illy and Chef Marcus Samuelsson, brand ambassador for illy® MONOARABICA™ single origin coffee, launch GIVE HAPPilly Coffee Amnesty program at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of illy_® MONOARABICA™ illy's first ever single origin coffee, illy and Chef Marcus Samuelsson, brand ambassador for MonoArabica, will launch the GIVE HAPPilly Coffee Amnesty program at the fifth annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE on Saturday, October 13^th and Sunday, October 14^th at the illy Park Welcome Center.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121003/NY86192)

Start the Festival the right way – with coffee. Join Marcus Samuelsson at the illy Park Welcome Center's GIVE HAPPilly Coffee Amnesty and Discover Your Origin through an exploration of illy MonoArabica single origin coffees from Brazil, Guatemala and Ethiopia.  

Simply bring your existing coffee to the illy Park Welcome Center's GIVE HAPPilly Coffee Amnesty in exchange for a complimentary can of illy MonoArabica.  All unopened* coffee collected will be donated to the Food Bank For New York City.

"New Yorkers are passionate about their coffee and giving back to the community. GIVE HAPPilly Coffee Amnesty will allow coffee lovers the chance to bring in their coffee to be given to NYC homeless shelters in exchange for MonoArabica, illy's new single origin coffee," said Samuelsson.  "I will be at the illy Park Welcome Center helping folks discover which MonoArabica – Brazil, Guatemala or Ethiopia – they are all about."

Celebrating its fifth year, the Festival has raised $5 million to date for the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign.  Open to the public and Festival-goers alike illy Park Welcome Center is the official hub for the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival:

All opened coffee will be used as compost via Harlem Grown, a non-profit organization and partner of the NYC Parks Department and Department of Education through a variety of food advocacy and community agriculture organizations http://harlemgrown.org/

More information about the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival can be found at www.nycwff.org.

About illycaffe
The distinctive illy blend of the earth's best Arabica coffees delights coffee lovers at more than 100,000 finer cafes, restaurants, coffee bars, hotels and retailers around the world every day.  There is an illy roast, grind or format ideal for everyone's favorite preparation method, from espresso, to drip coffee, French press and more.  A third generation of illy family members now at the helm, Trieste-based illycaffe pioneered some of coffee's most important innovations, including the modern espresso machine and the world's first single-serve espresso pods.  Illy is the industry leader in responsible production, for two decades guaranteeing a profit on all coffee it purchases directly from farmers whose production meets illy's high standards -- a model increasingly emulated by specialty roasters, none on a scale to which illy has achieved.  The illy protocols have been widely credited with advancing environmental, economic and social conditions in coffee growing regions across four continents.  In 2011, illy became the world's first company to earn Det Norske Veritas' Responsible Supply Chain Certification, verifying illy's equitable treatment of supply partners and sustainable production practices against objective benchmarks.  For more information, please visit www.illy.com.

About MonoArabica
Each of the three MonoArabica coffees was selected for its role as a distinct component of illy's signature, nine-bean blend of highest-quality Arabica coffee, responsibly cultivated and sourced from farms under the quality-centric, direct trade method pioneered by illy nearly 25 years ago.  illy MonoArabica features the highest-quality examples of Arabica coffee from three countries – Brazil (intense and full bodied), Guatemala (complex and medium bodied) and Ethiopia (delicate and aromatic) -- and each of the three offer incredibly different taste experiences as a result of these unique topographies and climates.

About Marcus Samuelsson
Chef Marcus Samuelsson is an internationally acclaimed chef, philanthropist, and a New York Times best-selling author.  Chef Samuelsson is the youngest chef to ever achieve two three-star reviews from The New York Times and he has been honored by the James Beard Foundation on multiple occasions including "Rising Star Chef" (1999), "Best Chef: New York City" (2003), "Best International Cookbook" (2007) and "Best Television Program" (for Chopped - 2012).  The author of several award-winning cookbooks, Chef Samuelsson released his best-selling memoir, Yes, Chef, in June 2012.  In December 2010, Samuelsson opened Red Rooster Harlem restaurant, later earning two stars from The New York Times. In March 2012, Chef Samuelsson and partner Andrew Chapman opened Ginny's Supper Club in the space underneath Red Rooster Harlem. Other recent accolades Chef Samuelsson has achieved include being tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration's first State dinner; hosting the President at his own restaurant; and being named on the "International Best Dressed List 2011" in Vanity Fair magazine.

SOURCE illy