After 25,000 stores in 78 countries, Starbucks turns to Italy

On Friday, the Seattle-based chain will begin selling its American coffee at the espresso house. After collecting more than 25,000 coffees in 78 countries, Starbucks travels to Milan with a "reserve roaster" in a post office converted into a central square near the famous Gothic cathedral.

It will only be the third roaster of Starbucks after Seattle and Shanghai. As a sign of the difficulty to win the Italians obsessed with tradition, there will be no Frappuccinos or other mixed drinks. It will be as much theater as coffee. Guests can meet with a Starbucks employee who runs a large custom roaster in the middle of the cafe, sip alcoholic drinks in the evening as a sign of the traditional Milan aperitif and eat pizzas and pastries made in a baker's oven Milanese Princi.

"This reflects the fact that we come here with great respect for the Italian coffee experience," said Kevin Johnson, general manager of Starbucks.

It is this experience that inspired Howard Schultz who, after a visit to Milan 35 years ago, began the transformation that would turn Starbucks into a giant.

Starbucks has focused on expanding abroad, especially in China, to offset the stagnant sales in the United States, where Starbucks is closing its stores.

The Starbucks Milan opens its doors during a ferment moment for the coffee industry.

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Co.

last week announced that he would buy the Costa Costa coffee shop chain for $ 5.1 billion

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this year, bought the rights to sell Starbucks products in retail stores.

Milan coffee drinkers will have to wait a bit before receiving their first Frappuccino from the local cocoa caramel bunch. Starbucks plans to open its first cafés in the city by the end of the year. Mr. Johnson stated that the sites had been identified and work had begun. He declined to say how much had been invested in Milan's first roaster or how many traditional Starbucks coffees would be open.

The Milan multi-level roaster has a bar with a 30-foot countertop cut into a single room of Tuscan marble. Other attractions include the terrace in one of Milan's most central squares, a glass ceiling and an entire wall depicting the company's history, engraved with brass.

Later this year, Starbucks will open a similar roasting site in New York near Chelsea Market with openings in Tokyo and Chicago planned for 2019.

For Italians who like to push their espresso at 1 € ($ 1.16) at top speed – while standing in a crowded bar, naturalmente – the American way of lingering in a Starbucks could be a difficult sell .

Even Italians and Milanese tourists might find it even more difficult to accept the price of 1.80 euros for espresso and cappuccino at 5 euros, more than three times the price of hundreds of bars in Milan. And the hardest of all could be to make Italians accept that a cappuccino can be "short", "big" or "big".

"It's going to be hard to get away from our usual bar, but we're definitely going to see what Starbucks is offering," said Antonella Mazzei as she and two of her colleagues walked out of a café two blocks from the new Starbucks. "All that is new is welcome and good for Milan."

Ms. Mazzei said she could imagine going to Starbucks from time to time for something special, but she does not see herself paying $ 1.80 for a Starbucks espresso. His bar, in front of his office, sells 10 prepaid espresso for 9 €.

For one more euro, the new Starbucks coffee will offer a world premiere, the € 10 Blend Affogato Cream Blend. It's a riff on a popular Italian dessert, prepared by pouring an espresso on a scoop of ice cream. The Starbucks version includes custom made ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Alternatively, there will be the "barrel-age whiskey" cold brewing of € 10, sweetened with vanilla syrup aged in barrels.

Local bar staff are relatively optimistic about the arrival of Starbucks.

"We are not afraid of losing customers because Starbucks has a completely different concept," said Marilena Muzzolini, who runs a café near Starbucks. "I like Starbucks and I've been to Paris and London, but I'm not going for an Italian espresso and I do not think many other Italians will do it either. You go to Starbucks for different things.

Write to Eric Sylvers at [email protected]