Stars and Starbucks
Posted by Stuart at 11:40 AM on September 29, 2003I am learning to accept the fact that the Starbucks coffee chain is quickly spreading in Thailand. Still it makes me sad every time I see a new one. I wouldn't mind so much if the coffee either 1) tasted good and/or 2) had a decent price. But as it stands now, the coffee is terrible and I can buy four full meals at school for the same price of a cup of coffee (never mind the lattes!)
So two nights ago, I was a little depressed to see the Grand Opening of another Starbucks. This one is in Siam Square and is the 4th Starbucks within 500 yards of my apartment. Ridiculous huh?
But then, my disapointment turned to surprise when I had a real star sighting: Paradorn and his "new friend" (as the papers like to say) Tata Young. Paradorn is of course the Thai tennis star and Tata is a famous Thai pop star. Paradorn and Tata have now become Thailand's version of Ben and J Lo. Although the Thai tabloids have started spreading some juicy gossip about the pair, hopefully they will have better luck then Bennifer.
I didn't get a good look at Tata (I am not sure I would recognize her anyway) but I recognized Paradorn right away, thanks to the fact his face is on billboards and television commercials all over Thailand. All I could think was "Oh my god...Don't stare... He's really is tall... Don't stare... Who is the small chick... Don't stare!"
Funny that you mention this particular topic, because just this weekend, I was looking for a Starbucks in Dallas (Plano) because I was dying for a Caramel Macchiato -- could not find one ANYWHERE!!!!! Close - that is. Then I thought, you know - Starbucks coffee is pretty awful - so why should I care?
So what constitutes a "good" cup of coffee? I would consider it quite relative.
But sometimes it's so FUN to stare!!!! HAHA!!
Thanks for another good link, Buzz. But I can't believe they named the file cofconim.pdf.pdf. Then again, it is from the US Government...
It's also interesting that they included Singapore which consumes exactly zero thousand 60-kg bags of coffee a year.
Coffee in Thailand is actually pretty good, just not the swill that is served in Starbucks. Perhaps this is because Starbucks does not use Thai (or Lao) coffee. I often lament the fact that there are no good coffee houses in Bangkok. But, on the other hand, everytime I walk past a Starbucks, it's full of both foreigners and Thai people with apparently too much money on their hands. So I guess the company will continue to spread.
So what is good coffee, Beth? Good question. Of course, if you try to order coffee from France, you stand the possibility of them repackaging bad coffee and shipping it to us clueless Americans. But, in my search for a good coffee to try, I found this, a recipe for French Coffee: http://www.kuchnia.3miasto.pl/3640.htm
I also found a Spanish variant using Kalua:
http://microworld.com/briquce/gatsby/594.htm
So that must be their secret...just booze it up so you don't care what the coffee tastes like.
Here's a good site for info:
http://www.arhs.net/Recreation/Food/Drink/Coffee/
Perhaps the best source of all:
http://www.coffeereview.com/
And remember...if choosing between French and Italian coffee, go with Italian (it's better). I mean after all, where do the words "espresso", "latte", "macchiato", and "cappuchino" (and its cousing Frappachino)come from?
Stu,
How is the Thai coffee? (If it is made correcto (with alcohol), you could literally "Thai one on". Sorry about the pun.
Later,
Buzz
Buzz... again another amazing list of links.
I think my favorite coffee is Vietnamese. I would guess it is a decendent (somehow) of French coffee. In any case it is thick and full of flavor and has a big serving of sweetened condensed milk on the bottom. Mmmmm!
In general, though, the coffee in Asia does not have alcohol in it, unless you BYO...
Contrary to popular opinion, there are several of us Yanks that don't keep up with the Bennifer.
I couldn't agree more with the Starbucks rant, though. Nothing like getting a cup of mud for $2. Of course, Europeans always comment on how bad the coffee is here even though we are the largest consumer by far (http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp/tropical/2003/06-03/cofconim.pdf.pdf (Probably not the highest per capita, though)). The truth is Americans don't really know what good coffee is and are still willing to pay top dollar solely on the basis of advertising and bandwagon propoganda (in a true lemming fashion). Good coffee, on the other hand is usually exported by Juan and his cohorts to Europe. That which does make it over here is $22 a pound and Starbucks doesn't carry it.
My $.02.