I love this line:

"And any foreigner asking for a latte will be served a straight glass of milk, which is the direct translation of the word in Italian."

Rocky

I saw this too. It's weird; but Taco Bell opening stores in Mexico would be weirder.

That's a good analogy. I'm curious as to the views of Italians and Mexicans concerning the relative weirdness factor.

How will they modify their coffee I wonder? I imagine their normal product would do worse in Italy than it did in Australia, where things did not go well according to Mr. Frew.

We hosted a well-travelled 17yr-old exchange student from Torino, Italy this past fall/winter. Her daily fix was pre-ground Lavazza in a moka pot (which she brought with her). Caps were her drink of choice at Starbucks and she wished so much Torino had a Starbucks. I sent her the link to the article. For the young, (at least this young one,) there's room for Starbucks and it can't come soon enough.

Another funny thing...the young hung out at the local McDonalds and their equivalent to our vocational students were kids who went to art school.

I have some insight into the this, I follow the Italian coffee community and travel there rather frequently for extended periods. In Italy the news of a Starbucks coming to Milano is very polarized. There is a large mixture of opinions such as "their coffee is burnt garbage, they want to destroy our traditions by selling by selling us caffeinated milkshakes" as well as others who see the incoming Starbucks (a Reserve) as an opportunity to propel Italian coffee out of longheld dogmas and into the world of Third Wave; these latter ones are a small but growing portion of the Italian coffee scene which are embracing specialty coffee. There are very few people I know who are neutral about it. Most Italians I know feel that Starbucks is not nearly as good quality coffee as the typical Italian roaster (although much of this bias as there are as many bad Italian roasters are there are good ones) and they generally avoid starbucks when they can. Those that like Starbucks are usually cappuccino drinkers or normally take their coffee macchiato with sugar.

Personally, I hope that the Starbucks Reserve becomes "trendy" enough to allow the average to understand what is possible with single origins, and convince Italian roasters to start branching out past their typical bar blends. There are a few Italians, early adopters into 3rd wave,who are hailing the Starbucks Reserve as the pinnacle of 3rd wave coffee and can't wait for its arrival to set the precendent for what coffee should be for the future of Italy. They will find that they already have 3rd wave roasters, Gardelli and others, that have already surpassed what Starbucks Reserve has to offer. What they are really missing is a public "awareness and acceptance" of specialty coffee, something that Starbuck Reserve is likely to help them with, and then soon be surpassed by the local roasters as they embrace lighter roasts and single origins.

As far as the moka pot goes, yes in the home most Italians have a moka pot, that they also travel with since they are of the belief that it is difficult to find good coffee outside of Italy. Moka pot coffee, "caffè cont la moka" however is seen as a convenience and does not compete in their hearts with real espresso, "il caffè al bar". There is usually little reason for them to buy an espresso machine and grinder since the nearest coffee shop is usually right down the street corner.

I followed the mid-article link to "A Short History of Espresso in Italy and the World", by Jonathon Morris and found it a very interesting read, including the part that maximum espresso prices are fixed at the municipal level in Italy. As much as water and other entitlements, caffe is considered a life requirement and prices are controlled. There is a link below.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5aGU ... lhSMExhLU0

My good friend and coworker moved here from Italy 20 years ago, but he is still very much of the homeland. Like most Italians, he has some very rigid coffee rules. Singles only, consumed standing up. No milk/froth after noon or a meal. The occasional pinch of sugar should float on the crema, etc.

After picking up my Londinium, I passed my ECM along to him and taught him how to make his own espresso (no need in Italy). We have been talking coffee ever since. I've roasted a few different coffees for him, but he prefers a well roasted, SO Brazil (NO FRUIT!).

I do not have an Italian bone in my body, and my coffee experience is very much American, but even before I learned about the Italian coffee culture, I have been finding my coffee preferences moving in that direction. I'm preferring smaller and smaller coffee drinks, and my milk drinks have gone from cappuccinos to cortados and heading towards macchiatos. My son is starting to become interested and when I make coffee for both of us, I use the double spout PF and we both have singles. I find it very satisfying.

I'd be interested to see what SB's do price-wise. I can't see them makin a profit on the standard euro per cup, but they'll need some sort of official permission to charge more.

Alan

I've had dozens of conversations with Rubens Gardelli about most of this topic, and swears up and down that no cafe really follows the fixed price rule for an espresso shot. He said many of the classic bars still keep within those old practices, but its not by force.

What I'd really like to see is a Starbucks Reserve arrive and how that changes perceptions.

TomC wrote:I've had dozens of conversations with Rubens Gardelli about most of this topic, and swears up and down that no cafe really follows the fixed price rule for an espresso shot. He said many of the classic bars still keep within those old practices, but its not by force.

What I'd really like to see is a Starbucks Reserve arrive and how that changes perceptions.

The coffee shop across the street from my family's apartment in Genova has the price of a single espresso fixed at 60 cents. I was certain that they were subsidized in some way, I could be wrong. That said, you get what you pay for in terms of quality. I'm excited to go check out Tazze Pazze in August, a specialty coffee shop that just opened in Genova. The shop owner, Andrea Cremone, is going to be featured in an upcoming Italian documentary about the state of coffee in Italy and the arrival of Starbucks.