Where is the Paris Starbucks?
 

As an American living in France who must have coffee-to-go, I'm interested in seeing how the formula works over here. I'll be in Paris next week so I figured it's worth stopping in for fun. I make my mochas at home and take them out with me in a plastic thermos cup. When I went to the hair salon one morning a crowd of french ladies (in various stages of hair treatment) gathered around me to see for themselves, amazed that I would be carrying coffee with me. It was hilarious!

Babette, is there a starbucks in Paris? We were there a few weeks ago and I did not spot it; reading your post, I realized I did not see parisians walking around with their coffee like we do in north america !!

Do you think Parisians will catch the Starbucks fever and people will start lining up for the cardboard cups and walk around with them?

Hi

If you go to www.google.com and enter "starbucks paris" you will find that they are not there yet.

Ira -

Isn't that wonderful to hear "no Starbucks in Paris" - forget their designer coffees (if you can call them coffee), but their regular coffee is the worst that's every passed my lips.

Sandi,

If Starbucks coffee is the worst you've ever had -- you are lucky.

Thank God, there is no such thing as a Starbucks in Paris (yet?). God preserve us from this over-roasted, over-priced coffee, not to mention the ghastly vanilla or raspberry flavours!
When I go to a Starbucks in the States, I always make a point to ask for a "real" expresso cup (not the styrofoam heresy), and I have to confess my delightment at the attendants' panicked face. Grace has to be given to the legendary American service, they eventually always find some old chinaware somewhere in the store!

Coffee-to-go (in paper cups) does not seem to be popular in Europe. I have never seen people carrying around paper coffee cups.

Several times I have tried buying coffee-to-go in several countries, but have never found any places providing paper cups. This is true even in train stations. Customers are expected to drink their coffee in china cups at the coffee bar. Starbucks may be an exception to this, if you can find one.

I think there is one there.....
Author: coffeeboy
Date: 05/21/2002, 02:54 pm
Message: I've a friend in Paris who says that Starbucks is doing well there, too. I guess it's the novelty of it all.

Try locating one of the Columbus Café shops...
http://www.columbuscafe.com/us/INDEX.HTM

This is a French-owned "American style" coffee shop/espesso bar.

IRA I agree 100% with you.
I cannot imagine how people think that Sturbuks coffee is any good!!!!!!!!!!!
Besides drink a coffee in a cafe , relaxing a few minutes to do it, may be meeting a friend ....makes taste better French , ITalian....coffee than rushing with coffee in a paper cup.....
Why do we want to make other people do as we do, LET US LEAVE THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE....

Starbucks DOES NOT have a store in France. They expect to open in Paris in early 2004. Here is the press release address:

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=343

I think Starbucks in Europe is radiculous. Are they trying to get the Europeans to drink on the go like Americans? The reason cafes are set up the way they are, is that you "have" to take a break in order to drink a cup of coffee. I vote that cafes stay the way they are.

Starbucks in Europe is an okay idea. Why not give the locals and the tourists a real choice on how and when to drink coffee? All the cafes are not going to go out of business just because Starbucks opens a few stores.

Question to all: WHY do Americans prefer coffee in cardboard to go in lieu of lingering at a cafe drinking it from glass/china???

I can't speak for all Americans, but I don't know of many places I can go and "linger" while drinking coffee out of china or glass. Granted, that many cities have more options I know. Also, most of us I think are getting coffee "on the way" somewhere and need to get it quickly. The act of going and hanging out at a cafe vs. needing a cup of coffee on the go are two different things I think.

bardo, most americans like having the option of doing both. Linger if you have the time and are in the mood or grab a quick cup when you are busy and lack the time. Its not a question of which is better, but which fits the situation.

I noticed that during morning rush hour Italians do not linger over their coffee in public places. They go to the coffee bar closest to their bus stop, order the espresso at the bar, gulp it down as fast as possible and hop on the bus. One could do the same in France. No need for a paper cup.

The genius behind Starbucks continues to amaze me. We walk in and leave many dollars behind for something that costs much less other places.

I love to linger and have a coffee while I travel, but I also love having coffee to go. When we ride in the car or I walk around a park and sit for awhile. I bring my to-go coffee cup with me while I travel. I buy a second cup before I leave the cafe and pour it into the to-go cup, usually in the a.m. I love Europe and all it has to offer, but in my heart I love my coffee "to go".

Glad to see this question sparked such a debate! I remember my first trip to Paris and stopping into a cafe to request a coffee "to go" for our long walk to the Louvre. Quelle horreur! The funny thing is, they did try -- in those flimsy little soft plastic cups that scalded our cold little hands! Yes, we did gulp!

Of course it's wonderful to sit and linger over a coffee in a quaint little cafe. That is one of the great turn-ons of France. And that will never change.

But, after a few years in L.A. with a nasty little commute each morning, I took great pleasure in my big mocha sharing the drive up the 405 with me. Personally, I don't like the flavor of Starbuck's coffee; I stopped each morning at The Heidelberg, around the corner from my house in Laguna Beach. When I told the German owner, Claudia, that I was moving to France, she said, "Don't worry, you will find plenty of good coffee there," which is true.

However, on those early mornings where I have to get up early to sit in a chilly classroom to study this beautiful language, all the other students are jealous of my steaming plastic mug! They are paying a half a Euro for the little cups of horrid sludge from the vending machine in the hall - you know the kind, where the cup drops down and then fills up with some brown liquid from a mystery source inside the big box?

I've thought that a Starbucks-style coffee shop would be a great business to open here (in Aix-en-Provence). And, by Starbucks-style, I'm only referring to the "to go" convenience. I was discussing this idea with some french friends the other evening after they had mentioned how well Starbucks was doing in various European cities. They said a shop on the Cours Mirabeau would do brisk business until the cafe mafia killed me. So, perhaps I'll just keep my sipping to myself!

I do find that something as simple as a cup of coffee provides so much information on the difference between the American and French cultures. And I know many people believe that France would not embrace "to go" coffee, but look at those long, long lines at the French McDonalds. I hear many complaints about them buy who are all those people buying Les Big Macs? (By the way, just try to get ice in your Coke at a French McDo!)

My, I have digressed! Too much mocha this morning! (for the record, I do drink out of a china cup at home) Thanks for all your great input. I'll let you know what I find in Paris next week.

Eating and drinking on the public street was once considered very declasse in America. With the onslaught of the "me" generations, Americans began doing whatever the hell they wanted. In Japan, it is still considered taboo to eat and drink on public streets. If you do, you will be stared at.

Europe, too, has not been quick to embrace this very selfish, casual activity but younger people, with the influence of American tourists, make it difficult to hang on to traditional decorums.

I think people who eat and drink on public streets look silly and sloppy. This activity speaks directly to self-respect issues and the subject of public manners, both deserving their own thread here.

The younger generations in Japan can often be seen eating in public. Some older Japanese frown on it, but it has little effect on this growing practice. The same is true for Korea. The horse is already out of the barn on this one.

"The horse is already out of the barn on this one."

This is true but that horse should be reigned in. Japanese parents in their 50's are mad as hell about this and many blame the American culture (or lack of).

French parents endure the same frustration with American fast-food influences. They consider these issues a breakdown of traditional values.

I feel there are some traditions worth nurturing and a self-respecting culture is just one of them. Stuffing your face with food or drink as you walk the streets or ride public transportation should never be considered civilized. This fast-lane, I'll-do-what-I-please lifestyle is a joke that isn't funny.

I will worship the day when Starbies opens in Paris. Sometimes you just need a good strong cuppa cawfee. French coffee comes in small cups, is expensive, offers no refills and is of questionable quality. I can't tell you how many times I craved grande coffee in the morning or even a cup to take back to my hotel room to eat with a nice pastry. When I was in Vienna I noticed that Starbucks has opened there. It didn't seem to be distracting people from the lousey coffee in cafes and restaurants. In fact it seems to attract those of a different lifestyle. London seems to have grasped coffee-mania but they had nothing to loose except for tea and sandwiches at 4pm.

>I think people who eat and drink on public streets look silly and sloppy. <

What about a small cup of gelato, eaten with a spoon, while enjoying the evening passageta (sp?)?

French coffee is of questionable quality?...
I'm not a Starbucks-hater, I get soy lattes there frequently, but nothing I've ever gotten there can compare to even average coffee in France.

Hi Babette, please let us know what you find out on your visit...

Ira, one would think with all your vast travel "experience" you'd at least own an Italian dictionary.

"La passeggiata di sera" is pretty much an adult event in Italy and I've yet to see local couples walking around and slurping gelato in the process. You'll see plenty of tourists walking while eating gelato, pretending to be Italian, but the drippings on their shirts and the accumulation in the corner of their mouths give them away. Of course, all children should be exempted until a certain age.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen but I know many locals in Rome and Venice that either eat their gelato at the store or have it packed in containers to take home. I've never seen them eating while walking.

If you want to know where any business is in Paris, along with a photograph of what the place looks like, try www.pagesjaunes.fr. If you know the name of the street where it is supposed to be, this site will let you take a virtual tour of the street.

ira, you see both locals and tourists eating gelato on the street all the time in Italy. They look pretty happy and well adjusted to me.

I hope the new gelato police don't catch me and put me in irons. I'm guilty of many shocking displays of pleasure when eating that great stuff!

Her's my two cents....I too believe that Starbucks burn their coffee by over roasting it. I prefer any coffee that I've drank in Italy or France to Starbucks (Probably being there while drinking it adds to the flavor...but I digress). Having said this, howver, Starbucks is a vast improvement over the ubiquitous glass containers holding weak-stale tasting coffee that has been the staple of American society.
I agree that for me Starbucks is overpriced but people are paying it so I guess the market says it is priced right.Further, they do cater to special requests, silk soy creamer for vegans is a nice touch. Paper coffee cups may not have the appeal of china but in my opinion, has no effect on flavor. Finally, as has been noted above, I wouldn't characterize the average Roman who walks into a coffee bar and plunks down a euro and slams an espresso a very relaxed, lingering sight to behold.

If Starbucks has no appeal in Europe it will fail; if Europeans prefer it to other coffee establishments, I doubt it will because of American corporate influence....

My dear NYC,

I have dictionaries and grammars in
Danish, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Portugese, Spanish and Yiddish; I'm just too lazy to use them.

In Florence and Naples I had to wait in line (well, sort of a mob) to get my gelato, because of all of the locals.

It was easier in Praiano. Small town. People let me go to the front to see if I would pck a good flavor. (Once I did good.)

It sounds like you speak from expeience, BlackCat...I'll take your word for it.

It sounds like you speak from experience, BlackCat...I'll take your word for it.

Nobody needs a magnifying glass to see my derriere (even though I'm told it's in great shape). Exercise is a wonderful thing to cure laziness, Ira.

Very funny, KS452. (I doubt ChubNuts got it though. She's a fat, nasty, unhappy one for sure.) I liked your Man-Wife thing on the fashion thread and Hansikday's confusion. Very funny.

For the record, I know numerous Parisians who are dying for a good cup of American coffee. Starbucks will do just fine there. I wonder how many fodorites know that Starbucks will not open in France without being in partnership with a local businessman? So now you can blame some rich French guy for bringing Starbucks to Paris.

And for gelato...I could really give a molar's cavity who eats and walks at the same time. I just thought it would be fun to rant on this one and it was.

Dear NYC,

Have you
a. been tippling a bit too much,
b. forgotten to take your meds,
c. been up too late?

Thanks NYC. I like your sense of humor and insights too.

"Have you
a. been tippling a bit too much,"

Not enough, frankly. My Dad prefers to see me sober and I respect him.

"b. forgotten to take your meds,"

I do forget sometimes because I hate the Valley of the Dolls.

"c. been up too late?"

More like, been in Ohio too long. I'm ready to go back to my world where it's easier to find better dressed people.

I reckon Starbucks will do really well in Paris. Even if no French people ever set foot in the place, Paris has a large enough ex-pat and foreign student community (not to mention the tourists) to ensure that Starbucks would be extremely successful. And let's face it, it's not as though France is totally closed to the fast-food culture. There are almost 1000 McDonalds restaurants in France - in Europe, only Germany and the UK have more.

One of the reasons Starbucks is doing so well in Switzerland:

They are NON SMOKING