Ernesto Illy (July 18, 1925 – February 3, 2008) was an Italianfood chemist and businessman, known as the chairman of theIllycaffè S.p.A. coffee manufacturer.^[1] He was deeply and widely respected, and is considered "an absolute giant" in the world of coffee and espresso,^[2] He spearheaded Illy's research into coffee and espresso quality, as summarized in his sonAndrea's book,Espresso: The Chemistry of Quality, which was written with Ernesto's assistance.

Born inTrieste, Illy was the son of the Hungarian-Italian chocolate makerFrancesco Illy, aWorld War I officer, who had established the espresso making company in 1933. Ernesto studiedchemistry atUniversity of Bologna (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 ofespresso coffee, for which he also was anevangelist. He was chairman of Illy 1963-2004 and then honorary chairman. Ernesto Illy took part in the establishment ofAssociation Scientifique Internationale pour le Café (chairman, 1991-).

He was married to Anna Rossi. The Illy company is run by their sonAndrea Illy (born 1964),^[3] and among the board members are the daughterAnna Illy and sonRiccardo Illy (born 1955), who has also been mayor ofTrieste and President ofFriuli-Venezia Giulia region. Their first son, Francesco, is also involved.^[4]

• Cavaliere del Lavoro of Italy (Knight of Industry, 1994)
• honorary doctorates and master's degrees (such asUniversity of Udine, 2005)^[2]
• Centromarca brand organization (president, 1996-)
• Specialty Coffee Association of America (S.C.A.A.). "Lifetime Achievement Award" (1997)
• Monte Carmelo (Brazil) county (honorary citizenship, 2002)
• International Coffee Organization, London (chairman of the promotion committee, 2002-)
• Anacafè member of the order, Flor del Cafè (Guatemala, 2004).

• The Scotsman: Ernesto Illy

• Prince, Mark (Feb 4, 2008),Dr. Ernesto Illy, CoffeeGeek