Exactly. Australia had better Coffee standards BEFORE Starbucks even existed. Way back in the 1970s we were being educated by the Italian Communities. Since then, Australians have sought out better Coffee. Starbucks started 30 years later, 2000.
Starbucks is crap. Weak oversweet horrible swill. I make better coffee with my home espresso machine. I grind the beans myself. Two in Melbourne and they are for tourists only, with no taste.
@@MelodyMan69I have been drinking coffee since the 1950’s. I lived in a suburb where immigrants settled and was exposed to Chinese, Italian, Greek etc etc food and coffee from an early age. Starbucks was a once and nope. I make better coffee in my home espresso machine.
Starbucks coffee is terrible. In fact I make better coffee at game with my machine than any of the coffee shops. In addition I refuse to pay $10 for a cuppa
I live in Australia. I have been to America several times. One one trip American friends took me into a Starbucks outlet. When I got my order, I took one sip and thought it wasn't made properly.. I had an American friend taste it, and was told that it was good coffee. I took another sip, spat it back into the cup, and abandoned my Starbucks coffee. It was terrible. Don't believe any of the hype in the video. Starbucks failed in Australia because their coffee is terrible. But don't take my word for it. Fly to Australia, see and experience an incredible place. Then drink the coffee. You will not regret the entire experience.
Agreed, Starbucks, unlike McDonalds refused to adapt to our local tastes. I am not saying the McDonalds is good, but ours is far superior to the American McDonalds.
Only problem there is, that Americans like their Sugar loaded Starbucks... so they won't like our coffee, its probably way too stong, & way too bitter for them 🙃
I disagree with the analysts points on being too available and not waiting for us to develop an appetite. We have a massive coffee culture of superior coffee (yes I said it). Its a social thing. Sit down catch up with friends. Starbucks quality in comparison is just crap. Bad coffee. Too sugary. Too creamy. Too expensive. Mass produced. We dont like it. We didnt want it. We didnt buy it. Its now only in tourist areas. Very rarely do you see Aussies in a Starbucks. We even converted McDonalds and invented McCafe. But even thats not up to par with local cafes.
The funny thing is when Americans taste Australian coffee they prefer it to Starbucks. There are Australian cafes in New York that are thriving and expanding.
In hospital post neurosurgery. It’s only got one coffee shop and it’s Starbucks. I walked across the street to get to real coffee in my dressing gown. Starbucks is not coffee. I enjoyed your reaction fellas
In Aus, coffee isn’t about getting a caffeine hit, it’s about catching up with friends and enjoying a quality drink and meal. Our cafe culture is as strong as any one, including Italy, in my opinion. I have built a relationship with my local, and they will start preparing my regular order as soon as they see me walk in the door, and will follow me to my table. Quality coffee and quality food, that’s what it’s all about in Australia.
It's amazing that Starbucks has not failed in every country in the world that appreciates coffee. Starbucks doesn't sell coffee, they sell hot milk with a vague taste of coffee. It's disgusting.
There are many Starbucks in China as they don't have a coffee vulture. When my son was working in Beijing and coffee wasn't a thing there, he "joined the dark side" and went there for a weak oversweet coffee fix. When he returned to Melbourne for Christmas and his dad picked him up from the airport, they made a detour to Lygon Street Carlton to overdose on espresso. before coming home.
Another difference about Australian cafes is that they usually offer good food, not just donuts. You can sit, eat eggs & bacon or a sandwich, and drink a good coffee. As an example of Aussie coffee tastes, the stuff in a glass jug that we see on American TV shows just doesn't exist here. You might still find it in a corporate meeting room, but no Aussie qould be willing to pay for it. Coffee creamer doesn't exist either, flavoured or otherwise.
Fun fact, McCafe or McDonald's coffee is an Australian invention that was launched in Melbourne 1993. So another thing Australia has given to the world.
Don't listen to what this video says, because opening slowly in Australia, wouldn't have made any difference. We drink real coffee here, not dishwater sorry. If there's 1 thing we do best, it's our coffee. Starbucks didn't stand a chance here
You should check out a video explaining the differences between American and Australian McDonald's. In regards to coffee culture in Australia, I live in a relatively small town and we have 2 specialty coffee roasters and multiple cafe's that all seem to do ok. I can smell the coffee roasting nearly every day and it's awesome.
Starbucks failed in Australia because they make crappy coffee and they charge far to much. We are VERY particular about our coffee here. We have a deep coffee tradition in this country that actually, unlike your American commentator said, the Italian influence in this country in the mid 1980s.
Many of the Starbucks that survived are either in tourist areas, or foreign (mostly Asian) university student areas. They're successful with people who are already used to it, but most locals avoid it like the plague! EDIT: LOL the video said the same thing but I'd already posted this 💪🤣
Starbucks coffee is abysmally bad, I can buy coffee beans from the supermarket, grind them at home and the coffee tastes 1000% better than Starbucks coffee, so I don't understand how their coffee can be such poor quality. I had Starbucks coffee once and it was like drinking dishwater it was so weak and such poor quality. I also don't take sugar in my coffee so I tasted it unadulterated by anything, so I can only assume they cover up the taste of their poor quality beans with all the sugar
Franchise models don’t cut it either. Tried to open too fast is BS .It’s just a crap product based purely on the cheapest ingredients not the best, served by millennials who couldn’t think if their life depended on it.
I walk past a Starbucks every morning and I’ve only ever seen 1 or 2 people there. I also walk past 4 other cafes and there’s always a line to the door.
I am not surprised. Here in Germany we also have a long time grown coffee culture. Well, Starbucks established here, but they do not really have as many shops as in other countries. According to different sources they have only 165 Shops in Germany. So Germans didn't say "no!" to Starbucks, but we are not very interested. You said in the US there are as much as McDonalds. To compare it: McD has 1425! Especially in the rural regions, Starbucks isn't a thing. Like you said: It's not a very welcoming environment to hang out, so in the big cities it might be nice for people to grab a coffee on their way to work but that was it. And they didn't come to Germany like an invasion, when I listen to the video you are reacting on, it sounds like the Australians have already been fed up with Starbucks before they could put their "second leg" into the market :) And, moreover, their products are not really what we regard as "coffee", it is more like "a drinkable, sugary dessert made with a little bit of coffee flavour". And Germans are not very keen on artificial flavours - I guess Australians may see that alike.
Like many Australians I don't have any sugar in my coffee, and I don't want any artificial flavours either. I've had a Starbucks coffee with not sugar and flavours when there was no other options, it's awful, I don't think you could even call it coffee. If you come to Australia, most of the small coffee shops will have umbrella's over outdoor seating tables with signage of the coffee roaster that supplies the coffee to the shop, it's usually part of the deal, shop signs contract to use beans from coffee company, and that company pays for umbrella's, and some other signage etc. Also order something nice to go with the coffee, you can have a croissant, cake, or even a meal. our independent coffee shops are great, so I hope you get to try them one day.
Starbucks coffee is terrible thats why it failed in Australia. Coffee in Australia is like an art, pick any random Australian cafe and it will be 10 times better than anything Starbucks can produce. The biggest issue with Starbucks trying to apeal to tourists is as soon as they try Australian coffee they will never buy Starbucks again. Why would anyone pay more for an inferior product, alternative options are on almost every street.
Gloria Jeans failed in Australia too, but it took a bit longer. You’d be pressed to find a Gloria Jeans in Sydney these days ( basically for the same reason as Starbucks failure ie. terrible coffee).
It is similar in NZ. Our coffee shops are niche and just brilliant places to sit , drink , eat and natter. There is only one Starbucks in my city and it is mainly used by Asian students and tourists.
There are still some Gloria Jeans around. I can't comment on their product because after trying it many years ago I vowed never to return. Give me Aussie coffee every time.
It's a smart and effective move to target the tourist market. When you watch some tourist travel vlogs on Australia, it's surprising just how many tourists will seek out a Starbucks and McDonald's virtually straight away. It's not about it being great, it's all about that familiarity of something they know that attracts them. It's also funny to see everyone jumping on them in the comments, absolutely savaging them when they post a vlog showing they're in Starbucks hahaha!
Italian here! Right now (2024) there are around 15 starbucks scattered throughout Italy. I remember there was some hype in 2018, when the first ever opened in Milan, but then I don't know, no-one talked about it ever again. I know they're going to open a new one this year in my town (Bologna) and I'm definitely curious: I'll go have a try for sure, to see how they adapted to our coffee culture.
I live in Brisbane, the captial of Queensland, and yes this is 100% accurate. In order to be even remotely competitive most of the MacDonald's in Australia have a separate cafe with barista made coffee with a pretty large and customisable menu.
Krispy Kreme did the same thing in Australia - rolled out a sh!t-ton of stores everywhere and then had to scale back. But they found a niche, basically they have some shopfronts but a massive wholesale business that sells to supermarkets and petrol (gas) stations.
I LOVE going to all our interestingly decorated, unique and sometimes arty coffee shops in Australia. Melbourne is known as the coffee capital of Australia and we enjoy meeting up with family, friends, or making new acquaintances in coffee shops. My favourite ones are within bookshops or outdoor ones. And our many varieties of high standard coffee are delicious. (I will never go to a Starbucks or Gloria Jeans.) There is a huge coffee culture in Australia.
Went to Melb for the first time in June-July and met up with my Maltese cousin. He took my friend and I to a gorgeous cafe not too far out of the CBD and it was the best coffee I, a former barista from Newy, had EVER had! I love our coffee culture so much, and no matter how much a cup goes for obviously I'm still gonna pay bc, like I could make it myself but the Art Of It is unmatched ❤
Great reaction guys. Another suggestion, simply because next to no one realises, is the fact that Australia does get snow and we have ski resorts. Check out Top 5 Skiing Destinations in Australia.
The Italians got to Australia first and entrenched espresso in the post-WW2 period. Australia’s even the second market for Italian commercial coffee machines after Italy. Every cafe has to have an Italian machine to compete. Curious they never had that impact in America, maybe it was just too big and the culture was set by the time they arrived. Anyway Australia’s had plenty of similar failures - a recent one was an attempt by Wesfarmers to invade Britain with its Bunnings brand, the dominant “home improvement and outdoor living and building products” chain and an institution in Australia - total failure, a billion AUD written off. There’s plenty of other similar stories.
It true we have embraced the coffee here in Oz , and they mention the Italian and Greek influence, which is true , but why no mention of the Turkish envolment.
Yes! Cuz we have amazing quality coffee. Starbucks is to go. Our culture is buy a coffee, sit in a cafe and drink it with friends. Not have it to go. However, we do have some Starbucks here and some people enjoy it, especially tourists.
Aussies are coffee connoisseurs. We love really great coffee. Starbucks just doesn’t cut it. Yuck!!!!! Ask any American tourist, they won’t go near Starbucks once they’ve had our great Australian coffee.
One of the things they didn't really mention is that Aussies expect to get food where they get coffee. Starbucks was a little slow to react to, when they first opened you could get like a muffin or a cookie and that was about it. End of the day to Aussies Starbucks is too weak, not the greatest tasting bean blend, too expensive and too inpersonal. Aussies aren't interested in adding hazelnut flavouring or pumpkin spice to hide the poor coffee taste either they just expect great coffee. I walk into my local and they start making mine without asking cos they already know how I want it.
In the end it's just coffee,we already had places that sold coffee. I know there's a lot of coffee snobs in Australia,but in general it's just coffee to the rest of us. It would be the same if an American company tried to sell beer,we already do that as well
I only visited the store once in Boston in 1997. I don't understand why I should go to the store. There is only modest “coffee”, quite thin and bitter (cheap goods), and can only be tolerated with syrupy stuff. I prefer to go to my café or an espresso bar, the quality is usually good there. The coffee, no matter what type, is served in porcelain cups, so there are no mountains of waste. The store is only hip because of advertising, which is like the other fast food companies, a lot of advertising, poor quality and standardized taste, just boring. -
There's two Starbucks locations I see fairly often in my home town of Melbourne. The one at Eastland and the one at the Melbourne Central Station Shopping Centre.
McCafe is actually from Australia, founded in Melbourne in the early 90's. McCafe is where you go to if you want coffee from a drive-thru or if you have kids and want them to play away from you (in the playland) while you sit down and take a break.
My husband and I have been to the original Starbucks in 1991 when visiting a friend in Seattle and it was - underwhelming. As a German who grew up with Italian, French, and Turkish specialties, Starbucks just wasn't that special. We were much more impressed by Café du Monde (French Market in New Orleans) and its coffee with chicory. We couldn't find a similar mix in Germany but found one by accident in France "Grand'Mère Familial"). Thank goodness for the single market and the fact that France is just 30 miles away. In Germany, there are 165 Starbucks - compare this to 1425 McDonalds's - not the ratio of the US, I guess.
Australian coffee really is World Class, you'd have to be offering something super special in order to beat it. Starbucks can't compare in any way. McDonalds coffee also isn’t up to scratch. My top 5 worst coffees are: 1. Starbucks, 2. Hungry Jacks, 3. McDonalds, 4. 7/11, 5. The Coffee Club.
As an Aussie tourist in the US, I had Starbucks twice. The first time because I wanted to taste what all the fuss was about. The coffee was so bad, that I visited another Starbucks at a different location because I thought the first one must have been an anomaly. It wasn’t.
We have family that are close but not really. So we meet half way at a coffee shop. We try new ones all the time, It was more a meeting place than a place just to get a coffee.
I don’t do Gloria Jeans either. I love my Italian, Greek and Turkish coffee places. I can make my own espresso at home as well. I love finding local cafes with small bean roast providers. I hate fake coffee milkshakes! Not a coffee snob - I just know what I like, and was brought up on the best 🇦🇺
Maybe because Australians like good coffee 😂. In the UK they must have adjusted as British people are a bit more like the Europeans, we like to sit with friends and take time. We don’t like to be rushed.
I just googled starbucks for Adelaide and the last one closed in 2008. I don't even remember there being one. When you have quality cafes and other shops offering good coffee on almost every corner of the city who needs starbucks. McCafe was a surprise move by a major franchise and they got it. Generally I'll support a dedicated small business just about every time.
Post ww2 saw A LOT of immigration to Australia from Greece and Italy. Now, pretty much any small food business in Australia can provide at least a halfway decent cup of coffee, something that McDonalds caught onto and implemented extremely well. At this stage, yeah, Starbuck's is still around but as the video says, it is primarily for tourists and new arrivals. To that end, you see them near airports, certain universities, some major shopping centres and so forth. Presumably, they are doing OK, but I don't know of any actual Australians who regularly drink their swill.
Cafe’s are extremely abundant and popular in Australia. In my hometown, there is three McDonald’s with McCafés, 2 hungry Jacks with cafe options and multitude‘s of independent cafes including one Gloria jeans. We are literally spoilt for choice for cafes, eateries, and so on. Most serving coffee, tea, chocolate drinks or variances of. Less than two hours from my hometown, there is a place that actually trains baristas. So yeah it’s no surprise that Starbucks with it heavy-handed approach ultimately failed here in Australia at the time whether that changes or not in the years since I haven’t heard although I have seen Starbucks premade coffees in cans showing up recently
Once you have a “real” coffee in Australia, Melbourne in particular, you can’t help but compare quality. There would have to be a half dozen places in any Melbourne suburb to meet up for a coffee and a catch up. In the CBD there are hundreds of places to sit down and have a coffee. McDonalds now have real coffee and real café eating choices. I am old now, but I still miss meeting my mum at Gloria Jeans for a coffee and cake. We also take our children, and in my case grandchildren for a babyccino when we are having a coffee so they get the whole coffee culture of sitting down together and just enjoying a get together over a cuppa.
I don't even know if we have this crap in germany. I only remember that Wall-Mart failled badly here, and they are even bigger. But we are just not used to eat shit only because there is a "big name" on the shit.
This video tried to save face for Starbucks in so many “Dishonest” ways. The other comments have already mentioned most of them in greater detail, such as growing to fast. And that line about “giving the Australian consumers an opportunity to develop an appetite” is total crap. If the coffee is crap to begin with, it doesn’t matter how much time you give us Aussies. And being “too available” is quite frankly, quite insulting to hear, especially from an Aussie, who’s clearly a paid mouth piece/puppet for Starbucks. We aren’t stupid, we won’t pay more for an inferior product, it’s as simple as that. To blame But the point that I really want to raise is that their other attempt at saving face, is actually a complete and utter lie. A total lie. And that’s because Australia actually avoided the GFC an we DID NOT go into recession but still grew financially. As Our banking systems weren’t as corrupt as the American ones were back then. To sum up. If you actually have a GOOD and SUPERIOR product, then it doesn’t matter how fast you roll out, word will travel and struggling stores won’t struggle for ever. But Starbucks is neither of those. Just sickly sweet smell from the shop front has reportedly been of putting. This video is filled with half truths, lies and face saving crap. P.S. There was one bit of absolute truth though when the guy who talked about Starbucks not letting the brand grow organically, when he finished of with saying that when a large number of stores left the market, “That we didn’t really care”. His tone of voice screams the truth of that, but also fails to express the massive understatement that his comment was as well. P.P.S. I just remembered this old Aussie news article. You just might find it amusing (if it doesn’t get region blocked). ua-cam.com/video/fdF4QonZvo4/v-deo.htmlsi=SoPAnlMnIPBpY6nH
I tried Starbucks a few times, but then stopped. No matter what I ordered, it was very much like, "would you like some coffee with your flavoured sugar. Ordering a straight black coffee, got me a confused look.
Australian Technical and Further Education colleges (TAFE) conduct courses in how to make the perfect coffee. It's the best coffee and we love it; apparently every coffee loving tourist usually is amazed by the quality. The McCafe concept developed in Australia. Cheers from Sydney, AU.
Starbucks assumed that we were a bunch of ignorant tea-drinkers who would embrace the superior American coffee culture wholesale as we had been repeatedly doing on other fronts. Post--WW2 Australia gained quite a few immigrants from Europe, especially Italy and Greece. Many of the corner cafés were operated by those Mums and Dads who offered the food and drink that was familiar from their background. We came to expect that knowledgeable service and barista standard of coffee from the get-go when I was growing up, more than half a century before Starbucks hit our shores. So we already had a thriving coffee café culture. I myself worked in a supper restaurant serving a range of dinkum coffees to quite discerning theatre-going regulars. I have a sweet tooth but have enough barista training to know that a well-made espresso should be a culinary delight that needs no sugar or milk. Having yet another mass-produced American style and overtaste foisted on us while telling us how great it was and how to suck eggs was never gonna be accepted. The obvious arrogance and lack of market research 101 is astounding. I went to Starbucks twice once as we say - first and last time. That coffee was undrinkable. Never bothered returning in preference to other venues where I know good coffee and food is always on offer. And now Starbucks thinks it is gonna do the same in Italy with their far more sophisticated coffee culture? Good luck with that.
When your going for straight caffeination here in Australia, even our local Delis or Servos outperform Starbucks as far as quality. I remember when it first came here there was a small influx that was simply driven by hype of Starbucks opening up, but that faded quickly.
The Greek and Italian immigrants introduced us Aussies to proper coffee back in the 50s & 60s. And we embraced the culture , particularly in our southern cities like Sydney & Melbourne. Now you can find good coffee made by skilled Baristas everywhere. Good coffee is like a fine wine, not Coca Cola.
Starbucks was on George Street in Sydney and it was the shjiittest fake orange flavour added to something calked a Valencia- then they added cream on top - it wasn't a coffee it was a childs drink
The simple fact of Starbucks failure is Australians like coffee. Starbucks don't do coffee
How correct you are. Starbucks sells coloured water.
😂
@@suekaraiskos7104 Do you speak English? What does that idiotic symbol mean?
Exactly.
The biggest problem for Starbucks is simple, Australia has a huge coffee culture. If you over charge for an inferior product your set up to fail..!!!!
And that product is a weak sugary concoction that's an insult to coffee.
Exactly. Australia had better Coffee standards BEFORE Starbucks even existed. Way back in the 1970s we were being educated by the Italian Communities. Since then, Australians have sought out better Coffee.
Starbucks started 30 years later, 2000.
Starbucks is crap. Weak oversweet horrible swill. I make better coffee with my home espresso machine. I grind the beans myself. Two in Melbourne and they are for tourists only, with no taste.
@@MelodyMan69I have been drinking coffee since the 1950’s. I lived in a suburb where immigrants settled and was exposed to Chinese, Italian, Greek etc etc food and coffee from an early age. Starbucks was a once and nope. I make better coffee in my home espresso machine.
Starbucks coffee is terrible. In fact I make better coffee at game with my machine than any of the coffee shops. In addition I refuse to pay $10 for a cuppa
I live in Australia. I have been to America several times. One one trip American friends took me into a Starbucks outlet. When I got my order, I took one sip and thought it wasn't made properly.. I had an American friend taste it, and was told that it was good coffee. I took another sip, spat it back into the cup, and abandoned my Starbucks coffee. It was terrible. Don't believe any of the hype in the video. Starbucks failed in Australia because their coffee is terrible. But don't take my word for it. Fly to Australia, see and experience an incredible place. Then drink the coffee. You will not regret the entire experience.
Agreed, Starbucks, unlike McDonalds refused to adapt to our local tastes. I am not saying the McDonalds is good, but ours is far superior to the American McDonalds.
Only problem there is, that Americans like their Sugar loaded Starbucks... so they won't like our coffee, its probably way too stong, & way too bitter for them 🙃
The main reason they failed is every corner cafe in Australia has coffee so good it makes starbucks taste like pig swill.
When it is pig swill, anything will make it taste like pig swill.
I disagree with the analysts points on being too available and not waiting for us to develop an appetite. We have a massive coffee culture of superior coffee (yes I said it). Its a social thing. Sit down catch up with friends. Starbucks quality in comparison is just crap. Bad coffee. Too sugary. Too creamy. Too expensive. Mass produced. We dont like it. We didnt want it. We didnt buy it. Its now only in tourist areas. Very rarely do you see Aussies in a Starbucks. We even converted McDonalds and invented McCafe. But even thats not up to par with local cafes.
The funny thing is when Americans taste Australian coffee they prefer it to Starbucks. There are Australian cafes in New York that are thriving and expanding.
The biggest issue with Starbucks is the horrible coffee
The biggest issue with America is the horrible coffee, almost eclipsed by the dried like a rock scones Americans call biscuits
In hospital post neurosurgery. It’s only got one coffee shop and it’s Starbucks. I walked across the street to get to real coffee in my dressing gown. Starbucks is not coffee. I enjoyed your reaction fellas
Completely understand … I’d of done the same
Australia came up with McCafe at Macca's
Macca's only has warm milk for babies. Is NOT Coffee.
@@MelodyMan69 it is pretty good coffee, but I'm a coffee snob and only drink lavazza coffee, with a plunger and drink as is.
@@lealand423 you need to be a bigger snob.
@@MelodyMan69it's still better than Starbucks. At least their hot chocolates and chai lattes are decent
@@TheMissiIe
Neither of those are COFFEE ?
In Aus, coffee isn’t about getting a caffeine hit, it’s about catching up with friends and enjoying a quality drink and meal. Our cafe culture is as strong as any one, including Italy, in my opinion.
I have built a relationship with my local, and they will start preparing my regular order as soon as they see me walk in the door, and will follow me to my table.
Quality coffee and quality food, that’s what it’s all about in Australia.
It's about a caffeine hit for me. I don't even like dome particularly
Depends on the day sometimes it’s both, but either way it needs to taste good because I’m just going to toss it and be tired and grumpy if it doesn’t.
It's amazing that Starbucks has not failed in every country in the world that appreciates coffee. Starbucks doesn't sell coffee, they sell hot milk with a vague taste of coffee. It's disgusting.
i was going to say the same thing, my one and only experience with Starbucks was like warm milk with a hint of coffee 🤮🤮
There are many Starbucks in China as they don't have a coffee vulture. When my son was working in Beijing and coffee wasn't a thing there, he "joined the dark side" and went there for a weak oversweet coffee fix. When he returned to Melbourne for Christmas and his dad picked him up from the airport, they made a detour to Lygon Street Carlton to overdose on espresso. before coming home.
@@cgkennedy Melbourne in particular is so spoiled for choice when it comes to coffee i can't see any chain being able to break into that market.
Another difference about Australian cafes is that they usually offer good food, not just donuts. You can sit, eat eggs & bacon or a sandwich, and drink a good coffee.
As an example of Aussie coffee tastes, the stuff in a glass jug that we see on American TV shows just doesn't exist here. You might still find it in a corporate meeting room, but no Aussie qould be willing to pay for it. Coffee creamer doesn't exist either, flavoured or otherwise.
NZ has 36. With 19 of them in Auckland.
I've never set foot in any of them.
Fun fact, McCafe or McDonald's coffee is an Australian invention that was launched in Melbourne 1993. So another thing Australia has given to the world.
McDonalds’ coffee is 💩
@@Justufixion You should have seen it before lol
Yeah nahh i would never ever go to star fuc*ks, i'll keep my local coffee shop in business instead of this giant company....
You guys rock. Thanks for being such educated Americans. That's unusual to say the least.
Don't listen to what this video says, because opening slowly in Australia, wouldn't have made any difference. We drink real coffee here, not dishwater sorry.
If there's 1 thing we do best, it's our coffee.
Starbucks didn't stand a chance here
You should check out a video explaining the differences between American and Australian McDonald's. In regards to coffee culture in Australia, I live in a relatively small town and we have 2 specialty coffee roasters and multiple cafe's that all seem to do ok. I can smell the coffee roasting nearly every day and it's awesome.
Starbucks failed in Australia because they make crappy coffee and they charge far to much. We are VERY particular about our coffee here. We have a deep coffee tradition in this country that actually, unlike your American commentator said, the Italian influence in this country in the mid 1980s.
Many of the Starbucks that survived are either in tourist areas, or foreign (mostly Asian) university student areas. They're successful with people who are already used to it, but most locals avoid it like the plague!
EDIT: LOL the video said the same thing but I'd already posted this 💪🤣
Starbucks coffee is abysmally bad, I can buy coffee beans from the supermarket, grind them at home and the coffee tastes 1000% better than Starbucks coffee, so I don't understand how their coffee can be such poor quality. I had Starbucks coffee once and it was like drinking dishwater it was so weak and such poor quality. I also don't take sugar in my coffee so I tasted it unadulterated by anything, so I can only assume they cover up the taste of their poor quality beans with all the sugar
I have a coffee pod type machine at home. That produces a far superior cup of coffee than anything I could buy from a Starbucks.
Aussies like coffee, but Starbucks “coffee” is terrible. Simple.
By comparison to US taste’s, the Aussie pallet prefers a stronger tasting coffee.
Starbucks coffee was like drinking lolly water.
It's coffee flavoured water . Not a proper coffee
It's coffee coloured water.
In America there are quite a few Australian barista's cafes but I'm not sure where they are and they have brought the Australian culture to them.
Franchise models don’t cut it either.
Tried to open too fast is BS .It’s just a crap product based purely on the cheapest ingredients not the best, served by millennials who couldn’t think if their life depended on it.
I walk past a Starbucks every morning and I’ve only ever seen 1 or 2 people there. I also walk past 4 other cafes and there’s always a line to the door.
Only problem w9th Starbucks theory, is once tourists taste Aussie coffee culture they ll never leave😊😊😊
I drink better coffee at home in Melbourne than Starbucks…seriously it’s yuck!
I am not surprised. Here in Germany we also have a long time grown coffee culture. Well, Starbucks established here, but they do not really have as many shops as in other countries. According to different sources they have only 165 Shops in Germany. So Germans didn't say "no!" to Starbucks, but we are not very interested. You said in the US there are as much as McDonalds. To compare it: McD has 1425! Especially in the rural regions, Starbucks isn't a thing. Like you said: It's not a very welcoming environment to hang out, so in the big cities it might be nice for people to grab a coffee on their way to work but that was it. And they didn't come to Germany like an invasion, when I listen to the video you are reacting on, it sounds like the Australians have already been fed up with Starbucks before they could put their "second leg" into the market :)
And, moreover, their products are not really what we regard as "coffee", it is more like "a drinkable, sugary dessert made with a little bit of coffee flavour". And Germans are not very keen on artificial flavours - I guess Australians may see that alike.
Here in Spain is the same. They are in tourist areas and big cities. But not in the rest of country. We do not see them as a serious cafeteria
Like many Australians I don't have any sugar in my coffee, and I don't want any artificial flavours either. I've had a Starbucks coffee with not sugar and flavours when there was no other options, it's awful, I don't think you could even call it coffee.
If you come to Australia, most of the small coffee shops will have umbrella's over outdoor seating tables with signage of the coffee roaster that supplies the coffee to the shop, it's usually part of the deal, shop signs contract to use beans from coffee company, and that company pays for umbrella's, and some other signage etc. Also order something nice to go with the coffee, you can have a croissant, cake, or even a meal. our independent coffee shops are great, so I hope you get to try them one day.
Tourists to Australia go to Star Bucks as Aussies walk by, to a beautiful cafe for a great coffee
Thank you for reacting to this video. Yes, we love our coffee. Starbucks coffee is so inferior to Australian coffee.
Starbucks coffee is terrible thats why it failed in Australia. Coffee in Australia is like an art, pick any random Australian cafe and it will be 10 times better than anything Starbucks can produce. The biggest issue with Starbucks trying to apeal to tourists is as soon as they try Australian coffee they will never buy Starbucks again. Why would anyone pay more for an inferior product, alternative options are on almost every street.
Gloria Jeans failed in Australia too, but it took a bit longer. You’d be pressed to find a Gloria Jeans in Sydney these days ( basically for the same reason as Starbucks failure ie. terrible coffee).
Gloria Jeans failed because they came out as openly homophobic. Wrong move GJ
It is similar in NZ. Our coffee shops are niche and just brilliant places to sit , drink , eat and natter. There is only one Starbucks in my city and it is mainly used by Asian students and tourists.
Pretty sure Gloria Jeans is gone now too. I haven't seen one for years.
There are still some Gloria Jeans around. I can't comment on their product because after trying it many years ago I vowed never to return. Give me Aussie coffee every time.
I have two in my area
It's a smart and effective move to target the tourist market. When you watch some tourist travel vlogs on Australia, it's surprising just how many tourists will seek out a Starbucks and McDonald's virtually straight away. It's not about it being great, it's all about that familiarity of something they know that attracts them.
It's also funny to see everyone jumping on them in the comments, absolutely savaging them when they post a vlog showing they're in Starbucks hahaha!
Italian here! Right now (2024) there are around 15 starbucks scattered throughout Italy. I remember there was some hype in 2018, when the first ever opened in Milan, but then I don't know, no-one talked about it ever again. I know they're going to open a new one this year in my town (Bologna) and I'm definitely curious: I'll go have a try for sure, to see how they adapted to our coffee culture.
One of my fav UA-cam duos. If you guys come visit Australia, I call shotgun on taking you around Brisbane.
Maybe explain your slang meaning of shotgun. U just scared the s$#t outa them. 😱🤣
I live in Brisbane, the captial of Queensland, and yes this is 100% accurate. In order to be even remotely competitive most of the MacDonald's in Australia have a separate cafe with barista made coffee with a pretty large and customisable menu.
Hi guys
You didn't seem to realise that McCafe was actually created in Australia long before we shipped it to America
Many American companies have had a similar experience in Australia - come and go
Krispy Kreme did the same thing in Australia - rolled out a sh!t-ton of stores everywhere and then had to scale back. But they found a niche, basically they have some shopfronts but a massive wholesale business that sells to supermarkets and petrol (gas) stations.
I hate companies like Starbucks. They dominate the huge coffee market in the u.s yet still feel the need to crush local businesses oversees.
I LOVE going to all our interestingly decorated, unique and sometimes arty coffee shops in Australia. Melbourne is known as the coffee capital of Australia and we enjoy meeting up with family, friends, or making new acquaintances in coffee shops. My favourite ones are within bookshops or outdoor ones. And our many varieties of high standard coffee are delicious. (I will never go to a Starbucks or Gloria Jeans.) There is a huge coffee culture in Australia.
Went to Melb for the first time in June-July and met up with my Maltese cousin. He took my friend and I to a gorgeous cafe not too far out of the CBD and it was the best coffee I, a former barista from Newy, had EVER had! I love our coffee culture so much, and no matter how much a cup goes for obviously I'm still gonna pay bc, like I could make it myself but the Art Of It is unmatched ❤
@@MILLlWATT Good to hear ! Cafes with good coffee are everywhere in the city and in greater Melbourne. Where is Newy?
@@barnowl. about 2hr north of Sydney! Not a massive city but a beautiful one
Great reaction guys.
Another suggestion, simply because next to no one realises, is the fact that Australia does get snow and we have ski resorts. Check out Top 5 Skiing Destinations in Australia.
The Italians got to Australia first and entrenched espresso in the post-WW2 period. Australia’s even the second market for Italian commercial coffee machines after Italy. Every cafe has to have an Italian machine to compete.
Curious they never had that impact in America, maybe it was just too big and the culture was set by the time they arrived.
Anyway Australia’s had plenty of similar failures - a recent one was an attempt by Wesfarmers to invade Britain with its Bunnings brand, the dominant “home improvement and outdoor living and building products” chain and an institution in Australia - total failure, a billion AUD written off. There’s plenty of other similar stories.
Pretty easy, we're coffee snobs and Starbucks tastes like crap and we don't buy it. It can only take over if you spend money there.
It true we have embraced the coffee here in Oz , and they mention the Italian and Greek influence, which is true , but why no mention of the Turkish envolment.
Starbucks has nothing to do with coffee, plain simple ;)
Our safeway supermarket changed its name to Woolworths in Australia.
McDonald’s Coffee is different in Australia because of McCafe
McCafé started in Melbourne Australia
Yes! Cuz we have amazing quality coffee. Starbucks is to go. Our culture is buy a coffee, sit in a cafe and drink it with friends. Not have it to go. However, we do have some Starbucks here and some people enjoy it, especially tourists.
Aussies are coffee connoisseurs. We love really great coffee. Starbucks just doesn’t cut it. Yuck!!!!!
Ask any American tourist, they won’t go near Starbucks once they’ve had our great Australian coffee.
One of the things they didn't really mention is that Aussies expect to get food where they get coffee. Starbucks was a little slow to react to, when they first opened you could get like a muffin or a cookie and that was about it.
End of the day to Aussies Starbucks is too weak, not the greatest tasting bean blend, too expensive and too inpersonal. Aussies aren't interested in adding hazelnut flavouring or pumpkin spice to hide the poor coffee taste either they just expect great coffee. I walk into my local and they start making mine without asking cos they already know how I want it.
As Aussie Love coffee even Ice Coffee we are pretty harsh when comes too coffee.
In the end it's just coffee,we already had places that sold coffee. I know there's a lot of coffee snobs in Australia,but in general it's just coffee to the rest of us. It would be the same if an American company tried to sell beer,we already do that as well
I only visited the store once in Boston in 1997. I don't understand why I should go to the store. There is only modest “coffee”, quite thin and bitter (cheap goods), and can only be tolerated with syrupy stuff. I prefer to go to my café or an espresso bar, the quality is usually good there. The coffee, no matter what type, is served in porcelain cups, so there are no mountains of waste. The store is only hip because of advertising, which is like the other fast food companies, a lot of advertising, poor quality and standardized taste, just boring. -
There's two Starbucks locations I see fairly often in my home town of Melbourne. The one at Eastland and the one at the Melbourne Central Station Shopping Centre.
McCafe is actually from Australia, founded in Melbourne in the early 90's. McCafe is where you go to if you want coffee from a drive-thru or if you have kids and want them to play away from you (in the playland) while you sit down and take a break.
We didn’t even get Starbucks in Western Australia 😂😂😂
It only came to the east coast lol
We have a saying in Melbourne if you want coffee why are you going to Starbucks
Starbucks failed in Australia because the product is crap
My husband and I have been to the original Starbucks in 1991 when visiting a friend in Seattle and it was - underwhelming. As a German who grew up with Italian, French, and Turkish specialties, Starbucks just wasn't that special. We were much more impressed by Café du Monde (French Market in New Orleans) and its coffee with chicory. We couldn't find a similar mix in Germany but found one by accident in France "Grand'Mère Familial"). Thank goodness for the single market and the fact that France is just 30 miles away.
In Germany, there are 165 Starbucks - compare this to 1425 McDonalds's - not the ratio of the US, I guess.
Fun fact first listed Coffee Shop was started in Sydney from an Italian family….
their coffee is rubbish
We source our coffees from New Guinea and South America and they are roasted and blended with love and care 😘
Australian coffee really is World Class, you'd have to be offering something super special in order to beat it. Starbucks can't compare in any way. McDonalds coffee also isn’t up to scratch. My top 5 worst coffees are:
1. Starbucks, 2. Hungry Jacks, 3. McDonalds, 4. 7/11, 5. The Coffee Club.
At least the price is right at 7/11😂
Don’t knock McDonalds - the coffee is pretty good.
Same over here in Belgium.
We just had a Starbucks built 2 years ago in Delacombe Town Centre in Ballarat & it seems to be doing well.
I was so excited when I ordered my first Starbucks coffee when I visited Malaysia, it lasted until the first sip.
Glad Mc Cafe is appreciated It's because we are mates we tweaked the Maccas a bit and sent you back some Aussie coffee love to enjoy .
We don’t have any Starbucks stores in Western Australia. And the Gloria Jeans have disappeared as well.
As an Aussie tourist in the US, I had Starbucks twice. The first time because I wanted to taste what all the fuss was about. The coffee was so bad, that I visited another Starbucks at a different location because I thought the first one must have been an anomaly. It wasn’t.
We have family that are close but not really. So we meet half way at a coffee shop. We try new ones all the time, It was more a meeting place than a place just to get a coffee.
I don’t do Gloria Jeans either. I love my Italian, Greek and Turkish coffee places. I can make my own espresso at home as well. I love finding local cafes with small bean roast providers. I hate fake coffee milkshakes! Not a coffee snob - I just know what I like, and was brought up on the best 🇦🇺
their coffee sucks so nobody buys it
Maybe because Australians like good coffee 😂. In the UK they must have adjusted as British people are a bit more like the Europeans, we like to sit with friends and take time. We don’t like to be rushed.
We like coffee made with Arabica beans. North America mostly uses South American beans. Big difference.
When you compared Starbucks to heroes omg I laughed so loud
I just googled starbucks for Adelaide and the last one closed in 2008.
I don't even remember there being one.
When you have quality cafes and other shops offering good coffee on almost every corner of the city who needs starbucks.
McCafe was a surprise move by a major franchise and they got it.
Generally I'll support a dedicated small business just about every time.
Post ww2 saw A LOT of immigration to Australia from Greece and Italy. Now, pretty much any small food business in Australia can provide at least a halfway decent cup of coffee, something that McDonalds caught onto and implemented extremely well.
At this stage, yeah, Starbuck's is still around but as the video says, it is primarily for tourists and new arrivals. To that end, you see them near airports, certain universities, some major shopping centres and so forth. Presumably, they are doing OK, but I don't know of any actual Australians who regularly drink their swill.
Needs follow up. Why Gloria Jeans also failed in Australia.
Cafe’s are extremely abundant and popular in Australia.
In my hometown, there is three McDonald’s with McCafés, 2 hungry Jacks with cafe options and multitude‘s of independent cafes including one Gloria jeans.
We are literally spoilt for choice for cafes, eateries, and so on. Most serving coffee, tea, chocolate drinks or variances of.
Less than two hours from my hometown, there is a place that actually trains baristas.
So yeah it’s no surprise that Starbucks with it heavy-handed approach ultimately failed here in Australia at the time whether that changes or not in the years since I haven’t heard although I have seen Starbucks premade coffees in cans showing up recently
I've had Starbucks once. And it was like watereddown coffee with minimal coffee
Once you have a “real” coffee in Australia, Melbourne in particular, you can’t help but compare quality. There would have to be a half dozen places in any Melbourne suburb to meet up for a coffee and a catch up. In the CBD there are hundreds of places to sit down and have a coffee. McDonalds now have real coffee and real café eating choices. I am old now, but I still miss meeting my mum at Gloria Jeans for a coffee and cake. We also take our children, and in my case grandchildren for a babyccino when we are having a coffee so they get the whole coffee culture of sitting down together and just enjoying a get together over a cuppa.
I don't even know if we have this crap in germany. I only remember that Wall-Mart failled badly here, and they are even bigger. But we are just not used to eat shit only because there is a "big name" on the shit.
This video tried to save face for Starbucks in so many “Dishonest” ways.
The other comments have already mentioned most of them in greater detail, such as growing to fast. And that line about “giving the Australian consumers an opportunity to develop an appetite” is total crap.
If the coffee is crap to begin with, it doesn’t matter how much time you give us Aussies.
And being “too available” is quite frankly, quite insulting to hear, especially from an Aussie, who’s clearly a paid mouth piece/puppet for Starbucks.
We aren’t stupid, we won’t pay more for an inferior product, it’s as simple as that.
To blame
But the point that I really want to raise is that their other attempt at saving face, is actually a complete and utter lie.
A total lie. And that’s because Australia actually avoided the GFC an we DID NOT go into recession but still grew financially.
As Our banking systems weren’t as corrupt as the American ones were back then.
To sum up. If you actually have a GOOD and SUPERIOR product, then it doesn’t matter how fast you roll out, word will travel and struggling stores won’t struggle for ever.
But Starbucks is neither of those. Just sickly sweet smell from the shop front has reportedly been of putting.
This video is filled with half truths, lies and face saving crap.
P.S.
There was one bit of absolute truth though when the guy who talked about Starbucks not letting the brand grow organically, when he finished of with saying that when a large number of stores left the market, “That we didn’t really care”.
His tone of voice screams the truth of that, but also fails to express the massive understatement that his comment was as well.
P.P.S.
I just remembered this old Aussie news article. You just might find it amusing (if it doesn’t get region blocked).
ua-cam.com/video/fdF4QonZvo4/v-deo.htmlsi=SoPAnlMnIPBpY6nH
It’s because the coffee was “CRAP “ compaired to our absolutely gorgeous coffee we do so well in Australia!
I like the quote “develop a taste “ …..the taste of crap
I tried Starbucks a few times, but then stopped. No matter what I ordered, it was very much like, "would you like some coffee with your flavoured sugar. Ordering a straight black coffee, got me a confused look.
Australian Technical and Further Education colleges (TAFE) conduct courses in how to make the perfect coffee. It's the best coffee and we love it; apparently every coffee loving tourist usually is amazed by the quality. The McCafe concept developed in Australia. Cheers from Sydney, AU.
You should check out Australia's top 5 ski resorts
Starbucks assumed that we were a bunch of ignorant tea-drinkers who would embrace the superior American coffee culture wholesale as we had been repeatedly doing on other fronts.
Post--WW2 Australia gained quite a few immigrants from Europe, especially Italy and Greece. Many of the corner cafés were operated by those Mums and Dads who offered the food and drink that was familiar from their background. We came to expect that knowledgeable service and barista standard of coffee from the get-go when I was growing up, more than half a century before Starbucks hit our shores. So we already had a thriving coffee café culture.
I myself worked in a supper restaurant serving a range of dinkum coffees to quite discerning theatre-going regulars. I have a sweet tooth but have enough barista training to know that a well-made espresso should be a culinary delight that needs no sugar or milk.
Having yet another mass-produced American style and overtaste foisted on us while telling us how great it was and how to suck eggs was never gonna be accepted. The obvious arrogance and lack of market research 101 is astounding. I went to Starbucks twice once as we say - first and last time. That coffee was undrinkable. Never bothered returning in preference to other venues where I know good coffee and food is always on offer.
And now Starbucks thinks it is gonna do the same in Italy with their far more sophisticated coffee culture? Good luck with that.
It was nothing to do with rolling out to quickly, we already had a great coffee culture. We are coffee snobs.😊
When your going for straight caffeination here in Australia, even our local Delis or Servos outperform Starbucks as far as quality. I remember when it first came here there was a small influx that was simply driven by hype of Starbucks opening up, but that faded quickly.
You can give an American an Australian sold instant coffee, and they won’t believe you that it’s instant.
The Greek and Italian immigrants introduced us Aussies to proper coffee back in the 50s & 60s.
And we embraced the culture , particularly in our southern cities like Sydney & Melbourne.
Now you can find good coffee made by skilled Baristas everywhere. Good coffee is like a fine wine, not Coca Cola.
I went once to a Starbucks in Melbourne and couldn’t find a coffee on the menu, just sweet caffeinated drinks. Never went back there
Yep. Spot on.
The only remaining Starbucks customers in Australia are tourists, and Chinese university students.
Starbucks was on George Street in Sydney and it was the shjiittest fake orange flavour added to something calked a Valencia- then they added cream on top - it wasn't a coffee it was a childs drink