As I noted in my previous article, I had a decently long layover at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, en route to San Antonio on May 21, 2025. I walked multiple laps around the airport during the layover, much like I did in Atlanta in 2021. I saw many things on my amble, including an Illy coffee vending machine.
Long-time New Leaf Journal and Newsletter Leaf Journal readers will know that I am a fan of both coffee and vending machines. Although I suspect that these Illy coffee vending machines are not uncommon, it was my first time seeing one. I discovered that a menu of drinks with prices appears when you touch the display. The prices were surprisingly (to me at least) reasonable by the standards of coffee these days, especially coffee in airports. Now you may expect that the rest of this article involves my documenting purchasing and trying a coffee from the Illy machine.
Unfortunately it does not.
I did not try the machine at Hobby because not long before happening upon it, I found a Dunkin’. I recently wrote about my long history with Dunkin’, so long that just about all of my Dunkin’ experiences came during the old Dunkin’ Donuts era. I had not had a coffee at Dunkin’ since 2020 (to the best of my recollection), so I purchased a medium latte at the Hobby Dunkin’. I must say it was very good — great taste, perfect temperature. While I did not try the drip coffee like I used to enjoy at a Dunkin’ Donuts in my high school days, I suspect that it would have been solid. The service was remarkably pleasant as well.
While I would have been able to enjoy a second latte from the Illy machine under normal circumstances, I do not take to flying too well, so I figured that one latte was more than enough.
On my return trip from San Antonio, I had a longer layover at Denver International Airport. While Hobby only had one Illy machine, Denver had many Illy machines. I thought about documenting an Illy purchase in Denver, but when I finally decided to take the plunge about an hour out from my flight, one machine was dirty (someone left a drink there) and the other was only serving hot chocolate. While I could have walked farther afield, I determined that it was too close to my flight to put away a whole latte.
Consider this article a preview. While the stars did not align for me to try a latte at an Illy vending machine in Houston or Denver, I am determined to give one of those things a go for a New Leaf Journal article (and, I hope, a good latte). Now it is just a matter of finding one outside an airport.
(Note: Illy partnered with Prepango in 2021 to build the vending machines, which are “full espresso maker[s].” You can also see the official Illy Vending website (archived copy)).
