And the debate continues...Starbucks or Italian Coffee

OK...so coffee is a huge part of Italian life, but it is quite different than American coffee. I've been around a lot of Americans and a lot of them just simply miss their Starbucks (I've even seen a blog where one person actually wrote Starbucks to request a location in Italy). I have no problem in people missing Starbucks, shoot I wouldn't mind if they had Skittles in Italy. But for some fun, I would like to put my 2 euro cents in on the coffee debate. I'll judge by different categories...

Quality of coffee: One thing Italians don't mess around with is their coffee. Who knows if Starbucks coffee really comes from Asia or the Amazon like they say. And of course add in the debate of whether or not the coffee is fair trade. I like to avoid the political affairs, therefore....ADVANTAGE: ITALIA

Choices of drinks: OK...so in Italy you pretty much choose between a shot of espresso and cappucino. However, you can get your espresso lungo, normale, or macchiato. Starbucks has a bunch of choices, you can get almost any flavor unimaginable....mochas, frappucinos, pumpkin spice, mint lattes, you name it. The one thing I have beef with Starbucks is that they don't even take the time to figure out a lot of their translations. For example, the big size venti literally means 20. Huh? They could at least call it molto grande. And latte simply means milk. I have no idea why they call a drink a macchiato because that is really a shot of espresso with foamed milk on top. Because of the lack of culture I'm taking away the potential point of Starbucks....ADVANTAGE: STALEMATE

Other food options: Coffee is served in Italia in what is called a bar, no not a bar like in America. A typical bar has paninis, candy, soda, pastries, and some even gelato. Starbucks has a nice spread of muffins and cookies and cakes, but the fact I can get a kinder egg or beer in a coffee bar...ADVANTAGE: ITALIA

Price: No brainer. An espresso cost 50 euro cents and a cappucino cost 60 euro cents. Suck on it Starbucks and your corporate stock. :)...ADVANTAGE: ITALIA

Locations: Starbucks is rather impressive on their number of locations in the United States and around the world, but I have 3 coffee bars within 50 m of my apartment...ADVANTAGE: ITALIA

Speed of baristas: Unfortunately since Starbucks has so many drink choices, most starbucks baristas have to think about how to make each drink. Sometimes I wonder what takes them so freakin long. I still love you Amy L., Jeremy, Nate, Rebeka, Wendy, Dominic, and Dan, but Italian baristas are like Schumacher in a Ferrari while starbucks baristas are like kids on a bike with training wheels...ADVANTAGE: ITALIA

Atmosphere: Ok, so Italians don't spend much time in coffee bars. They drink and go. I love that Starbucks gives you a place to sit and chill and study. However, I'm taking away a point because if they offer wireless internet and charge you $3 for a drink that prolly costs 50 cents they could at least make the wireless internet free...ADVANTAGE: STALEMATE


Final Tally: Italia 5, Starbucks 0

This is just my opinion and I totally respect the fact that my opinion is a bit biased and that you can prefer Starbucks coffee. As a disclaimer, I don't mean to dog any of my friends who are starbucks baristas and lovers of the coffee. I'll probably still go to Starbucks when I return to the states. For one last funny quote, I asked Francesco what he would think if Starbucks opened here in Italy. His response, "C'mon starbucks would never last in Italy for the same reason you would never see a Pizza Hut in Italy. Italians would never give up their own coffee and only tourists would buy it."