You probably get those looks because you’re ordering it wrong. Starbucks has their own specific lingo.
Try “short fat double-anno liveccino, whipped, squared, and spread”
I think I saw that recently on a certain adult website.
Must … not … mention … Thai … brothels …Must … not … mention … Thai … brothels …
Eh, in Spain “un americano” basically means “something vaguely coffee-like made with 10x the water.” And yet, it still surprised me that not only was it watered-down, it usually smelled stale (I don’t drink coffee but I know how it should smell).
I’ve been to Spain. Coffee is espresso. Whether you want espresso or not. It’s all espresso and strong enough to awaken tranquilized gorillas.
Ok, maybe “spread” was the wrong word to end with.
I’m a tea snob living in the US. Sometimes the best tea in a town is at Starbucks. They serve either Tazo or Harney and Sons, and their water is hot.
Much better than the diners (or some coffee shops, even) that serve Celestial Seasonings with lukewarm water.
Just because they call it “americano” in Europe doesn’t mean that it is actually what coffee is like in America. I do like European (Hungarian, at any rate) coffee better than US coffee, but Americano is not American coffee.
[QUOTE=Jamaika a jamaikaiaké]
I’m a tea snob living in the US. Sometimes the best tea in a town is at Starbucks. They serve either Tazo or Harney and Sons, and their water is hot.
NO -when making tea, the water must be BOILING, not just hot! (And you have to turn the teapot around three times, like your Nanna taught you).
And for all the nasty talk recently about whipped, and spread, and Thai brothels - I don’t know if I want a cup of coffee or a spanking … 
I like Starbucks coffee, and refuse to buy from Gloria Jeans as they have ties to Hillsong Church in Sydney. And most of the local cafes are far too trendy or simply serve crap coffee, IMHO.
McDonalds has excellent coffee, IMHO, and that’s just… not natural.
Personally, I’m sad for all the people who will be out of a job this Sunday. There’s not that many other coffee places they can get Barista jobs at around here (most of the cafes are staffed by Trendy Young Women, from what I’ve seen, whereas the Starbucks I have been to have a pretty diverse range of staff.)
Starbucks hasn’t yet managed a single outlet in Viet Nam, but there is a Gloria Jean now, opened in the corpse of what was once the only western restaurant in central Saigon. (Now there are many.) It seems to be crowded too, despite the fact that there are probably 100 local places in a one mile radius selling much better tasting coffee for anywhere from 10% to 50% of the price. However, I personally think of western coffee as a nasty, bitter, oily non-potable, but Vietnamese coffee is delicious, so I’m not an unbiased reporter here. Mmm, Vietnamese ice coffee.