星巴克开进“咖啡之乡”？

Starbucks Corporation had a homecoming of sorts last month.

上个月星巴克公司“衣锦还乡”。

 

After more than 30 years of global expansion and domination, the coffee giant opened its first store in Italy, the birthplace of espresso, and the country that inspired former CEO Howard Schultz to grow the company from a sleepy local roastery to the ubiquitous chain of cafes it is today.

星巴克全球扩张并取得控制权30年之后，在意大利开了第一家分店，意大利是浓咖啡的发源地，也正是这个国家给了前任首席执行官霍华德·舒尔茨灵感，把这家公司从一个不起眼的当地烘焙工坊发展成了现如今无处不在的咖啡连锁店。

 

 

Starbucks' opening location in Milan isn't just an ordinary store. The company cut the ribbon on its third Roastery in the world, revealing the latest iteration of what Schultz has called "the Willy Wonka of coffee."

星巴克在米兰开的不仅仅是普通的咖啡店，它在世界上开第三家烘焙工坊时就预示着舒尔茨称之为“咖啡中的威利·旺卡”的新时代的到来。

 

Like the roasteries already open in Seattle and Shanghai, the Milan roastery showcases every step of the roasting process, showing off the "theater of coffee" that has always appealed to Schultz.

米兰的这家烘焙工坊和已经开设在西雅图和上海的一样展示每一步烘焙过程，炫耀着已经深深吸引舒尔茨的“咖啡戏剧”。

 

The Milan location also has special features like a one-of-a-kind 22-foot bronze roasting cask, a unique bar on the mezzanine with more than 100 cocktails on the menu, homemade gelato made with liquid nitrogen, and Princi baked goods.

米兰的烘焙工坊也有一些特色，比如独一无二的22英寸的铜烘焙桶、一个提供100多种鸡尾酒的独特夹层吧台、液氮制成的家庭制作冰淇淋和普林奇烘焙食品。

 

And aficionados showed up for the fanfare, as the roastery drew capacity crowds at its opening with about 200 people lined up around the block, waiting to enter the store that Friday.  

这家店迎来了众多的痴迷者，一开业就爆满，周五当天整个街区约有200人排队等待进店。

 

 

 

Starbucks' entry into Italy may be the brand's biggest test yet, especially at a time when growth has slowed in many of its markets around the world.

星巴克进驻意大利可能是目前该品牌最大的考验，尤其是在其全球业务发展缓慢的时期。

 

After all, cafes are ubiquitous in Italy - the country has about 57,000 of them, one for every 1,000 people - and Starbucks is also charging nearly double the prices of its independent competitors.

毕竟在意大利咖啡馆无处不在，约有57,000家，平均每1,000人就占有一家咖啡馆，而星巴克的售价几乎是其竞争者的二倍。

 

Prior to the Milan opening, various news outlets reported that Italians were skeptical of the coffee chain's entry.

米兰店开业之前各种媒体就报道说意大利人怀疑这个咖啡连锁店要进驻意大利。

 

The Local Italy, an English-language news site based in Italy, said readers widely panned the decision, with 87% of survey respondents saying they were against the new Starbucks.

意大利的英语新闻网站《The Local Italy》称读者都不赞成这一决定，87%的受访者称他们讨厌这家新开的星巴克。

 

One reader compared it to opening a Taco Bell in Mexico.  

一个读者还把它比作是在墨西哥开一家塔可钟（美国提供墨西哥式食品的连锁餐饮品牌）。

 

 

 

Conde Nast Traveler found Italians similarly puzzled by Starbucks' entry, insisting that espresso anywhere else in the country would be better and that the practice of taking five to 10 minutes to drink an espresso standing at a cafe bar was a sacred ritual in the culture.

《康德纳特斯旅行家》杂志发现意大利人对星巴克的进驻十分困惑，坚持说意大利任何地方的浓咖啡都比星巴克的好，而且花5-10分钟在咖啡馆的吧台站着喝一杯浓咖啡在当地文化中也是很神圣的一个仪式。

 

Then there's the question of pricing. Starbucks will charge 1.80 euros for an espresso, nearly double the single euro that Italians pay at their local bars. Starbucks believes the price reflects the premium experience the roastery offers, but many Italians balked at the higher price.

还有价格的问题，星巴克一杯浓咖啡要价1.80欧元，差不多是意大利人在当地咖啡馆花费的1欧元的二倍。星巴克相信这个价格体现了该烘焙工坊提供的高端服务体验，但很多意大利人却嫌这个价钱贵。