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FOOD AND DRINK

‘Unexpected flavour’: Starbucks launches olive oil coffee in Italy

US coffee giant Starbucks launched a new range of coffees laced with olive oil this week in its latest bid to appeal to the Italian market, but the idea has had a mixed reception.

‘Unexpected flavour’: Starbucks launches olive oil coffee in Italy
Italy's first Starbucks opened in central Milan in 2018 with an ambitious plan to conquer the spiritual home of espresso. But will olive oil coffee appeal to the Italian market? (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

You may think Starbucks setting up shop in Italy was a bold enough move, but the US-based chain went a step further this week by launching a new product which combines two Italian culinary staples: coffee and olive oil.

The multinational coffee giant began serving its ‘Oleato’ range of olive oil-infused coffee drinks at its Italian stores on Wednesday, including a Caffè Latte with olive oil and the Iced Shaken Espresso, which it described as a “coffee-forward beverage” containing hazelnut flavouring, oat milk and olive oil.

READ ALSO: Where, when and how to drink coffee like an Italian

According to a Starbucks press release, chief executive Howard Schultz put olive oil in his morning coffee while on holiday in Sicily and was “absolutely stunned” at the “delicious and unexpected alchemy”.

He said he got the idea after seeing Sicilians taking a spoon of locally-produced extra virgin olive oil every morning.

Mixing the oil into his coffee produced “an unexpected, velvety, buttery flavour that enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate,” he said.

But in a country which takes its olive oil and coffee seriously, the concept has unsurprisingly had a mixed reception.

Many Italian social media users were immediately sceptical, with some on Twitter calling the idea “disgusting” or an “atrocity”.

Several Italian commenters pointed out that both coffee and olive oil have well-known laxative properties. “The combined effect could be disastrous,” said one.

Others simply said that they wouldn’t visit Starbucks anyway because of the cost.

READ ALSO: ‘Declaration of war’: Outrage in Italy over New York Times tomato carbonara

The new range will use oil from a Sicilian olive variety named Castelvetrano, which Starbucks said was sweet and reminiscent of some of its syrup options.

Starbucks baristas mix the oil with oat milk before pouring the blend into a shot (or two) of espresso coffee to create a flavour described by Starbucks menu developers as “caramel-like.”

The olive oil coffee was debuted in Italy and will be rolled out in southern California and elsewhere in the US later this year, the company said.

Starbucks has been in Italy since 2018, when it said it was entering the Italian market with “humility and respect”.

The chain now has 25 branches in Italy, despite predictions that it would not last long in the country famed as Europe’s coffee capital and the home of espresso shots drunk standing at the counter at family-owned bars.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Why do Italians get so angry if you mess with classic recipes?

Starbucks’ locations in Italy are mainly in and around Milan and other parts of northern Italy, which is more affluent and has a higher ratio of international residents than the south.

The chain is now planning to open its first southern Italian store in central Rome, though the location has not yet been revealed. Local media reports speculate that it will be in the Galleria Alberto Sordi shopping centre on the central Via del Corso.

Other US food and drink chains have proven similarly successful at breaking into the Italian food and drinks market. Despite some protests and pushback, McDonald’s is well-established in Italy. In fact, the country now has the fourth-highest number of McDonalds’ outlets in Europe.

But other American food chains have had a harder time. In 2022, pizza giant Dominos announced the closure of its Italian franchise following poor sales. Dominos had not attempted to open any stores in southern Italy, home of Neapolitan and Roman pizza.

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ITALY EXPLAINED

Why you don’t need to leave large tips at Italian restaurants

Many visitors from the US leave a generous tip as standard when dining out in Italy, while others say no tip is necessary. So what are the rules and how much should you really leave?

Why you don’t need to leave large tips at Italian restaurants

American tourists, coming from the land of mandatory tip culture, are prone to reflexively tipping 20 percent or more wherever they travel in the world. And many would be aghast at the idea of not leaving a tip at all.

But in Italy, as regular visitors know, tipping really is not required or expected

Visitors are sometimes confused about this because staff at some restaurants encourage American visitors to tip generously by suggesting that it is, in fact, the norm.

If Italians tip, they do so occasionally for good service, and making a habit of tipping modestly when dining out in the country will help you blend in better with the locals.

Why don’t Italians tip in restaurants?

If you come from a country where tipping is expected it can feel uncomfortable not to do so.

But there are a couple of reasons why Italians don’t usually tip – or if they do, they leave a moderate amount.

Reader question: How do I know if I should tip at Italian restaurants?

Italian restaurant bills often already include small service charges, normally of a couple of euros per head, which will be listed as servizio on the bill.

(You might also see a ‘coperto’ or cover charge, which is not specifically a service charge. This goes to the restaurant rather than the server.)

And Italy doesn’t have much of a tipping culture simply because Italian wait staff aren’t reliant on tips to get by like they are in many parts of the US. 

As is the case elsewhere in Europe, they are paid a standard wage and any tips are viewed as an added extra.

So, while tipping is always appreciated, rest assured that it’s entirely your choice (beyond servizio charges.)

What if I want to tip anyway?

Italians might tip in recognition of standout service and when there’s no servizio charge listed.

But tipping here is modest: it would be very unusual to leave 20 percent or even more.

You can leave an Italian-style tip in the form of a couple of extra euros per person, or by rounding the bill up to the nearest five or ten.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on tipping in Italy?

If you’re paying by card, bear in mind that very few places will be able to add a tip to the card payment – so you might want to carry some change or small notes with you.

What if the waiter asks for a tip?

It’s not unheard of for wait staff at some restaurants in tourist hotspots to suggest that tipping is a requirement in Italy, or even to tell customers that “service is not included”.

Restaurant staff in popular destinations are of course well aware of the generous amounts commonly left by some overseas visitors – and some do try to encourage this.

While this tactic leaves some customers unimpressed and less likely to tip, others say they feel pressured and end up tipping just in case.

If there’s no servizio charge on the bill, it may be technically true that service is not included.

But tipping is always at the customer’s discretion in Italy, and staff at reputable restaurants don’t tend to ask.

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