It’s been too long since I last reviewed some coffee. This time we pause, teetering on the edge of the Plateau of Trickle-Down Wealth, before tumbling precipitously into the Chasm of the Great Unwashed, where they roam around in rags of sack-cloth, mumbling incoherently to themselves and openly purchasing no-brand products. Let’s go and see what kind of espresso poor people drink!
Delta Chicco D’oro is that rare gem in modern life, a consumer product that bites the invisible hand and leaves marks. Instead of abiding by the scripture of the Cult of the Perfect Marketplace, where the sludgy leavin’s don’t cost much, and the miraculous symphonies of flavour command a premium entrance fee, and everything else arranges itself neatly on the slope between those two points, it BASE-jumps off the side and ends up having a delicious picnic on a cliff ledge, gazing upward at the other poor sods standing in line on that graph.
Ahem. At this point, I’d like to apologise for several transgressions: the ludicrous length of that last sentence; the metaphor smoothie with three too many ingredients (sorry, did it again!); and the plummeting chance, as the sentence rolled on with the inertia of a Russian truck with no handbrake (sorry! sorry!), of you extracting any meaning from it at all.
Cough. What I’m trying to say is: it’s just about the cheapest ground coffee you can find. And yet it’s drinkable.
Not that it’s the pinnacle of roasted-and-ground-bean quality: there are plenty that outclass it. But the price, the price! This is value with a capital C. Here in Canberra I paid less than $2 for a standard 200-gram pack. And its quality is comparable with plenty of coffees three or four times the price.
The Chicco D’oro website seems initially quite middle-of-the-road, but becomes stranger as you immerse yourself. Perhaps this is to be expected, since Chicco D’oro shares the free trade zone (formerly known as a town) of Balerna (which you would think Italy would have politely stolen from Switzerland long ago, given that it’s so far south they speak Italian and probably shop in Milano) with some pretty strange outfits, such as a bunch of appropriately ethnically diverse people playing Earth Ball who claim to smelt precious metals, an importer of hair dryers and DVD recorders (with the delightful slogan “The Trendy Company”), and a very curious producer of tobacco products.
So curious, in fact, that I promptly forgot about the coffee and took a closer look. The Polus society, formed in 1912, used to do a fine line in radium-enhanced cigars, before shutting down their venerable cigar factory in 1992. I’d hazard a guess that it’s their not-at-all-radium-affected progeny who are now behind a truly impressive attempt, also based in Balerna, to win market share via the anti-Big Tobacco angle. The Yesmoke and Born to Smoke brands of death stick are touted with such lines as “PHILIP MORRIS VS YESMOKE” and “WITH YESMOKE, YOU TAKE ON BIG TOBACCO AND ITS ARMY OF MIDDLEMAN” (sic). Alpine ingenuity at its most charming. But there’s more! It turns out that they had their first big shipment to the US impounded, and have managed to spin that into a most compelling Nasty American Megacorporations vs Friendly Hip/Organic European Startup story. Well done. And, it has to be said, they are unusually honest about the effects of tobacco: there’s a page where they explain how to quit smoking, succinctly and with good information. Follow the “CONTINUE SMOKING” link from there, and… well, see for yourself.
‘Mazing what you find on the Innernet, innit? Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Chicco D’oro (pronounced “kick-o door-o”). After the introductory screen, featuring various shots of breathtakingly ugly industrial buildings, we pass through a mysteriously throbbing message that claims that coffee is “one of the very few natural products left to us” (perhaps to encourage you to forget the factory pictures), to the “i prodotti” (Products) page, which features what may be the single most irritating sound in the history of computing. Pass your mouse over any packet of coffee to experience its delights. Unfortunately, as the site is constructed with (snarl, froth, gnash) Flash, I can’t give you a direct link – you’ll have to find your way there yourself.
But what’s this? The sea-green Delta pack is nowhere to be found. Is this an older line that has been given the sentence of death by the marketing department? A below-the-radar variety that’s too embarrassingly cheap to be shown on the site? Or… could it be the work of counterfeiters? Perhaps some sweatshop in Burma is even now churning out fake Chicco D’oro, undercutting the real thing in as many growth markets as possible?
A quick glance at the back of the pack reveals a claim that it is “roasted, blended and packed in Australia from imported raw coffees” by Cosmo Foods of Sydney (though they don’t admit to it on their website). And it’s apparently unheard-of outside Australia. So this looks like some kind of weird licencing arrangement, where Cosmo pays the real Chicco D’oro some tribute money to slap the premium label onto some very, very cheap coffee. Perhaps the prepended “Delta” is a nod in this direction, giving a subtle indication of its place in the official scheme of things.
[Update, May 2020: it turns out that Delta Chicco D’oro is completely unrelated to the original Swiss Chicco d’Oro. Delta Chicco D’oro is produced by Vittoria (Cantarella Bros, Australia) as the cheapest of their three brands: Vittoria, Aurora and Delta, as shown on the Vittoria website. They have a Chicco D’oro site, but in 2020 it only shows capsules, not the ground coffee packs.]
The fine folk at Choice conducted a blind taste test of plunger coffees a couple of years ago, and they came up with some interesting results. Crunching their numbers (using a simple quality-divided-by-price formula), Delta Chicco D’oro actually comes out as the best value of the lot. And a couple of side notes: best quality, regardless of price, was Andronicus Espresso (about two-and-a-half times the price of Delta Chicco D’oro); and the worst value, by a huge margin, was Illy Espresso. As anyone with more than a passing acquaintance with the ground coffee market would know, Illy is spectacularly overpriced – according to the Choice survey, it’s about as good as Delta Chicco D’oro – yet it costs nearly seven times the price.
My quality rating for Delta Chicco D’oro:
out of 5 (a “value” rating would have to be 5 out of 5).
#1 by Carlo Vassalli on June 26, 2008 - 4:21 pm
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Hi there,
what are you on about ?
#2 by matt on June 26, 2008 - 4:38 pm
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It’s all about the bean. I hope you don’t mean that the (rather loopy) ramble above was hard to follow….!
#3 by ec on July 12, 2008 - 1:13 pm
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Throughout all the ramble and ranting…he is talking about the simple coffee bean.
Once he got back on track, His gave a reasonable description of a good coffee without the exhorbitant prices – that iLLy/Andronicus Espresso charge, for the simple daily pleasure of drinking coffee.
The lesson for today is ..DON’T buy overpriced brands like illy Coffee or Andronicus Espresso when you can get save your money…especially when petrol is so high these days
#4 by matt on July 12, 2008 - 1:42 pm
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That’s it in a nutshell, ec. I realise the above was extremely dense and wildly rambling – like a Russian truck with no handbrake 🙂
Since writing this, I’ve moved on to whole beans (having acquired a half-decent grinder), and I’m pleased to see that Delta Chicco D’oro also have a whole bean version around. Still excellent value, too.
#5 by Carlo Vassalli on August 5, 2008 - 8:00 pm
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Hi Matt,
please be advised that “Delta ” chicco d’oro has absolutly nothing to do with the original CHICCO D’ORO,roasted in Switzerland (republic of Ticino) by the Valsangiacomo family at Balerna.Cosmo foods (Cantarella PL) are just using a variation of the trade name by adding “Delta”.
Furthermore,I am the only importer of CHICCO D’ORO coffee into Australia, at a very competetive price(half cost of the major brands)Our website will be avalable shortly.
#6 by briony on August 17, 2008 - 4:51 am
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Please do you know if Delta Chicco D’oro coffee is GM Free? Thats free of any Geneticly Modified organisims?
this is really important to me and i’d be forever gratful if i could get a reply!
Thanks
#7 by Carlo Vassalli on September 4, 2008 - 8:06 am
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Hi briony,
perhaps you could ask the question to COSMO FOODS SYDNEY.
I think that DELTA chicco d’oro is work of conterfeiters,possiblbly asian (example:cartier,gucci and rolex watches) underwriting the real thing.
Good luck……
#8 by matt on September 4, 2008 - 10:13 am
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Hi Carlo,
Thanks for that info re the difference between the original Chicco D’oro and “Delta” Chicco D’oro. I’d be interested in trying the original… haven’t seen it around yet.
#9 by Carlo Vassalli on September 7, 2008 - 8:45 am
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Hi Matt,
at the moment I am still fine tuning the distribution with various outlets.hou
I also listed the coffee on E-BAY (roasted coffee beans)in 10x1kg box format
since I am targeting manly the wholesale market.But I could send you a complementary packet of roasted beans for you to try.
In the near future packets of 250gr ground coffee will also be avalable.
Cheers Carlo
#10 by Ruby on December 16, 2008 - 11:06 pm
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Dear, I need order 20 kilos coffee bean before Christmas, please contact me as early as possible. My number is : 0402452517.
Thanks
#11 by Kevin on January 31, 2009 - 1:32 pm
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Hi , just bought a bag of Chicco D’oro and found it preety good.
Having bought it in a supermarket in Canberra, whilst touring. Can you advise me what supermarket chain in Sydney carry the brand, The supermarket chain in Canberra have no retail outlets in Sydney.
Thanks Kevin
#12 by matt on January 31, 2009 - 3:31 pm
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Hi Kevin, was that “Delta Chicco d’Oro” or the original “Chicco d’Oro”? (See comments above – they are different products from different companies…)
#13 by Jakob on April 3, 2009 - 9:49 pm
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@Kevin: I’m living in Newcastle and here they’ve got it at Woolworth’s. Don’t know how about Sydney…
#14 by SurHew on June 6, 2010 - 12:41 pm
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Hey, who care where it comes from.
I drink the Delta Chicco D’oro coffee every day and at $10 a kilo it is a nice strong brew. I get a weeks worth of coffees from 1, 250gm pack.
Works well in both a stove top espresso maker and a plunger.
If you like your coffee real and you are on a budget, this coffee beats hands down the ‘instant’ coffees and compares favourably with coffees twice the cost.
I like it . . .
#15 by David D on September 16, 2010 - 1:52 pm
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I LOOOOOVE Delta Chicco D’oro!! Its cheap and its very nice. As good as Illy and Vittoria in my books, at a fraction of the price!
But i’d like to try the real Chicco d’oro, as above!
Stay tuned!
D
#16 by dave welch on February 1, 2011 - 5:49 am
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Can you purchase delta chicco doro online? And if so can anybody beat woolworths in darwin, on special at $8.50 for 4 250g bags? DJ Welch.
#17 by SurHew on February 1, 2011 - 8:27 pm
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I’m still drinking it . . .
I spend a lot of time in Thailand and always bring 3 or 4 kg with me each time . . .
Best price I’ve had was $8.50 on special in Woolies Brisbane. Normally around $10 but I can live with that, it’s still real coffee . . .
#18 by Alan B on February 12, 2011 - 10:03 pm
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I too love your coffee (and the price) and have, for years, purchased it from Woolie’s in Capalaba: alas they no longer carry the beans and I am anxious to source more ….. only two kilos left …… HELP please.
Can you please point me to your retailer(s) in the Capalaba area.
#19 by Kevin on March 13, 2011 - 8:55 pm
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Can you please advize me where to purchase 1 kilo bean on the sunshine coast
Regards Kevin
#20 by Jamie Roux on May 11, 2011 - 4:31 am
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Hi there. I just came back from a visiting our children in Australia and was introduced to Delta Chicco D’oro. I really loved it and back home in South Africa tried to buy some here, but in vain. It’s not available down here. Still, we’ll be going there again next year and I’ll be drink more Delta Chicco D’oro. Really liked it!
#21 by ANTONIA CAMILLERI on May 13, 2011 - 6:29 pm
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I LIKE TO KNOW WHERE I CAN BUT THIS COFFEE PLEASE ,I LIVE IN VICTORIA AUSTRALIA THAK YOU
#22 by David on May 23, 2011 - 2:20 pm
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I get mine from Woolworths (Safeways in Vic).
#23 by linda on June 13, 2011 - 11:37 am
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I have been drinking Delta Chicco D’oro for a few years and it is always available in Woolworths. Sometimes I manage to get the bargain pack which someone else mentioned. Unbelievable value! I love it when coffee aficianados drink it and tell how wonderful my coffee is!
#24 by Joe on July 12, 2011 - 11:28 pm
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Man, are you on drugs? That is possibly the most pompous attempt at trying to be clever writing that I have ever seen
#25 by greg heinsen on July 14, 2011 - 6:46 am
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wows have stopped selling the 1kilo beans in airlie bch, where can i buy it now, thanks
#26 by Jeannine on September 29, 2011 - 4:20 pm
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I just bought the coffee under discussion. Usually buy Fair Trade coffees but brought this one home to remind me to look it up on the internet! Where do the coffee beans come from?
#27 by Robert on February 26, 2012 - 8:52 pm
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I buy Delta Chicco D’Oro Premium Blend ground coffee at my local Woolworths supermarket for $1.69-$1.98 per 200 gram pack. It is supplied by Cantarella Bros who also supply Vittoria Coffee and Aurora coffee. See the Cantarella Bros website to confirm. It is very good coffee for the price!!
#28 by Fen on November 14, 2012 - 10:04 am
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Just drinking my first glass of cold press Delta Chicco D’oro and it’s lovely. I was kind of expecting the worst at such a cheap price, but was too poor to buy anything nice. Such a pleasant surprise!
#29 by Gloria Kelly on April 12, 2013 - 7:04 pm
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Hubby bought a packet of Delta Chicco D’oro today because it was the cheapest ground coffee at Woolies, but I prefer a fairly mild coffee, and it says “strong” on the side of the packet. I’m wondering just how strong is it on a scale of 1 to 10? Can anyone give an opinion please? Tossing up whether to take it back and get Harris which was the cheapest which actually said “mild” on the pack.
#30 by Dr Phil on April 30, 2013 - 9:04 am
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Fair dinkum Gloria, poor incompetent Hubby! Bet he got a dressing-down for stressing you out? How do you make anything weaker to your own taste? USE LESS! There haven’t been any wildly negative comments about the coffee, in fact, plenty of savvy devotees happy to freely plug the product and you’re still not convinced. Even if it’s just to make your dejected man feel minutely competent, try the damn coffee! Next time, try backing him before actively seeking advice from literally ‘everyone else in the world’. Pity the fool, but at least he can make a rational decision – there needs to be at least one in every couple.
#31 by hash50 on July 13, 2013 - 1:10 am
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I tried out most of ground coffee brands available in supermarkets from the most expensive Italian to finally the least expensive ie, Chicco D’Oro and have settled on it for the last several years. It beats almost everything else hands down for strength, taste, and aroma, in drip or espresso. The only exceptions would be Illy Espresso and the original Harris and Melitta German made (alas no longer) coffees, which are now roasted and ground in Australia. I loved German coffees while living there (Tchibo, Dallmayr Prodomo, Eduscho, Jacobs Kronung etc as well as coffee stall coffees), and wonder why it is so hard to get them here. Coffee in cafes in Brisbane are an expensive joke mostly prepared by people who seem to think that coffee is lightly coloured milk. But then at my various workplaces, colleagues preferred the convenience of instant coffee over the real thing, and that perhaps explains the quality of coffee in cafes Brisbane. My apologies if I sound snobbish, but I am a down to earth coffee drinker and just bought bag of Chicco D’Oro coffee beans from IGA. While it is not the best, it is most affordable and great value for those who cannot afford to buy Illy regularly. I hope all the positive comments in your column do not prompt the makers to put the price up.
#32 by Cee on July 18, 2013 - 3:28 pm
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Delta Chicco d’oro is a really nice coffee, my texan husband was a big drip filter coffee drinker when he came here and he raved about Folgers which is not too bad…We have tried quite a lot of ground coffees and one week we ran out before pension day so we bought Delta Chicco D’oro and have not bought another brand since then. Where we live there is only coles and it is over $2 for 200gms, tomorrow I am going to be near woolworths so will go in and scope it to see what the price difference is if there is a big difference I will but a months supply…. I does say strong on it BUT and I stress BUT the more you add the stronger it is so if you like mild just put 2 scoops in the dripper and not 3… all my friends who visit ask what brand etc and are very surprised when they hear the name! Best value and flavoured coffee around…
#33 by richard w on August 15, 2013 - 11:05 am
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I pay $2.99 NZ for delta at pak n save , great value, sometimes I mix it with fresh ground beans
#34 by Don Robertson on December 6, 2013 - 6:17 am
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I have been buying your coffee for 6 years and enjoying it but now Woolworths at their St.Clair New South Wales store have decided to delete your Coffee from their list.
Can you please advise where in the St.Mary’s/St. Clair New South Wales area I can buy your excellent product.
By the way after ongoing trouble with Woolworths and their propensity to delete brands my wife and I have bought for years, we have decided to delete them from our list.
#35 by sav on March 21, 2014 - 4:21 pm
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Where can I buy it in Melbourne? I love this coffee and I can’t get beans anywhere I buy it in adelaide when I go there can’t fly there every time I run out of it please help someone.
Thanks in advance
#36 by Rosemary S on May 4, 2014 - 12:30 pm
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Been looking for a different brand of coffee we always buy italian too strong for new machine so will try this brand and reading comments I think making right choice once i finish what I got buying it.??
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#37 by Daniel da Graça on September 18, 2014 - 12:56 am
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Hi,
As I can see that there is some ignorance in relation to the Brand Name “Delta” and the quality of this coffee, I’d like to clarify this first and foremost. “Delta” is a Portuguese Company, located in the Alentejo region of Portugal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Caf%C3%A9s or http://www.delta-cafes.com/en). It is not, as the ignorant Carlo Vassalli stated earlier in the thread “work of conterfeiters,possiblbly asian (example:cartier,gucci and rolex watches) underwriting the real thing.”… Dear Carlo, if you don’t know the facts, keep your big mouth shut! Delta has been around since the 1960’s and is not a “counterfeit” Company!
In coffee loving Portugal, Delta dominates the market heads down with a blend that is hard to compete with and having an excellent flavour it rivals and in most cases out classes most of the big boys, such as Nestlé.
Unfortunately, Delta has very few of its products exported to Australia, which is a pity given the quality of the coffee and the fact that Australians in general are lovers of good coffee. Unlike the Italian brands which tend to be very strong, Delta coffees tend to be a suave tasting coffee.
In response to briony who asked whether this coffee is GM-Free, Portugals’ legislation prohibits the production and/or sale of GM products. Delta also produces and sells for the Portuguese market the Organic range of products, which is a method of production without added pesticides, synthetic fertilisers or harmful chemical products, respecting the balance between man, the land, plants and animals.
A lie born from ignorance and false information becomes the truth if said enough times and made to be convincing.
We should consult the facts before misleading people.
I am no affiliate of the company, nor do I gain anything from what I have said, I just want people to get the true information.
Enjoy Delta Coffees – I certainly do!
Cheers!
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#38 by Dane on April 29, 2015 - 9:36 am
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After reading through all the comments, i thought I’d get down to my local Coles supermarket and give this stuff a shot. At $3.05 for 200g, i thought what do i have to lose?
I’ve been drinking it for about a week now, only using a simple paper-filter pour-over method. I’ve had it straight black on several days, and added milk and a small amount of sugar on other days.
I have to say – I’m not enjoying the flavor at all really. The first cup i had, i thought to myself “nice, this taste alright” but after drinking it for a few days, I’m kind of sick of the smell and it’s bold and earthy taste. I tend to favor coffees that have a nutty/caramel after taste, none of which i could pickup in this blend.
If you want an intense, earthy, bold and strong taste, this coffee is for you. Personally, i think the only thing going for it is the cheap price.
I was really open-minded to this coffee, but in all seriousness, I’ve made better black cups of coffee with instant (Carte Noire Millicano wholebean instant)
I won’t be buying again, but give it a try for yourself. Maybe it yields nicer flavors in an espresso machine, or french press.
Not a coffee snob, but not for me.
Cheers
#39 by Ralph on June 25, 2016 - 3:20 pm
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This product (1 kg beans) is available online from Office Max NZ Ltd at $NZ17.38 plus GST. Next day delivery by courier, free if order exzceeds $NZ50 .
#40 by Rico on July 9, 2016 - 5:40 pm
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The Delta Chicco d’oro brand is produced by Victtoria coffees and is their lowest quality coffee. Think I might switch to Lavvatzza, or the cheerless possible Italian produced brand available now that I’ve ditched the plunger and moka pot in favour of an espresso machine
#41 by nik on April 16, 2017 - 9:38 am
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What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting much when I found a 1kg (bargain) bag in Coles last week but I’m excited to say, wow! I use a Lelit expresso for extraction and this blend pulls a very good brew. I’m what you’d call a coffee snob but I’m definitely not brand biased, I always keep an open mind regardless of blends and origins and let my taste buds, wallet and senses take care of my decisions. We are often reluctant to try something that is cheaper believing we will end up with a brew that is disappointing, however there’s no catch with this bargain priced product on our Aussie market. If only we would give it a chance it could well prove to be the biggest seller given our sensitivity to fine coffees in this country. Sure it might not blow you away by the top tier but it won’t cost you an arm and a leg either most will most likely satisfy your daily volume brew that we all want. Another one to consider is Aldi’s Lazzio dark roast. Here you’ll find a beautiful roast, balanced blend and a decent kick! Ive tried nearly everything at the supermarket and many boutique roasters throughout Sydney but when you weigh up quality with value for money Delta Chicco D’oro and Lazzio are unbeatable. TRY THEM and tell me I’m wrong. Will continue buying provided there’s no price hike. Thanks to Daniel da Graca for clarifying some simple facts about this product.
#42 by April on October 23, 2017 - 6:19 am
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Gosh, all I need to know is how many tablespoons of ground Chicco do I use in my 800ml Coffee plunger pleeeeeZe.
There are no directions on the packet & I don’t want to over do or under do? (Poor Grammar) the flavour
#43 by hash50 on October 23, 2017 - 11:07 pm
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Generally you would use 10gm of coffee powder for 150 ml in a plunger. For your 800ml plunger you would use about 50 to 60 gm of coffee, but the exact ratio depends very much on your tastes. It is always better to make strong coffee and dilute it later with water than using too much water while brewing. Try different ratios and settle on the best for your taste.
Having said that I have started using Delta Chico d’Oro after a break of a few years and find that it is ok kind of coffee, better than the sour tasting Lavazza, but nowhere near my favourite brands Tschibo and Illy.
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#44 by Ian Bruggy on February 28, 2020 - 3:34 pm
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Several years ago i purchased Delta Chicco D’oro from Woolies Simply because of the price. Since then i have not bought anything else. I love it. Whenever i have visitors, without fail they want to know what the coffee is I use a plunger,i drink it black and i like it strong,i hope this is helpful to anybody unsure, Cheers Ian.
#45 by Han on May 23, 2020 - 2:40 pm
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Have tried every single brand of beans and ground coffee in Australia over many years, always avoided delta chicco because i always thought its price tag meant there is something wrong with it maybe it’s just mud or something
One day I took my chances and guess what? It was the best damn coffee I purchased from a supermarket, loved the flavour, gives u a strong kick unlike the other so called premium brands that are mostly weak and comes out with beautiful crema on my breville espresso machine
This is now my standard coffee brand I just which the labelling was more clear about source of coffee and the blend