The special invention of the coffee pads

Antonino Di Leva is the inventor of the pads. In the 1970s he came up with the idea of serving coffee individually while taking a walk. The bottom and the lid were perforated, and each pad was vacuum sealed. After the development and production together with the coffee roasters Lavazza, the idea unfortunately failed due to family disputes. Thereafter, the company Illy took over the production of the pads. This is how the patented ESE pad system was created, the initials for “Easy Serving Espresso”. The coffee pads were originally designed solely for the preparation of espresso style coffee; black coffee preparation with coffee pads only really became popular in 2001.