Column: Starbucks in Italy

What is Italy doing now?! It's been known for a while, but I still want to talk about it for a while. The country known for its coffee opens an American coffee chain: Starbucks. Domino's Pizza was a shame, but a Starbucks? The real coffee lover will understand what I mean.

I recently ordered a black espresso and the girl behind the counter gave me a strange look: 'A black espresso, did you say?' Her face spoke volumes and I knew exactly what she was thinking. From all the hundreds of sweet and tasty coffees, do you choose a black espresso?

Italy has a coffee culture, full of cute little espresso bars from local entrepreneurs. And now there is a Starbucks. There was recently an article about this news in the AD. In it they wrote (I quote): 'Tourists look for trusted brands'. I think that tourists go to Italy to taste the culture, especially for the Italian coffee and tasty Italian food.

Coffee with bells and whistles

It's not for nothing that Starbucks never came to Italy before. Coffee must be of good quality and the concept of coffee drinking is highly regarded. In addition, drinking the perfect cup of coffee is very different than in America. For example, you can only drink a cappuccino in the morning and an espresso just as quickly at the bar. It's about the coffee itself and not about Starbuck bells and whistles such as chocolate frutsels, speculaas spices and caramel.

This is why elegant bars and coffeehouses in Italy still look like they are from the late 90s. The things that I especially like about Italy, give way to mass culture…

Starbucks and la dolce vita

Okay, I'm exaggerating, of course. But quietly drinking a cup, while enjoying a nice breakfast in a nineties bar… Delicious! Not everything revolves around work and performance. All those things that annoy me here in the Netherlands – such as having lunch at your desk and rushing through the city with a Starbucks cup in your hand – are now slowly blowing over to Italy?

But maybe there is nothing wrong and Starbucks only focuses on tourists and not even on the Italians.