Why did Starbucks FAIL in Australia? American Reaction
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2022
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to why Starbucks failed in Australia. This was super interesting. I think that Aussies just don't like all that fluffy stuff we put in the coffee. Thank you for subscribing!
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“Pumpkin Spiced Latte.” There it is, three words that no self-respecting Australian coffee drinker would ever utter.
That sounds about as bad as America’s vomit chocolate, aka Hershey.
Same for kiwi coffee drinkers
As my dad would say. That’s pumpkin spiced MILK!!
Nothing wrong with milk and I like pumpkin but why do they stick it in everything over there?
Correct ☝️
Here's the simple answer as to why Starbucks didn't work here in Oz. It's shit coffee.
Although those 2 Aussies are correct when they talk about our coffee culture, we also like to get a quick, well made coffee on the way to work.
i dun even drink coffee and i know starbucks is shit coffee!
Yeah the 10min video easily summed up, Starbucks made crap coffee and we didnt like it, it failed.
I don't like coffee at all and it smells worse than other coffee places.
As a German I can also say, that the quality is very bad. I avoid starbucks (there are not many in Germany anyways) and love my little local bakery (here you can sit down and have a nice coffee with a great atmosphere), just to relax and calm down. I think Starbucks has a hard time with their own rush rush mentality together with low quality beans and our sense for the quality coffee spirit of the nearby Italian country we grew up with. We revard ourselves with coffee, so we don´t want sugar pumpkin stuff.
I once had a half way sort of OK coffee flavoured milkshake in starbucks - first and last visit - but it wasn't so great as to ensure I return for another coffee. This is Ireland, and while we have them over here they are generally half empty at best. Lots of home grown coffee shops that make better drinks at cheaper prices.
"develop an appetite for the brand" had me in stitches... Australians just don't like brown acid water with a chemistry kit added to it. Plain and simple ;)
Hahahaha love it!
Even Ryan called it out hahaha
They actually failed in Sweden too for the simple reason that we know what coffee is supposed to taste!
Kinda the same thing in Australia; the unis have to hand out information about the different types of coffee (long black, cappuccino, etc.) and most supermarkets sell different types of beans to mix and match.
Maccas went with quality coffee beans and did their research and kept adapting. Starbucks came in with the American recipe which wasn’t up to scratch and no one I know liked it. It was all about the coffee, we are very picky on what we demand in coffee. It must be better than you can make at home
McCafe was an Australian innovation.
Maccas coffee isn't that great either.
@@grey_sloth2862 There is world difference between McDonalds instant coffee and McCafe coffee…
That’s why McCafe exists…
Both are however wildly better than Starbucks crap.
@@allangibson2408 No McCafe is on the same level as Starbuck, bunt transmission fluid
@@aaronb1320 You obviously have never tasted US Starbucks. Utterly no comparison - that bad.
Your instincts are right. Aussies like REAL coffee ie.traditional coffee the way it is made in Europe. It is safe to say we are coffee snobs and proud of it. We do not want our coffee to be basically liquid confectionery. The idea of our coffee tasting like pumpkin; urggh yuk
I've spent a decent amount of time in Europe and for the most part outside of Italy the coffee is much worse than in Australia, the snobbery may be somewhat pretentious but it certainly isn't unwarranted.
I couldn't understand it when I went to Starbucks and they were offering a pumpkin latte (I missed the "spice thingy" in their blurb). Sorry just did not appeal to me - there's nothing nicer than a good cup of coffee. They did give me used coffee grounds for the garden though so that was a plus : )
I agree
Projectile vomiting would ensue
Greetings from Ireland
Much of America in fly over country is with you brother.
It's not coffee. We have a huge population of Italian and Greek migrants who brought espresso machines. We have different coffee blends. I have my own espresso machine at home.
"Australians instead opted to pay less for coffee they liked from a local barista they trusted" Is about the most acurate explanation. Not just the coffee or the price, but also the whole atmosphere of the cafe.
We, even in the burbs, are coffee snobs.
Also that word you didnt understand wasnt an australian word, it was an error in the captioning. The guy said "their stores"
everyone has already said it, starbucks = crap coffee and the local cafes are way better. They also failed in New Zealand for the same reasons. Australian and New Zealand coffee is some of the best in the world and people in both countries take there coffee seriously.
Yes but he doesn't understand what crap coffee is, because he hasn't tasted really good coffee. So he thinks it's about sweetness. It's not just the added sugar which compensates for the burnt coffee, it's the entire disaster of bad coffee, poorly brewed and covered up at the end with an array of flavours and sugar. Horrible. Even the chai or hot chocolate are awful. How can you mess up hot chocolate? Starbucks managed it.
McCafe is originally Australian, started in 1993 in Melbourne. This is why it understands what Aussies like. Then, when they branch out to other countries, they go with what works.
McCafe coffee is still awful
@@macdac9861 tbh it depends on the barista. Sometimes i go to get a coffee from McCafe its shit, sometimes its on par with local cafes, sometimes even better.
@@notR4M3N it might seem passable to latte and flat white drinker’s but I’m an espresso man and there is nowhere to hide with espresso.
@@macdac9861 I'm also someone who loves espresso but sometimes i just want a quick coffee.
@@notR4M3N Agreed. Maccas only employs teenagers that are not trained Baristas that’s why it’s almost the same as 7-11 coffee.
I work in the suburbs. Each morning, we leave the office and walk into our local cafe. We don’t need to order anything, the staff know what we drink. They bring our drinks quickly, bring it to the table, stop and have a chat. The owner knows all our names, which football team each of us supports, where we work. He jokes around with us and everyone feels welcome. The same people from other workplaces come in and out, usually at the same time, so familiar faces are everywhere. Locals wander in and everybody smiles, looks happy, jokes around.
The coffee is strong, consistent and exactly to our taste. If someone orders ‘extra hot’ or ‘double shot’ once, that is what they get every time until they say otherwise. One of my friends fluctuates between a couple of drinks, they ask him what he would like today every time. He doesn’t have to order either. All the staff know. Everybody knows our names and we know their names. Nobody wears name tags. We know the names of half the other regulars too.
Last week the owner brought us a plate of cannoli that a sales rep had dropped off. No charge, just taste and tell him if they are any good. How knows someone of us are Italian, I am Sicilian and have been to Sicily several times. He knows we know cannoli. Btw, they were ordinary, so we told him this. So did another Italian guy at the next table.
That is the culture. The business model is to build loyalty through friendly service and quality products.
Spot on.
@@azzureone78 Couldn't agree with you more
What a wholesome place to be :)
This is exactly it
And all done with voluntary tipping.
I lived in Aus for half a year, went in hating coffee and left a devoted coffee snob... they know what's good and starbucks ain't it.
Our coffee is the 'wombat's nickers', so to speak.
I always have massive coffee withdrawals when travelling in America. I found one place in New York that made good coffee.
But the most random one was in a little tourist town way up in the mountains in Nevada somewhere. Saw a coffee shop and ever hopeful got an “Americano” as it’s the closest thing to a long black.
Was halfway up the street before I tried it and praise be! A good coffee!! I popped my head back in later to say thanks for the great coffee - and the barista says “no worries mate” in an Aussie accent :) I should have known…
And that’s because in NewYork there are many Aussie baristas
I searched Melbourne coffee in New York and found some niche cafes that did Melbourne style coffee. It's just better.
I went to Lake Tahoe, the staff at the supermarket were so fascinated that someone would spend over an hour looking for real coffee, that all the staff (probably an exaggeration) ended up smelling the coffee beans with me untilI found a blend that worked, I ground it and took in back to the hotel. I had “good” coffee for a week, before flying back to Aus, I took the remainder back and owned up to it at the red channel, I also had raw sugar… it was the fastest I have ever cleared customs.
haha, I can tell the same story, but in London and Japan. Aussie baristas are everywhere now and doing God's work! praise be.
Had almost the same experince in the town of West Yellowstone, the owner barista was not an Aussie, but he was importing beans from all over the world, including Byron Bay.
You are spot on correct. There is only one reason why it flunked in Australia and that is that Starbucks is by and large, garbage. It's basically coffee flavoured sugar water, or milk.
I thought Starbucks was good. Then I came to Australia. Aussie coffee is second to none. Turned me into a coffee drinker
Hey saw you fellas driving through Malaga the other day..
@@stevencuenca1980 maybe a vehicle that we sold? Or a different company/business. These days I only get out with family and friends and sadly don't do youtube any more. Hoping to get back into it. But I am close to that area so maybe you did see us ha ha. Will hopefully see you out somewhere mate. Take care
best coffee you drink in italy! ;-)
@@lilg2300 or Lygon St Melbourne but hey same folk, just different country.
@@mrrberger I'm a firm believer that it's the natural spring water used in Italy (especially outside of cities) that make the coffee so much better in Italy. it's literally the only difference in coffee when you can buy pretty much same beans and same espresso machines in multiple countries. And yes Australia (mostly Melbourne) has a great coffee culture that's complimented by it's high quality water
McCafé is actually an Australian invention. Also I think the biggest problem was every Starbucks I remember walking past reeked of burnt coffee to the point where it was difficult to stay in the store. As a writer the one I'd visit had a great atmosphere but I only went to see if they had trendy US drinks (rare) but I'd *always* leave with a headache
Burnt coffee is the WORST of cafe culture crimes.
We do have tea, but we make it at home! We don’t need to go out for a cup of tea. Coffee is a separate culture.
We do have tea! I find I go for a while with coffee then a while on tea lol
That's very accurate! I personally don't drink coffee (If I go out its for hot chocolate) but I do drink tea, for me there isn't much point buying tea when I can make it to my exact preferences at home.
I was actually going to say that!
I love tea, but when out opt for coffee. or almond chai, what I normally might not have at home...
Incorrect. We have a range of teas and do go out for tea in many places.
@@deborahcurtis1385 I never have. I buy from T2 and drink it at home, aside from tasting it in store.
Most Australian coffee shops are quaint and unique, with a great atmosphere and their own specialties. Often you can sit outside like a Paris Cafe. Every one is different and one is spoiled for choice. A large mall would have several coffee outlets and some places you can even find mobile coffee vans/baristas. It’s definitely a coffee culture, and Starbucks was more like a fast food franchise that had no appeal.
In WA they have a lot of drive through coffee huts, often in car parks of shopping centres along major roads, that sell good coffee. It’s something I miss now I live back in NSW.
and..... shit coffee! and the sizing, OMG.
The business guy talking about "organic growth" is talking absolute nonsense. Starbucks in Australia simply became synonymous with crap coffee not suited to Aussie tastes. If you go to your typical popular coffee shop here in metropolitan Australia you'll know what we mean.
Not quite nonsense. He's referring to market saturation before the market has even turned towards the product. Starbucks should have started with a couple stores in each city, in different areas to figure out what people like. I would have put one on a main road in Sydney, like Parramatta Road and set it up as a drive through business. Then I'd put one near a main train station for people walking in, getting coffee and getting back on their way to work. Those would be the two main ones in the city, then I'd sprinkle a few more around at various other areas with more of a sit down and enjoy the coffee with friends style of service.
The actual Starbucks just opened a store everywhere they could and kept the same fast coffee to go model. With crap coffee. Aside from the Starbucks in the city near a main train station style of location, all the other stores were doing terribly, because no one wanted that business model except people in a hurry on the way to work.
@@evanflynn4680 the reason is fairly simple. Australians prefer Espresso coffee rather than filter coffee that Starbucks has.
Go to a petrol station and you'll get a better coffee from the machine, rather than starbucks
dutchroll ..You are exactly right. I've been to the US and it was almost impossible to find a decent coffee. It was just absolute crap. On the other hand, nearly every American who comes here (to Oz) rave about our coffee. They can't believe how good ours is in comparison, and you are right, you would be very unlucky to get a BAD coffee anywhere you go here. I think we have been spoiled. 🤣
It doesn't have to be "metropolitan" Kaffeine in Yass NSW has excellent coffee.
McDonald’s did their market research before opening the first McCafe in Australia. It was a huge step up from the coffee originally sold at the normal counter.
Starbucks didn’t do any research, they assumed that since we like coffee, they could open 60 stores and they would do well. They were incorrect. Starbucks sells desserts, not coffees. Pumpkin spice latte? Who the hell puts pumpkin into their coffee!
Mcafe started in Australia.
There are both McCafe and Starbucks in my country, and McCafe serves superior coffee hands down. I find it hilarious that a fast food chain makes better coffee than a coffee shop
@@user-tn8rl1lc8l It’s because McDonald’s started their McCafes in Australia where the coffee culture is so good. They learned from us before sharing McCafe with the rest of the world. Something Starbucks neglected to take into consideration before failing in Australia. They sell desserts, not coffees.
Still not very gd coffee though
@@peepeetrain8755 Yep, “the first McCafe”.
Australia has such a good coffee culture that no one will touch inferior mouldy coffee. I tried starbucks in Dublin and in Glasgow out of desperation and had to throw it away. It never arrived in Perth. By then they knew to leave a bad thing alone.
Note: Tea is always a choice in Aus, Cafes offer several different types of tea. I hope you get to Australia just to try our coffee Ryan.
The McCafe was an Australian concept that was then introduced globally.
It's simple. Starbucks failed because all of their weird concoctions are an abomination unto coffee.
👍🏼Spot on. The words Starbucks & Coffee just don’t go together,I. I don’t class Starbucks (pretend coffee) with actual traditional authentic ’Coffee’,not even close!
Absolutely correct. Shit coffee.
The comment about humility and respect also showed their attitude towards Aussie consumers.
I’m laughing out loud at the comments from my Aussie mates here.
Starbucks isn’t coffee, it’s like dishwater.
Ryan when you come here find an old Italian cafe. You will love it.
There was a lot of Italian and European migration to Australia in the early-to-mid 20th century. So we had a culture of good, easily available coffee already. Compared to what we already had, Starbucks was over-priced and under-delivering.
Australia loves quality and Starbucks just doesn't hold up
Australian coffee culture is very much a "quality over quantity" thing. Starbucks offers low-quality coffee with too much sugar, in gigantic portions - it's basically the exact opposite of what we want. Also, Aussies tend not to buy coffee from chain stores as we know that the best coffee is from independant local cafes. McCafe is an exception to the rule, which I think is mainly because maccas breakfast is an easy choice for tradies on the road early in the morning wanting something quick in the drive-thru.
I would also call BS on the Gloria Jeans thing being so big. They lost a lot of business when it was revealed they were linked with some church which used their tax-exempt status to not pay tax on the coffee business, and the nail in the coffin was when GJs took a stance against marriage equality during the 2017 campaign.
Gloria Jeans aren't owned by the Hillsong Church people any more. Now owned by Retail Food Group Ltd since 2014. RFG is a publicly listed company, but I don't know anything about the beliefs of their major shareholders/management.
You forgot to say that GJ coffee is shit
Yeah that too
@@donnastapleton7812 It was the only coffee available near me during the early months of the lager lurgy lock down. So early morning exercise walk and getting my morning coffee with the local cops.
100% GJ's has since died here in Australia. I haven't seen one open in Brisbane for at least 2 years
My memory of starbucks was it being overpriced, massive cups of pretty average coffee. With lots of weird shit in or on it.
My standard coffee order in aus was a small latte, so 250ml milk coffee. No sugar, no fuss. For like $2 or so.
I remember going to Starbucks with a friend to try it and the smallest coffee was like 400ml or so, not creamy and smooth like in every decent cafe, but bitter, thin and thoroughly underwhelming. And for significantly more money.
On another visit I decided to try one of the chocolate, whipped cream, caramel monstrosities they are known for and it was outrageously expensive and tasted like sweet plastic. It didn't even resemble what I would call a coffee, and if I wanted a caramel milk drink then I'd rather get a milkshake for 1/3 of the price.
Starbucks failed because they made no effort to fit into and compete with the Australian market, they just marched in and announced that they were the superior coffee and we are all lame for not realising it. To which australia in general, as we are known to do, thought f*** off! And went on drinking the cheaper, better coffee we already loved.
As for maccas, it was decent coffee with more or less the same menu items and sizes as every other cafe. Starbucks was like someone turning up to an important business meeting dressed as an inflatable unicorn. Maccas at least put on a suit.
Coffee isn’t a lifestyle in Australia, it’s a religion!!!!! ❤☕️
The only god I follow is a Caramel Latte from my local cafe.
Yep, coffee is meant to be coffee, not sugar and flavourings added and called 'coffee'...
“Australia” invented the McCafe. The McDonalds in Swanston Street, in Melbourne’s CBD was the first to experiment with it. It become successful in more stores and so the US parent company spread it globally.
I have had several burnt coffees from Macca's and tend to avoid them these days..but they are open long hours so if your desperate it's ok.
For what it's worth, we also drink a hella lot of tea, too. It's very much a staple (I personally prefer it over coffee). We're just also very into our coffee.
I was a coffee drinker here in Aussie then travelled for six months through out the US and had to stop drinking coffee until I got home. Terrible coffee over there.
When Starbucks came to Australia (or, more accurately, when they rapidly expanded through Australia) the brand was not unknown to us. Through media and travel, we had always heard about Starbucks. I think this is also important to consider, because we tend to make up our mind about things pretty early on. There is quite a large amount of rejection of US culture, and the idea of turning a product like coffee into a commodity with no love behind it is insulting. We already knew Starbucks was shit coffee, so when they appeared, we probably went as a novelty to try it, make up our minds about how crap it was, and then go back to what we like. The arrogance of Starbucks thinking they can just waltz in here and we would love them is a gross overestimation of our culture. And being treated as such is likely the reason we rejected it. It wasn't respectful to the coffee culture we have developed here, and being seen to throw money at the situation and just opening more and more stores makes us feel like our opinions and habits can be bought. Even though we have Maccas coffee, there's a large opinion that it's still just shit coffee, but if its the only place around, we will just settle with it until a local cafe opens. It doesn't mean we LIKE it.
Love this comment, made me realize we'll say to someone " ya cant just waltz in here like a {insert comment] mate" lol
Maccas coffee is now heaps better than it used to be. Are you old enough to remember what they had before McCafe? They had 2 drip filter pots. One regular, one decaf. Very American. Very shit. McCafe was the start of embracing our coffee culture, and now the beans are roasted in Melbourne etc etc. Of course if there’s a small, local cafe nearby I’ll go there, but if McCafe is my only option I don’t feel like I’m suffering through it, it’s just not quite as nice.
I never tried Starbucks. I never came across one. Probably wouldn’t even if I was right in front of a store though. The video mentioned Gloria Jeans as successful here, but when they first started I thought their coffee was horrendous. It’s much better now though. Still would choose a little cafe over it if there was one nearby though.
Maccas coffee is not bad. Starbucks coffee is undrinkable.
Never have I had a decent coffee at maccas
Well said 👏 👏 👏
Australia already had a very strong café culture with excellent coffee being the norm. It would appear that Starbucks did zero market research and just assumed that we would love it because America.
When I went on holiday in US, I was so frustrated why it was SO HARD to get a simple flat white. Ended up having to go cappuccino or white coffee, nice enough but not my cherished flat white. I wanted REAL coffee, not a milk shake. It's not normal to me, to have coffee with sugar. It seems almost blasphemous 😂
Recently visited a hospital in Brisbane and in the foyer was a Starbucks right beside a cafeteria serving coffee and sandwiches. The Starbucks was empty and the cafeteria had queues.
Thing is Australia already had a huge coffee culture based upon small cafe's usually owned by southern European immigrants that provided (and still do) great quality coffee and a personalised type of service. Starbucks breezed in and tried to be the Macca's of coffee and we didn't want that. Add that their coffee bean quality wasn't great in the first place it all went downhill pretty quickly. By the time the parent company recognised their mistake it was too late and no one was going to go to Starbucks rather than Con and Maria's cafe (or whatever the local equivant was). There is a coffee cafe in Flinders St in Melbourne where I grew up that is now in its 3rd generation of family owners, you can't buy that sort of history and customer loyalty.
Haven't read through a lot of the comments, however, the coffee culture in Australia is really high, We love our coffee, and there are tons of high-quality coffee shops. I only tried Starbucks a couple of times, and it was awful. Every time I had it it was bitter, and the taste was awful. We tend to be snobs when it comes to a decent cup of coffee and we won;t accept inferior product.
I’m just here to hear you say happy arvo 🎉 but also love the channel
When I was in Hawaii I ordered a coffee and it had Cinnamon sprinkled on the top. I almost gagged, and my aunt who had lived in the US for 30 years told me that it was normal. In Australia it is common to have coffee with powdered chocolate on the top. In all honesty, and I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Americans don't know what good coffee is unless they are of Italian descent.
This was hilarious. The guy says "their stores" and the crazy subtitles interprets "bestowals" and Ryan goes with it! The original Macca's coffee , like Starbucks, tasted like s**t, but they adjusted, and introduced McCafe, and now offer a decent brew. Gloria Jeans did likewise. Starbucks didn't bother, thinking the American way was the only way. Typical! Aussies are very fussy when it comes to their coffee. Sugar is out, and quality beans, and proper milk/cream is a must. BTW, introduce yourself with "G'day mates". It might be Arvo for you, but not for us.
American-derived voice recognition software does really poorly with Australian Accents. I basically don't bother with Siri or Alexa or Cortana etc., because the time it takes me to correct their mistakes, I could have finished the task the 'long way'. I hear that this type of software often struggles with Irish accents too.
Arch it is not a coffee thing at all. It's a quality thing across the board. Americans have shit quality products in every industry, making the quality sacrifice for easy profits.
So yes your point about the coffee is right, you're just wrong in specifying coffee.
I'm in NZ, we aren't much different from our Aussie friends and family. Every American chain has had to make major changes to meet our regulatory standards, and then more changes again to meet our customer expectation of quality.
It's not even that we dislike things with sugar, we dislike the use of covering up something shit with sugar rather than having something quality and then chosing to add sugar.
@@ihateusernamesgrrr So true, and we Aussies love our NZ neighbors. We stand together, united in friendship.
@@archcollie5708 Always!
I wanna know how hard do you cringe when you hear Americans say Ossy?
I cringe pretty hard and it's not even my country hahaha.
LOL 😆....I thought there would be more comments about the subtitles mistake he didn't pick-up on.
Hilarious 😂 😃
There are loads of really good independent coffee shops for cheaper prices than Starbucks as well as some chain stores which were well known to the population before Starbucks arrived in town
I agree. And also It does not have to be fancy restaurant. I normally get my coffee from small tiny little shop but really tasty.
I like that you have an unbiased opinion. You have me watching you now, of course when it concerns us.👍
When I worked in central Sydney we had a Starbucks across the road, but I preferred the little coffee cart in the foyer of the building where they knew my order every morning.
It's very simple: Starbucks coffee is utterly horrendous. I drank it in the US and couldn't understand why Americans rave about it. It is objectively abominable in every metric you can name. Added to that: here in Australia, we have a more European relationship with coffee - you meet friends at a cafe, you order coffee and some sort of tasty pastry or cake then you sit at a table with a nice view/ambiance and enjoy your coffee, your tasty treat and the company of your friends. It's an outing. Starbucks was more: line up, order your coffee and leave. We do that here but going out for coffee is more of a social experience rather than something you do on the way to work. Lots of people just stop in on the way to work and buy coffee to go of course, but the coffee is GOOD coffee. There is literally no reason to buy coffee from Starbucks other than being able to say: I've had Starbucks coffee. It's a mistake that anyone who knows what good coffee tastes like won't make twice.
Oh, one other thing. I laugh when I hear people talking about Australians being coffee snobs. Couldn't be further from the truth. I just don't like drinking sh*t.
Simple.
Does it automatically make me a snob because I want to drink something that is enjoyable?
No..
Just like people that enjoy eating a good quality steak. Does that make them a steak snob?
Maybe it's more like some people have a sh*t standard.
Yep! 😂
On a recent trip to the US, I never realised that for 6 weeks I would crave a decent coffee... I literally went to every coffee place I could find looking for that caffeine hit, it was so bad that I resorted to just drinking tea while there and they couldn't even get that right - couldn't wait to get home and have a proper coffee!
Not that this particularly relates, but this doesn't hold up great if you would speak it to someone who's too poor to afford a steak, or couldn't afford a regular coffee outside of the 3$ range.
Agree, "wanker coffee" cups all around.
I’d rather not have diabetes in a cup lol. Crazy concept.
8:19 - McCafe is an Australian concept. It was first launched in Melbourne, Australia.
Hi Ryan! Aussies have a really big coffee culture. We LOVE our coffee fresh, and we love trying coffee beans from different regions of the world. At our house there are 2 rules, the beans need to be freshly roasted (within a month of roasting), and you grind them only when you make a coffee. We are what in Australia would be called a 'coffee snob'. There are only a few places in my city that I enjoy their coffee, and they roast their own coffee etc. I think you could safely say that Aussies generally like their hot coffees without sugar, but we love to have iced coffees with a bit. ;)
ps. Oh and you were right in your comments about tea. There is a huge tea drinking culture here too. We have the influences of the English and the Asian culture around tea. Many of our cafes have a wide range of teas as well as coffees for their patrons. :)
As someone living in Sydney City for 15 years, Starbucks was overly expensive, far too sweet, had really odd names to identify with and I kind of agree that it was everywhere when it didn't need to be, we already had amazing coffee. I feel people really like boutique things in Australia (apart from McDonalds). We grew up with amazing baristors that remember your name, who make amazing coffee. To me it felt more personal with our smaller cafes, Starbucks they just yell your name, then you have to add everything in and its just a big fat nope. Most young people just went there for the free wifi. Honestly I prefer the $2 coffee at a service station over a starbucks coffee.
McCafe coffee is actually pretty decent and will reguarly get a coffee if im driving via a drive through and thats the only thing I buy. Reason is convenience while driving.
and the $2 coffee at a service station is made by a machine!
I’ve been in the restaurant/hospitality trade for 20+ years and run a couple of coffee shops in that time as well,and one thing I learned on my various barista courses was how bad Starbucks coffee quality is…It’s known as “Charbucks” in the trade as they buy very cheap,low quality beans and basically roast them until they’re essentially burnt to get some flavour out of them.Other companies use decent quality beans and not surprisingly get decent quality coffee out of them,and don’t need to disguise shitty coffee with extra flavours,whipped cream,syrups etc.
Exactly!
Similarly here (Greece), Starbucks & Pizza Hut have failed miserably to develop their brand, in fact Pizza Hut so underperformed that they left the country last year, and Starbucks is a tourist trap mostly, as they're located in touristy places and 2/3 of their clientelle is tourists. Coffee culture here is huge and the best coffee is produced by locally owned joints that roast and make their own coffee. The best coffee I've ever had is from a small cafe near my place, that makes THE best freddo espresso (a thing here during the summer). Plus, we're not used to takeaway coffee anyways, we prefer to sit at a cafe with friends durring summer over a cup of coffee and chat for hours
I love when massive US chains fail in other countries.
We just don’t like poor quality coffee and we like Italian cafe culture. We know the owners of our coffee shops and we like the way they make our coffee. We don’t like all the sugar and flavouring. We prefer it strong, good quality and community based.
Personally, I wasn’t interested in Starbucks, I had heard the hype. My daughter (early 20’s) talked me into going. I was not impressed. She went for those fruity, sweet froo froo drinks (still does), I wanted real coffee! 😂
It was overpriced, lukewarm & not appetising at all. I went once, won’t go back. I love my local coffee shop! Competitively priced, great service, clean shop & to-die-for coffee✌🏼
We also have a lot of independent coffee roasters that spend a lot of time and money on getting the right blend. Starbucks had a terrible blend in comparison and their technique sucked. I haven't ever been to Starbucks and gotten a coffee that didnt have burnt milk in it.
Even 7/11 coffee here is like $2-$3 a cup and does a decent cup of coffee. Zarraffas, Gloria Jeans, Campos, Merlot etc etc all have better coffee and costs just as much as Starbucks.
Also fun fact: McCafe was an Australian invention.
Correct, coffee in both Australia and NZ is a lifestyle. Some of us are extremely snobby when it comes to coffee. I couldn't make a barista coffee to save myself, but I can tell straight away if it's not made to my specific liking and I just won't go back. So we go out for "coffee" often, I literally travel all over the city I live in just to try a new Cafes coffee, and if they make it well, I will go back. Sometimes it's just exciting driving through a small town, and getting a "coffee" and finding out it's the most amazing coffee you've had that week. For me I drink tea and coffee, I don't drink coffee after midday or I can't sleep at night, after midday I only drink tea, and I'm a tea snob as well.
Some places don't clean out the coffee from the last shot and you get burned beans...it's so basic to get this right. You have to be meticulous to make really good coffee. Starbucks buys sh!te coffee to start with and the tragedy rolls on from there.
My first trip to US was a nightmare for coffee (everything else was wonderful!) We stayed mostly in Marriott’s and they often had a Starbucks in the hotel….but NO coffee facilities in your room!!! So, if you wanted a coffee, you had no choice but to go to the hotel Starbucks! It was a total cultural shock to us back in 2010. Starbucks didn’t seem to know what coffee was! We were in a Marriott in Anaheim and each morning we would go down to the hotel Starbucks and order coffee. The first morning we got a ‘milkshake’ that was warm and had a slight ‘coffee’ ‘flavour’. It was in a huge ‘milkshake sized cup’…and it was incredibly nothing like coffee.
So the next morning, I was having headaches from ‘withdrawal’ from ‘real coffee’…and my husband went down to the Starbucks in the hotel with my instructions….flat white with an extra shot of coffee nothing else added…milk on the side…i will add a ‘dash’ of the milk myself. He came back with another undrinkable ‘coffee flavoured milkshake’ …it was huge, but I wanted quality…not quantity!
On our last morning, we both went to Starbucks together determined to get a decent coffee….so I asked for a double shot of coffee….nothing added….a little milk in a separate container so I could put a ‘little’ in myself, and a little sugar on the side for me (none for my husband, he drinks his without sugar as at leat 50% of Aussies do) and I made my own from my ‘ingredients’. It was still shocking to me to get all my ‘ingredients’ in uncivilised enormous paper ‘vessels’…(I won’t say ‘cups’….they were more like cheap McDonalds shakes cups)….I learned on that trip to wean off coffee before visiting the US (we have do so 4 times since) they don’t really do coffee…all you can get is milkshake (or ‘filtered coffee in some places…still bad)….which in the morning is stomach churning. It might be coffee ‘flavoured’ but that doesn’t make it ‘coffee’. Starbucks had no chance in Australia….we wont accept a warm milkshake in place of a high quality, genuine, just ground roasted coffee beans espresso, latte or macchiato! We are coffee snobs…but not because we are ‘snobs’ but because we were taught by our Italian immigrants how to truly drink coffee…and we became ‘spoilt’. But, there is no going backwards…and Starbucks is a HUGE step backwards for us now.
Even back then, my husband and I said…Starbucks would never survive Australia! And sure enough, we were right!
On our honeymoon cruise ship leaving from Sydney I opted for the voucher for 20 premium coffees. Turned out to be Starbucks.🤨 First time I had their coffee and won't repeat. On a day excursion to turtle island in New Caledonia I bought a coffee from a street vendor she had stored in a regular thermos. Real coffee! Best on the trip!
Failed because it tastes like cat's piss. Any local coffee shop has much better coffee.
Australia does have a strong British tea culture along with the Mediterranean coffee culture, many cafes are designed to hybridise these and the middle ground they usually settle on is typically a great foundation for small restaurants, cafes and tea houses, which is why they are so common everywhere. I don’t know about the American McCafé but the ones in Australia are designed no run like any other local cafe meaning they look and function almost like a second business within the McDonald’s store. I also heard McCafé started in Australia but have no idea if that’s true or not.
Yes it's true re McCafé.
When I tasted my first Starbucks coffee I thought that it was made wrong by the barista. The next half dozen or so coffees I tried they were all the same, nasty muck. I then avoided Starbucks like the plague.
Starbucks may be successful in touristy areas as the tourists see something familiar and gravitate towards it. I can't help wonder if it's a strategy by Starbucks to prevent tourists from trying a coffee made the way it's supposed to be then looking for a decent coffee cafe when they get home.
I thought the same thing. I thought it was just made by a barista who was learning or something. But alas no, it's just their coffee.
I'm a Kiwi. It's not quite correct to say happy arvo. They use it more like.. "Come over this arvo." This arvo we are going to the beach". Weird, I know.
I like that Ryan says it like that, cracks Me up 😂
@@pascalswager9100 True. 😊
I agree wholeheartedly. I've mentioned it before but he is persisting with it 😆
@@pascalswager9100 agree...it’s like he’s owned that phrase
Doesn't matter don't need a Kiwi to explain anyway 🙄😂
The coffee is awful. I went to a Starbucks ONCE and never went again - I live in Sydney
McCafe actually opened its first store in the world in Melbourne, Australia back in the 90's.
Love your videos mate! Your Aussie enough now I reckon, I think you can start pronouncing it like us! “Ozzie”!
We had proper coffee before Starbucks arrived. No need to change to sweet muck.
You hit the nail on the head. I’ve worked in cafes on and off over the years, and they have the syrups available, I just don’t think I have ever been asked to add any to a coffee ever. Most middle and upper homes have their own espresso machines in the house and it’s a popular gift for someone close. We love our coffee, but also our tea.
Would be interesting to see a follow up to that video since it was pre-COVID. How did their plans to make a come-back - built entirely on the premise of attracting tourist/visitor/foreign student dollars - fare in the light of the lockdowns?
As an Australian currently living in Hong Kong I am desperately missing Aussie coffee culture. There are some decent cafes here but you have to know where they are.
To get a coffee on my way to work, my only option is Starbucks really, i get just a simple coffee and know what to expect (awful coffee). Can’t wait until Dec so I can go back to my regular coffee shops 😩
At the end of the day Starbucks tastes like sh*t. Bought fresh beans twice to try Starbucks and threw them out after tasting the coffee. Just don't like it.
And also, just give me coffee without all of those syrups. Never understood why people ruin a good coffee by adding something that inherently changes the flavour.
(an Australian coffee addict)
A lot of people who frequent trendy inner city cafes despise multinational chains or franchises unless they are at the airport.
I’ve been to the US a couple of times and I found it really hard to get a good coffee. A latte is completely different in the US to Australia. So it doesn’t surprise me that Starbucks struggled here. Also one thing I noted in US appliance stores was the larger number of drip style or pod style (Keurig) coffee machines and very few espresso machines. Here in Australia it’s reversed, we have a bigger selection of espresso machines over the drip or pod style machines because many Aussies like espresso style coffee at home. I think that also goes back to the traditional coffee/cafe style tastes we’ve become accustomed to. Anyway, good video! Keep it up!
i used to have a real espresso machine at home (lovely retro machine with commercial group head and grinder), but we've gone to a pod machine due to kitchen space. and the pod machine produces a consistent coffee, every time, that even husband can do by himself. 😅
I LONG for the day when bloody America discovers the kettle (and yes, I KNOW why they're not widely in use). I got sick to death of being in hotel rooms and having to CONSTANTLY request more coffee sachets for those stupid drip filter machines. I don't just drink one coffee in the morning, I'll have like four before heading out and then a couple when I get home. I'm too used to just flicking the kettle on and having a cup in three minutes.
@@tulinfirenze1990 why don't americans have kettles?
Even Maccas does great coffee because they have been here for decades and know the Australian coffee culture and adapted that to their stores. The cafe is a place for social get togethers that starbucks copied from Italy but we have been experiencing that for decades.
Yep, it started off well because of its marketing through media - then we tasted it, and that was the end. :)
Australian don’t like the sugary, syrupy drinks. We want to taste the roasted coffee beans. Different cafés, different coffee beans. Everyone has their favourite cafes where they go, depending on the coffee beans. We create good rapport with the barristers too.
I had a Starbucks coffee last week in Sydney. It was barely warm and flat (not the cappuccino I ordered). It’s failing due to the poor coffee and also the staff weren’t interested in the customers. It was like a production line. Other Starbucks coffees I have tried were too sweet and strong and made my stomach hurt. I’ll be staying with the local baristas. 😁
I'm so happy to hear that they're failing, even in Sydney. I think the only one we have in WA is literally in the airport.
5 things Australians don't like. 1: Johnny come lately 2: A know it all 3: Being told how to feel 4: Tall poppies, yeah Starbutts aced the tall poppy category 5: Fk I forgot, cos 2. Starbutts ticked (not checked) the first 4.
weve all "known" for years that you a'cant"get a decent cup of coffee in US
The quality of the coffee at Starbucks wasn’t as good as places like McDonalds who are very particular about the quality of their coffee and have very strict requirements.
Hey Nick, never try to make words out of the subtitles!!!! lol
We like a variety of coffee and the intimacy of a good little coffee shop. . That's the places we love to go. ☕🍰
Oh we still love our tea, dont worry. Twinings have their own brand of Australian afternoon tea... Mwah... Beautiful cuppa
mccafe is still not the best coffee - its just convenient when you go to maccas. no one goes out of the way to go to maccas for coffee
To many branches & very sweet. I lived in Melbourne on Collins St…by the end of the year there where 8 Starbucks cafes. It’s not horrible coffee…it’s a treat rather than something you have everyday. Great video🙂
When most Australians ask for coffee, they’re talking about lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos, espresso shots or long black (espresso over hot water). A long black is the closest thing to drip coffee (which is how most Americans - I assume - drink coffee) but the process is so different that they can’t really be compared.
I used to work in McCafé occasionally when I worked at a McDonald’s in QLD, and when I first started in 2012… you weren’t able to choose McCafé beverages as a drink for your meal, you would have to use the “pronto” coffee machine, which is similar to those in 7/11s around Australia. Customers would complain that the machine was disgusting and not at all close to McCafé. Which is true because of HOW it was made but it still used the same coffee beans.
I remember when we sampled percolated coffee like how it’s usually sold in America… no one ever bought that more than once. Machines and hot plates were installed so we could prepare and serve that coffee and it was there less than a year before it was all gutted.
McDonalds and McCafé have stepped their game up and McCafé is just as good (when made by a good barista) as the local cafes here which there are plenty of.
I remember asking for an ICED LATTE at the Starbucks in Brisbane in 2014. Sugar syrup. Milk. Ice. Coffee. That’s how they’re made in most cafes where I live. Idk what they made but it was so nasty, the coffee itself was burnt, bitter and for $9 for a small latte, you’d want it to be drinkable. I threw it away and didn’t touch Starbucks coffee again. They have nice non-coffee drinks and whatnot but if I wanted a nice icy blended coffee drink, I would go to Zaraffas. Like most people I know.
Also just to add as I watch, it’s true that they established too many stores, when they didn’t really have a steady client base first! You have to understand in Australia, we have our own chains and franchises that are well known and loved by aussies: Gloria jeans, Zaraffas, McCafé, all the local cafes, muffin break, the coffee club, Jamaica blue etc. we didn’t really need Starbucks and also it’s not really items that most coffee lovers enjoy. Far too sweet, crappy coffee. Odd seasonal flavours.
To me starbucks coffee tastes like burnt cheap crap xD The "experts" to me just sounded like "no, it's the children who are wrong".
The US and China have a similar work style so maybe they use coffee to stay awake and pull all nighters more than Australians. When caffeine and sugar isn't necessary to stay awake, coffee quality becomes more important. Maybe I'm wrong but that's my theory about why China and the US have more in common.
Gloria Jeans was mainly a 'cart' coffee chain in the US (coffees outside sporting events, etc). The Aussie franchise was picked up by some Aussies who made it so successful that they became bigger than the original company.
Might I suggest that Starbucks doesn't actually sell coffee, well obviously their primary focus is their brand, but that liquid is just a coffee flavoured milk drink. Some people might even think they are buying caffeine at Starbucks to keep themselves awake, but really they're buying something that makes them appear to be part of the group.
Australians like strong aroma coffee. Having Starbucks in the US, was like drinking coloured water and it was never hot enough, the temperature of the coffee can't be above a certain temp in the US by law, which is why thermometers are used in the US. Unless you were actually in NYC where that is the closest you will get to the coffee Australians like. The only other coffee place that came close to Australian standard was Tim Hortons coffee in Canada.
My first experience of having coffee in the US was in 1998 in a mall in Nashville. I was after a cappuccino and when I watched the young girl make it, she destroyed it and it did not taste like a cappuccino, as the steps in making it were different to how they were done in Australia. I'm not a barista, but I had seen enough cappuccinos made that I talked her through in making a second cappuccino the Australian way. The only negative about the cappuccino I had them made was the temperature, which I highlighted above. I paid for both coffees and thanked the young girl in allowing me to instruct her.
Other US food chains that tried and failed in Australia, were Taco Bell, Boston Market and finally the last Sizzlers restaurant in Australia closed earlier this year. Why Macca's & KFC do well, they looked at the existing Aussie market and changed their menus to suit, instead of rolling out the same model as the US. In the US, the closest thing to an Australian hamburger is In and Out Burgers, which is basically in California That is the only place where your would get beetroot on the burgers. In and Out Burgers occasionally do pop-up stores, but only to serve around 350 customers, even though thousands line up. These Pop-ups occur in Australian major cities. Apparently they will not open stores in Australia.
The problem with Starbucks was the coffee was sub-standard. End of story.
Hope you come to Australia mate. Also if you're getting coffee here, ask for a "Magic". While I hate to admit it but the Melbourne coffee scene nailed it. It's the perfect espresso milk drink for my tastes. A shorter double ristretto flat white essentially.
We do have Dunkin' Donuts but they're somewhat rare and found mostly in large shopping complexes in the food areas
I’m not a coffee drinker, but most of my friends are. They’ve tried Starbucks coffee and say it’s trash.
If you have to put sugar in your coffee, then the coffee is no good.
MacCafe provides an alternative for parents to enjoy a decent cuppa while their kids are eating their happy meals and playing in the playground
As an Australian, we like proper quality coffee (beans, roast, method of foaming the milk), we are very particular about getting the best out of good quality coffee beans. I have been to the US, and the way you guys drink coffee is either just jammed with sugar or watered down in this giant pot at a diner. And it is true with Chinese tourists enjoying Starbucks. If you go to Melbourne CBD, there are 2 or 3 Starbucks stores, and 90% of people there are Chinese tourist and Chinese exchange students.
FYI Gloria Jeans Coffee is on the out in Australia too. Most of them have shut down now.
Starbucks is too sweet and full of flavours. . Australians are coffee purists- they want the real thing without added extras.
It failed because the coffee was crap, and along with the food, well overpriced. We have every variety of coffee beans imported from all over the world. We appreciate the best, not an American chain store.
These people are making coffee culture in Australia sound more esoteric than is actually is. Australians just look for places to buy where the coffee is good, the staff are friendly, they're quick (if you're getting takeaway) or the place is pleasant (if you're dining in). That's it. But most importantly... it's about good coffee.
Can I please suggest that you come over to Melbourne in particular and spend time in our cafés. It’s a really special thing. Plus the coffee is phenomenal and very very different thing to the American version and something that you probably need to experience first hand to understand. Plus we’d love to have you.