Give me a Starbucks!

Let's talk about coffee. (I admit to being a bit influenced by the aforementioned books by Diane Mott Davidson, where Goldy the caterer indulges in several large espresso drinks every day.) I like coffee, but I don't drink it all that much. I used to drink it more regularly, and nearly ended up in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer around christmas 2003 - a nice melange of stress, stress, some more stress, ibuprofen and coffee. Since then, I've cut back. Way back. I now have it a couple of times a week, and that's fine.

Since I don't drink it much, I want it to be good. Real good. I don't care much for black coffee - I need milk and sweetener, and flavoring is nice, too. They say Starbucks is taking over the world. Ohoy, Starbucks? Here. Look here. Sweden. Take us over, please. Now?

I know they're toted as an evil corporation. I can live with that. If I could just please have one, right here. I love Starbucks coffee. I've only had it on very few occasions, while visiting the US.. but I love it. And I want more. I have even toyed with the idea of starting a franchise myself. It seems like a lot of work, though.

So what does Sweden have? Copycats. And lots of them. We have a lot of "american-style" coffee-houses all called things like Coffee Cup, Coffeehouse by George, Wayne's Coffee and Steve's Coffee. For some reason, none of them have Swedish names. They're not bad, but they are impostors. Please, please. Give me a Starbucks!