Starbucks to take on Italy's coffee culture

Milan

ITALY, home of the world's most sophisticated espresso drinkers, will get its first taste of Starbucks coffee shops next year. They will look very familiar to the locals.

On a recent afternoon in Milan, all four floors of the flagship store of the Italian chain Arnold Coffee were jammed with university students and young professionals wired into laptops, tablets and smartphones. Most were sipping from plastic cups embossed with the chain's motto: "The American Coffee Experience". Matteo Mattei, a 23-year-old student at Milan's Bocconi University, was among the customers at the shop, which offers American breakfast staples such as doughnuts and bagels as well as brownies, cupcakes, apple pie and "Oreo Cookie Bash Cake". The coffees range from single-shot espresso to White Caffe Mocha to Cinnamon Caffe Latte.