L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS FRANCESCA BEZZONE T he news arrived just a handful of days ago, b u t i t w a s b a r e l y noticed in Italy. Per- haps it's because we are busy trying to understand w h o i s g o i n g t o b e c o m e o u r Prime Minister, or just distract- ed by the early signs of summer approaching, but no one has been paying too much attention to the fact that, lo and behold, Starbucks will finally come to the Home of the Perfect Coffee, Italy. In September, it has been announced, the American coffee giant will open its first store - a high end roastery - in Milan's Piazza Cordusio, just a few steps away from il Duomo. That it is going to be one of Starbucks artisan coffee shops shouldn't surprise: if they want to have a chance here, they have to give it the best they can. The point is, will they have that chance at all? Starbucks' love affair with Italy started as far back as 1983, when his executive chairman, Howard Schultz, experienced Italian coffee for the first time during a visit to Milan. Appar- ently, it was the epiphany he needed to conceive and create what was to become the most iconic and popular coffee shops chain on earth, with 29 thousand stores worldwide and profits of over 4 billion dollars as of 2017. That Starbucks is a successful business is out of the question: it is ubiquitous, it has a huge cof- fee menu and people like it not only to grab their morning brew on the go. Thanks to its friendly and relaxed atmosphere, as well as the habit to give free wi-fi access to its customers, Star- bucks has become a place to chat, work, study and relax, all under the same roof: whether you are in the US or Britain, Ire- land or France, Starbucks is a c o m m o n f i x t u r e o n t h e h i g h street, a familiar haven when away from home, a comfy sit- ting room outside of your own. Yet, Italians may not be so will- ing to embrace the trend. A s a n I t a l i a n w h o l i v e d abroad for over a decade, I must admit I like Starbucks: there was one in my university in Ire- land and I spent countless hours working on my laptop sitting at o n e o f i t s t a b l e s w h e n t h e library felt too claustrophobic; it was the perfect place to take a break or to a have a quick lunch between classes. The coffee was good, too, even though it was so different from what I used to have back in Italy, or would pre- pare at home. At the same time, there are a series of considerations to make about how successful the chain could be in a country like Italy and they do not all depend on the quality of its coffee, nor on the fact Italians will be hardly pressed to drink americanos and Frappuccinos once the novelty wears off. W h e n i t c o m e s t o c o f f e e , Italy is a very traditional coun- try: we sort of mastered the art of making it, even if we haven't been the first to embrace the bit- ter deliciousness of kava. Tradi- tion and classical flavors are all we want, proof of it being the relatively small variety of cof- fees usually available in our cafés: espresso can be lungo, or regular or ristretto, macchiato caldo or freddo and sometimes corretto. Cappuccino can be nor- mal or chiaro and we do have m a r o c c h i n o a n d a v a r i e t y o f decaf options (ginseng and bar- ley drinks have become quite popular in recent years), but don't expect much more than t h a t . H o w e v e r , t h e r e ' s l i t t l e doubt that Italian coffee remains the best in the world: it's a typi- cal case of "why should you change or improve something that's already perfect?" Italian coffee is not a matter of variety, but of extremely high quality: from the selection of the coffee, t o t h e w a y i t ' s t o a s t e d a n d brewed, every drop of caffé has to be absolutely perfect. And w h o e v e r h a d c o f f e e i n I t a l y knows it pretty much always is. There is more: we Italians love our coffee ritual the way it is. We love to get our caffé in the same place every morning, while having a chat with the barista and the other customers, whom we end up knowing and befriending because we meet them every day. We like the way we don't need to say what we want, because the barista already knows it ; we love to read the paper standing at the counter, while having a chit chat with the m a n o r w o m a n b e s i d e u s , a speck of a friendship that lasts the time to sip our lungo. Il bar, the café, is a moment of "home" while we are out shopping or on our coffee break at work. It's the p l a c e w e c h o o s e t o r e s t j u s t about the time to have a macchi- ato and a glass of water, where we can forget for a couple of minutes about what goes on out- side, in the street: a little corner of tranquillity. This is not to say Starbucks won't be successful in Italy: younger generations will certain- ly enjoy the possibility to study t h e r e a n d t h e f r e e i n t e r n e t access, just as much as youth all over the world do. And many an expat will gladly have a venti caramel macchiato with an extra shot on the go, just for the sake of feeling closer to home. I'll tell you more: some Italians may even like to make it a habit of " p r e n d e r e u n c a f f é d a S t a r - bucks" once in while, just for a change. But the point is: it will never become what il bar is for us. O n e l a s t t h i n g : S c h u l t z declared, when speaking about finally opening in Italy, "we're not coming here to teach Italians how to make coffee, we're com- i n g h e r e w i t h h u m i l i t y a n d respect, to show what we have learned." Well, Italy's happy to have been the inspiration, all those years ago, for the creation of such an amazing business, which ultimately helped spread- i n g t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f c o f f e e around the world. Italy wel- c o m e s S t a r b u c k s w i t h o p e n arms, with that typical warm and friendly attitude it's known for. And Italy will gladly and amica- bly take a look at what Star- bucks "has learned" about coffee in more than 30 years of busi- ness: yet, it will very likely keep on sticking to its bar dietro l'an- golo per un cappuccio e brioche. The atmosphere and the rituals of "il bar" are unique and precious in Italy: can Starbucks really measure up? Does Italy really need Starbucks? There is nothing quite like un "cappuccio e brioche" at the local café in Italy

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