Starbucks is cool because 1) its international and 2) its deliberately expensive (in China at least). The food is crap and stale but it looks good. The coffee is full of sugar and flavourings but it tastes good. Style over substance.

and still they come

Nothing cool about it when you'd only be sat among C category visa holders.

Try some of the better hotels or golf clubs

Yeah, if you're doing it simply to be cool, suggest you go to someplace like what vicar mentions, & take less space away from the rest of us.

I told you the lad was a poser and I was shouted down by the vocal minority.

I wont await an apology.

Being a regular Starbucks user I feel unnecessarily abused here.

You know, some people do actually go because they enjoy the coffee and (definitely in my situation) feel it's a good way to kick off the day! Nothing poser like about it, just simple coffee...

@napoleon was you raised a poor boy on the farm and now just have a grudge against anyone doing something they enjoy when you see them? The poser comments suggest it ;o)

@haali you'll find the Starbucks price of a coffee pretty similar to everywhere else but with the added bonus of usually being a lot bigger in serving size.

@redjon - I'm not saying that all starbucks customers are posers, but I do think it's a bit expensive. Their smallest ('tall') americano costs about 28 kuai from what I remember. The same drink in Starbucks in the UK costs a few kuai less. 28 cafe (a bakery/coffee chain found in higher tier Chinese cities) sells their americano for about 12 kuai. That's what I mean about it being deliberately expensive. Starbucks strategists are clearly geniuses, because they must be making a fortune in China.

I meant napoleon the great ;o) had a problem with the 'poser' tag. I was just saying to you that most coffee shops in Kunming seem to be pricing about the same for their coffee as Starbucks. Maybe (probably) they just see the genius with Starbucks and followed suit anyway.

Here's hoping they open a 28 cafe nearby soon!

I find Starbucks coffee is terrible. Cheap beans, bad roast and the price is insane.
For the price of the cheapest coffee there I can get 400g of really good coffe. The local cafes have a similar price but much better quality. Well even McCafe has much better beans. Not a friend of franchise F&B joints but in that case starbucks is the apple computer of coffee.

Nicely decorated and designed but vastly overprices and completely crap inside.

Starbucks gets points for being consistent. I've not liked their coffee in multiple countries.

As for McDonald's or McCafe coffee, I can't drink it at all.