--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Xenophaneros Anartaxius" <anartaxius@...> wrote: > > Now as a diversion, I just read in an article about a > year old, that Starbucks has never made a profit in > France, though they have been doing a lot to try to > rectify that situation. Starbucks, a big commericial > café operation, has had trouble in one of those > countries where all this began. In the U.S., high > quality coffee began with Mr. Peet from Amsterdam, > and he gave his expertise freely to the budding > Starbucks corporation years ago, but Starbucks seems > to have missed something along the way. > > So, from our reporter in France and the Netherlands, > what is the difference in French cafés and French > coffee preparation that differs from Starbucks > (ambiance, roasting, quality?), and is France's café > business different from what is found in the Netherlands?
French coffee is drinkable, as opposed to that from Starbucks. Simple as that. Ask any long-timer in the coffee business and they'll explain it to you. Star- bucks *overroasts* its beans, increasing the caffeine content and rendering the resulting coffee bitter. It's not supposed to taste that way. As for why they don't do all that well in France, well I guess it's because the French can tell the difference. The only time I ever patronize a Starbucks is to have one of their iced coffees, something you can't get in French cafes, and which I find tasty in the summer. Put enough milk, sugar, and ice into one of Starbuck's iced coffees, and it's relatively drinkable. > I have never been to either country. I do like coffee, > and I like French Roast which is the blackest of the > roasts in the U.S., but supposedly some in France have > said Starbucks 'French Roast' tastes too burnt. It does. > In the United States, Starbucks is getting competition > from other smaller vendors, but mainly from Dunkin' > Donuts and MacDonald's who offer knock-offs at a much > lower price. But Europe is the original breeding ground > of this business. What is up? Beats me. My advice is to skip the shops -- Starbucks *or* Peets -- and just brew your own. Try some kona coffee, not overroasted, and see how you like it.
