By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Starbucks sells coffee that is poor quality and over-priced, according to a survey of cafés.
The biggest player in Britain's £900m-a-year coffee shop industry offers blander drinks than its competitors Costa Coffee and Caffè Nero and is costlier than most rivals, testers for the consumer group Which? reported.
Researchers also complained that the food offered at Starbucks was too fatty. Along with Costa Coffee, four of its sandwiches contained more than the 495 calories in a McDonald's Big Mac.
Which? sent a team to visit 45 coffee shops. Giles Hilton, a tester who works for the coffee and tea shop chain Whittard of Chelsea, went undercover at central London branches of Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero, where he ordered a cappuccino and an Americano. He praised the Costa and Caffè Nero cappuccinos but judged Starbucks' cappuccino to be too frothy and its Americano too watery, which resulted in a "faint coffee taste". He branded the drinks "satisfactory" and "poor" respectively, awarding Starbucks a score of 1.5 out of five. Costa Coffee, the chain owned by the leisure giant Whitbread, was rated three out of five as a result of a "weak" Americano.
Caffè Nero's coffee was rated the best, earning a good rating for both drinks and a rating of four out of five.
Researchers totted up the cost of buying a medium cappuccino, a single espresso, a chocolate pastry and a chicken sandwich. At £8 for the items, Costa Coffee was the most expensive chain, followed by Starbucks (£7.57), Caffè Nero (£7.11) and independent cafés (£6.40). A cappuccino in a small café was a third cheaper than one bought in a chain.
"Although market leaders Starbucks and Costa might have the most branches, bigger is not necessarily better," said Which? "Our research shows it could be worth going a few minutes out of your way to an independent for coffee that costs less and tastes better."
It warned that a Starbucks mocha with whole milk had 396 calories, compared with 326 at Caffè Nero and 297 at Costa, while a Starbucks classic blueberry muffin had 591 calories. By contrast, a black coffee without sugar contains almost no calories.
Starbucks defended its reputation yesterday, saying it offered "the highest quality coffee" as a result of buying the top 2 per cent of arabica beans on the world market. The company, which opened its first outlet in Britain in 1998, added in a statement: "At Starbucks, we are committed to serving great tasting coffee and food to provide the Starbucks experience in our coffee houses. We offer a range of healthy products such as fresh fruit salads, leaf salads, lower fat 'skinny' muffins whilst also offering an indulgent range of food for those customers looking for a treat."
Starbucks has more than 600 branches in the UK and Ireland. According to the retail analyst Euromonitor, the company has a 16.7 per cent market share, one per cent ahead of Costa Coffee.
