down to a battle between convenience and freshness. As coffee beans are grounded, you immediately start to lose the essential oils they contain to evaporation.
Coffee becomes far less fresh and, as a consequence less flavorful because there’ll be more of it in contact with the air.
Having said that, you’ll need to factor in the time and patience to grind your beans every morning if you’re not willing to compromise on quality. What’s more, you’ll have to store it properly so it won’t go bad.
Alternatively, you can buy an electric grinder for 90 to 100 bucks rather than a regular one (which usually sells for $20 to $35).
