Starbucks Missing in the Holy Land
Israel has not always been quick to introduce other country’s customs to its citizens. However, American stores and eateries like McDonald’s have been welcomed among the residents of Tel Aviv. There is one franchise that many American and UK tourist will notice that has not started a permanent residency which is Starbucks. This is a huge surprise as they are nearly everywhere in comparison to McDonald’s.
The mega coffee franchise set its sights on having a number of Israeli stores during 2001. The
data was not shared as to why Starbuck pulled the experiment. Many analyst could assume it was the pumpkin spice latte or simply that Israel has their own brew. Many visitors to the holy land are more familiar with Israel staples like falafel and hummus. Few would imagine that the coffee is delightful. The main influencers in Israel are the United States and Europe. There are many Italian cafes that serve Turkish coffee and espressos. This may be why Starbucks did not
stand a chance as the Turkish coffee is much stronger in flavor.
One things that Tel Aviv residents are not budging from is enjoy their coffee at a coffee house.
Similar to Americans, residents can be seen enjoying cups of coffee and lounging around
talking about politics and events. The whole coffee to go culture was not really accepted.
More importantly, Israeli residents do not drink much coffee. The numbers compared to other countries is underwhelming. When residents of Tel Aviv do drink coffee, it is instant coffee.
There may be hope for a Starbucks or other popular coffee franchises to make a more permanent residency in Tel Aviv. Many young adults enjoy drinking Italian favorites like espresso. The coffee on the go experience may need to marketed to those under 30 as they would have more interest in the American culture. Even though Starbucks is not available, there are still many coffee shops that pop-up annually. These cafes are starting to serve coffee in paper cups in a similar fashion like in the United States. Residents of Tel Aviv can still be seen holding the paper cups and enjoying hours of good convo over a fresh brew.
