During my years in São Paulo at the Grand Hyatt São Paulo I shared many coffees with Ernesto Illy (July 18, 1925 – February 3, 2008) – Ernesto was an Italian food chemist and businessman, known as the chairman of the Illycaffè S.p. A coffee manufacturer. He was deeply and widely respected, considered «an absolute giant» in the world of coffee and espresso, spearheading Illy’s research into coffee and espresso quality, – check out the book Espresso: The Chemistry of Quality, written with Ernesto’s assistance.