Starbucks finally opens cafe in Italy, home of espresso
Milan — US coffee chain Starbucks this week opened its first branch in Italy, with the sprawling Milan "roastery" at the avant garde of an ambitious plan to conquer the spiritual home of espresso. The Seattle-based multinational is taking on a mainstay of Italian culture: a thick thimbleful of strong black liquid served at the bar in cafés across the country, 6-billion times a year, according to Italian catering federation FIPE. Not surprising then that Starbucks, which is well established elsewhere in Europe, has delayed its entry into the Italian market, originally planned for early 2017. Outspoken former CEO Howard Schultz, who quit the chain in June amid talk that he could run for the White House in 2020 — has repeatedly said that the company would come to Italy with "humility". "During my first trip to Milan in 1983, I was captivated by the sense of community I found in the city’s espresso bars — the moments of human connection that passed so freely and genuinely between barist...
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