For starters I don't like Starbucks coffee, so don't drink it.

I've been adding a splash of OO to my daily cup of coffee now for some yrs. Or use Coconut Oil dash some days.

Here is some history on Coffee and from Italy.

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2023/the-story-behind-starbucks-new-coffee-ritual-oleato-olive-oil/

Is olive oil safe for heart patients?

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/09/28/the-benefits-of-adding-a-drizzle-of-olive-oil-to-your-diet#:~:text=It's%20been%20shown%20to%20lower,disease%20process%2C%20including%20heart%20disease.

I have 2 friends who have heart issues and they take heart meds and both use
Olive Oil.

Olive Oil is been shown to lower blood pressure and contains plant-based compounds that offer anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties known to reduce the disease process, including heart disease.Sep 28, 2022I

I have never understood coffee places, that mainly sell coffee. Why isnt there huge corporate franchise stores that sell soda? Or milk? Or just soup?

I am not a big coffee drinker. I do not dislike coffee at all, like the smell of it, and sometimes drink it if it available or with someone else drinking it, but I never got the "habit" or the need for coffee in the morning. That is pretty much a chemical dependence, much like any other drug, although caffiene is harmless unless one takes a huge volume of it.

One can buy coffee almost anywhere. McDonalds is known to have good coffee, even among people who are distractors of the chain otherwise. It's less than a dollar plus all the refills you want for free. Or just any diner, restaurant, truck stop, convenience store, the stuff is practically given away.

I do not really understand the concept or why peoiple would pay for a high price for a cheap item. I will say what sort of sucks about Starbucks is that it hurts or kills independent coffee places, and that all Starbucks are EXACTLY THE SAME, and I have been in them from Memphis, Tennessee to Shanghai, China.

When I did not have web access at home, Starbucks made a convenient place to get wifi, and so long as I bought a drink, they would leave me alone, so it seemed like a fair bargain table, chair, electric outlet, wifi, restroom all for a couple bucks.

Starbucks cold drinks were an attraction, their iced white chocolate mocha was a welcome alternative to soda pop. And they have this extra strong espresso based standard coffee that I thought was worthy.

Now, I have't been to a Starbucks in over 5 years, but at one time I used to go there a couple times per week.

My cousins in northern Greece gather olives from the trees and take them to a place to have them pressed. So they're fortunate, they know they're getting the real thing - no added canola or other oils. As most of you know, black olives are a very big deal in Greece.

I'm drinking my morning java now and I add dashs of organic virgin 00 to my coffee every day.... I sometimes trade off by switching to organic coconut oil dashes....our bodies NEED good oils, and our skin for sure, I have no wrinkles on face at 84 and I spent decades in the sun in my early growing years.

And my good skin has benefitted from the yrs of taking GrapeSEED (high oils in the seeds), and oh how some members here have worked to discredit what I do for health reasons.

I have never understood coffee places, that mainly sell coffee. Why isnt there huge corporate franchise stores that sell soda? Or milk? Or just soup?

I am not a big coffee drinker. I do not dislike coffee at all, like the smell of it, and sometimes drink it if it available or with someone else drinking it, but I never got the "habit" or the need for coffee in the morning. That is pretty much a chemical dependence, much like any other drug, although caffiene is harmless unless one takes a huge volume of it.

One can buy coffee almost anywhere. McDonalds is known to have good coffee, even among people who are distractors of the chain otherwise. It's less than a dollar plus all the refills you want for free. Or just any diner, restaurant, truck stop, convenience store, the stuff is practically given away.

I do not really understand the concept or why peoiple would pay for a high price for a cheap item. I will say what sort of sucks about Starbucks is that it hurts or kills independent coffee places, and that all Starbucks are EXACTLY THE SAME, and I have been in them from Memphis, Tennessee to Shanghai, China.

This is America, and land of capitalism for the people to decide....what they want to do with their money....how about the countries that control the peole and their govts take their money....sadly our country is in that direction now, but we have always been a land of the FREE....and I've enjoyed a good long life and don't agree with all decisions made for "we the people"..

There is quite a bit of info on Starbucks in China...check that out.


The number of stores has risen by 697 in the last year, and 43 have closed. The company has over 60,000 employees in mainland China, as well as over 5,400 stores there. In China, the number of Starbucks stores and the high-income consumers they cater to can be seen as part of their success.Dec 16, 2022


And Here is info on Starbucks in Japan

As of October 2022, Starbucks had 1,630 coffee shops operating in Japan. Starbucks enjoys tremendous success in Japan and is the leading coffee shop brand by number of facilities. The company kept on expanding the number of its facilities in the country despite the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.Dec 13, 2022

I know, the city I live in has three of them.

The last time I had Starbucks coffee was about three or four years ago. It was like $4 USD for "regular coffee" (which reminds me of Paulie on The Sopranos going into a "Starbucks" and asking "Do you have just coffee?" The only item that I like from there is the cheesecake, but its a small slice, which is again like $4-$5 USD.


I think the main reason I shy away from it is that coffee makes me "wired" and out of myself. I just never developed the habit, of all the bad habits I do have (drinking alcohol, smoking, past drug use). I remember in 2019 spending the weekend at my cousin's house for a family reunion and coffee was a big deal to them in the morning. Since I cannot get it in China, I like Dr. Pepper when I am home. If I lived in America, I probably wouldnt drink Dr Pepper that much because it would be available everywhere.

I have instant coffee in the house but I havent used that in several years. It sits on a shelf. People in China drink tea (obviously) and my wife has tried to get me to drink that. I like the "red tea" which is basically the common tea most of us drink in America, although they find it odd that I like to drink it cold and not hot, and explaining to them that Americans drink it with ice. But in China, people do not like cold drinks and think that it is bad for their health.

Koreans are not Chinese but I did see today (and already know) that the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un loves a certain kind of cheese, and he is about the only East Asian who does. The only cheese I can get here is the cheap sandwich cheese people put on sandwiches. I use it to cook eggs. Cheese seems to be another item that Americans seem oddly thrilled about. To me, it is a condiment. But it's interesting going to an American supermarket and seeing twenty different kinds of cheese. Which in my home (I am an only child) I almost never had in my mother's cooking. Except for pizza, cheeseburgers and Mexican food, I would have never ate it.

Always interesting reading your accounts distinguishing chinese from american culture.

The only cheese I can get here is the cheap sandwich cheese people put on sandwiches.

Off topic...

Cheese is a waste at places like Subway. I buy really good shredded cheese (not the generic store brand) for sandwiches--it really makes a difference.

To McDonalds credit they use a really good American cheese on their burgere--probably Kraft.

I have seen online that Subway sandwiches are getting a lot of negativity now. There were Subway sandwich franchises in China in the late 00’s, to early 10’s but don’t know if any are still around in the city on China I lived in (Hangzhou). They are exactly like the ones in America. I know there is one in the Shanghai airport (with a Burger King I usually hit before taking the 14 hour trek across the ocean).

Subway is good occasionally, I don’t know how much I would eat it if I lived in America. Probably not that much since there are now better sub sandwich chains. One in my parent’s suburb is called Firehouse which is pretty decent because the sandwich is baked and toasted.

It’s on YouTube but John Oliver on Last Week Tonight did an episode on Subway and their crappy business practices on franchisees. They will basically sell a license to anyone and the person can build a Subway across the street from yours. What wasn’t in the piece was that franchisees must buy all meats and produce from Subway. The franchisee is not allowed to go to the supermarket and buy tomatoes if they run out.

But for me, although I did say I like Subway occasionally won’t usually go there because it is too expensive for what it is and I can craft my own sandwich at home for 10 percent of the cost.

Does Panda Express have stores in China?

Cancer Warning and Starbucks coffee and others

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-cancer-warning-judge-rules-on-coffee-carcinogen-acrylamide/

My friend was warned by her doc yrs ago to steer clear of Starbucks due to cancer warnings and the coffee process...my friend drank it all the time, brewed it at home, you name it, no longer does she do this. My friend had breast cysts a lot, she did a lot of mamograms and I think she still does, I do not do them....

I never liked it before I even knew this so did not imbibe it.

Does Panda Express have stores in China?

No, but I miss egg rolls. But America doesnt sell Baozi (包子） outside of maybe major urban Chinatowns either. Or other foods here that I like/love which are unavailable even in most Chinese restaurants in America.

These are the American fast food places here.

KFC. KFC in China is the Number 1 foreign fast food brand in China, in a major city (especially in the wealthier eastern part), there are KFC's within three kilometers of each other. The menu is quite different, KFC/China does not sell cole slaw (why, since Chinese love cabbage), or crispy chicken. One thing I do like from there is a version of a "twister" called a LaoBeijing, which is basically a rolled up burrito of fried chicken, duck sauce, leek onion and cucumber. I used to eat KFC a lot when I was first here, but now rarely eat it (the last time was in December because I did a COVID test and the fast food outlet I usually went to was closed, and went there. KFC is expensive, and one cannot order from the register, one must order from their phone by scanning a QR code. Most of what I saw was delivery from their own drivers.

McDonalds is Number 2 but what I have read is rising fast here. My wife's city got three outlets within the past five years. I used to joke back in the 00's to early 10's (the good old days here) that a big city in China has McDonalds. McDonalds is fairly similar to the USA. No Quarter Pounders. The Big Mac isnt big anymore either. Here in this city, I eat almost no beef because here it just isnt available widely (and the beef one can get here sucks). I usually get a Double Filet O Fish, those are good! The chicken sandwiches are also good. McDonalds doesnt sell apple pies, but sells pineapple pies which are even better, plus here it is the original pie instead of the crappy newer ones sold in America.

Both McDonalds and KFC sell breakfast which is fairly similar to America, one can get an Egg McMuffin and Hash Browns! But I rarely eat breakfast in these places, rather eat the Chinese breakfast food (which is also much cheaper).

There are Burger King outlets where I used to live, which it seems sort of have an up and down existance here. For me, Burger King is much, much better than McDonalds and have stayed the most loyal to the menu of America than the previous two above.

Pizza Hut. My small city has three outlets but I rarely go there, maybe literally once a year if that. The pizza is about the same although there are some weird varities. I have never liked Pizza Hut pizza, even in America. Worst pizza ever. A greasy, flavorless, gut bomb. I get suckered into it once a year because I am dying for a pizza that is the frozen variety from the supermarket (which are subpar but OK, a great frozen pizza brand is the oddly named Dr. Oetker, which were disconcontiued). I do like the lasangna, which comes in a metal tin tray to go.

One funny thing about Pizza Hut at least in the larger city I lived was that it featured a salad bar, and it was a well stocked, fresh salad bar. The problem is that the customer was only allowed one trip. So what you end up with are people who will stack a virtual mountain of stuff on their plates. The staff who work there keep a sharp look at the salad bar and will charge people for a second salad if they make a second trip.

There was Papa John's Pizza here, but I think it left. It was exactly like Pizza Hut. My issue with the Slut, I mean Hut is that Chinese think all pizzas taste like that so there might be a local place who will copy the formula.

Taco Bell. I looked it up and there are three Taco Bell outlets in Shanghai. It has tried and failed here twice and I have been to the current one so I dont know. The previous incarnation was a sit down restaurant! You didnt order from the counter, you ordered from a menu at the table and they brought it to you. Ok. Hooters tried to make a go of it here and failed also. The Hooters in the larger city pretty much kept the same formula and lasted about a year. I ate there once or twice and the food was complete ass.

I would like to be a consultant of foreign fast food companies who want to come here and tell them what would work and what would not work. I think a lot of these corporate heads think that Chinese (and other nationalities) are the same and if Americans will eat it, so will they. In different cultures this can work (like in some Arabic nations that love American fast food so much that they know have an obesity issue there.)

In China, one has to incorporate their culture into the menu and go from there, and American influence here is still fairly miminal. Starbucks works here because it is similar to a tea house, where people buy a hot drink and sit at tables for hours on end. One good thing here is that one can go inside a place, sit down without buying anything and use the Wifi and never be bothered. Starbucks here is exactly the same as in America except for the employees. It does sell small slices of cheesecake but havent bought it because it is like $5 for a small portion. I dont drink coffee, so I have no reason to go in there, it would be nice if it offered soda drinks and maybe better food items, but again, it is expensive and I am currently on a budget.

Lastly, the customers of fast food places do not clear their table when they leave, after they are done, they leave the tray and the wrappers and crap and someone comes by to clean it. I always grew up eating the food and then dumping my trash in the can before leaving. So it is common at a busy lunchtime to see empty tables with trash on them.