Paris wasn’t very happy to see Starbucks come to the city. They are very proud of their famous café culture, which expects you to sit calmly in the café drinking your espresso thereby frowning on our “take the coffee and go” routine. Besides that, they are never excited about seeing another big American company infiltrate their society. But today I did a search of the Starbucks’ locations in Paris and found 20. And we all know that once Starbucks gets started, there is no 
stopping them.Last week I came across a blog posting from a Frenchman who was vehement about not entering a Starbucks: the high cost, their “burnt coffee,” and their “snarl-y baristas.” Not everyone feels this way, of course, but it has required Starbucks, I've noticed, to beef up the way they’re selling their concept.
In a typical Parisian café, par example, you can order an espresso, a grand or petit crème (café au lait), a noisette (espresso with a shot of milk), a cappuccino, a decaf of any of these drinks, and possibly a café noir (black). This Starbucks’ poster (sorry about the quality) is saying it is your drink and you can have it your way. “The pleasure is in the choices.” The translation of the bottom line is, “How do you like it? It is your drink.”
Believe it or not, they even have a lovely multiple-page green brochure printed on heavy paper explaining how it’s all about you and how you want to order your drink. At least 30 drinks are offered on the menu all year round; and with their variety of choices and options, this permits them to create nearly 19,000 versions of possible drinks. The brochure goes into much detail about how to order your drink (all nouns, adjectives, adverbs in the correct order—to this day, I still can’t get the order right!); how to tell the barista that you want something extra hot, or without the whipped crème if the drink is normally made with whipped crème; and how to ask for a double shot of espresso or syrup. It invites you to meet your friends or to take your coffee to go—they will put it in a porcelain cup if you want to stay or in a paper cup with a lid. This little brochure is really a primer on how to drink coffee at Starbucks! Ahh, and I just noticed the little coupon on the back page for a free “additive” (soy milk, syrup, whipped crème, an extra shot) if you want to “play a little bit” wit
h your personalized drink. Isn’t this fun?My experiences so far at Starbucks in Paris? I have found everyone to be very cheery and helpful (I know you’re not surprised) as I try to order in their language—smiley and pleasant, too (they all speak English, of course). And an added bonus—they surprised me the other day by asking if I wanted my pain au chocolat heated (they have an oven—we don't in Houston yet, although I believe that may be phased in everywhere as they experiment with heated sandwiches, which they have here). Every Starbucks I’ve entered or walked by has been full of people. And it’s true about the expense—we know this even in the US. My venti chai tea latte, which is $4.33 in the US, is 5,20 euros or about $6.75 here. Compare that to the normal you-can't-have-it-your-way cappuccino I had the first day in the neighborhood café for 3 euros—ouch!
