Starbucks Coffee Culture & Italian Traditional Coffee Drinking Habits

In these days I am talking a lot about Starbucks integration with Italian habits and about Italian bars as well. Now I will go deeper into the differences between American and Italian ways to see the popular coffee beverages and to enjoy the drinking moments. Starbucks is actually the most popular coffee chain you can find in many countries. Howard Schultz founded it after a trip to Milan: he had been so conquered by the Italian tradition of drinking coffee he wanted to export it in the United States of America, starting the company that would become the empire everyone knows today in many places of the globe. Anyway Starbucks experience is very different from Italian one.

The most popular types of coffee beverages served in Italian cafes are espresso (plain coffee) and cappuccino (an espresso with addition of milk, from which the Frappuccino has been inspired). These are beverages served in little coffee cups, while Frappuccino is something served in bigger cups. In addition Frappuccinos are cold while Italian coffee beverages are generally hot. Obviously Starbucks is not all about this cold and sweet drink: they actually also serve hot coffee and even the Italian beverages. The real differences are between the Italian and the American different attitudes to drinking coffee beverages. For Italian people coffee is just seen as a little break to have after lunch, in the morning or in every part of the day. If they are outside home, they go to a cafe just like American people go to Starbucks. Here comes the first difference: Italian people go to the cafe and drink their desired beverages at the counter (it is not common for them to carry their coffee cup and use tables in order to drink it). As espresso and cappuccino are drinkable in just few minutes, the Italian break is very little: people are often used to have their coffee just by standing up in front of the counter: after they finish to drink, they exit the bar.

American people and, in general, all those following Starbucks’s coffee culture, behave differently: here coffee is not a little break to have in few minutes. Coffee is carried in paper-made cups (or plastic ones if we are talking about beverages like the Frappuccino) and drunk in every place: this also because American coffee (without taking in exam more complex beverages) is also longer than Italian one, so it takes more time to drink it. Starbucks’s coffee culture sees this popular beverage as something to be part of our life in every moment: we can walk the street or go to the park by carrying our cup with us.

When we talk about Starbucks, we imagine a place where everyone can stay for long time, enjoy free Wi-Fi and talk with their friends: this is a place where people are more used to engage in social relationships with other people. Italian cafes, because of people’s attitude to drinking coffee, are less used as places for social relationships, unless people decide to sit at a table and have more than just a coffee: in this case, the so called happy hours (in which drinks and little snacks are served) are the most frequent moments in which cafes are not just places used for drinking coffee in few minutes, but also for enjoying a longer moment with friends or family. The same can be said for Starbucks, as there are surely people who go there and just drink something and then go out. Both Italian and American cafes feature different types of behaviours: in the Italian ones fast drinking experience is more common, while in the American coffee shops sitting at a table with friends is the predominant behaviour.

#ConnectWritingChallenge

18 Likes

That was a very detailed comparison of Starbucks and Italian cafe culture @user_not_found … Almost a thesis. And showing us how to get to Level 10. As you need such insights and posts. Thanks much.

2 Likes