Illy Monoarabica Ethiopia is surprisingly good coffee and pulls a flavorful espresso shot. 17.5-18.0g in, 34s pull, 36g out at 198f. The cup has a medium body, nice jasmine and spice flavors that linger. Acidity is balanced and a little experimentation with dose and pull time will bring out the best of it. Roasting level is lighter than Illy espresso blend and similar to what I get from other SF Bay Area roasters.

Definitely a good choice if you want to keep something on hand in the cabinet in case of not being able to get a bag of fresh local beans. I've had the can open for 5 days and it is still pulling good shots. I know the canned Illy has a rep for staling quickly after opening, but this one is going strong after several days. Just pay attention to the "use by" date on the bottom of the can. Illy specs 18-20 months for their blends, but I think only a year for the Monoarabica label beans.

Downside it is expensive for 8.8oz of beans. I caught it on sale, and it was still about as expensive locally roasted premium coffee. But it is handy to have a can on backup, especially something this good.

My mom gets the monoarabica pods for her illy machine, and i agree, they're not half bad.