Very popular in Chengdu. Lots of locations. One of them (pictured) had the musty feeling of a gym locker room. Otherwise they have good decor, full menu, and ok coffee. Quite pricey. They are also one of the few places that advertise they don't use 100% Arabica beans. Usually if people use cheaper beans they keep that secret internal. They also had five different levels of espresso you could choose from. I would prefer they only offer the best one.
One of the few batch of Starbucks' I have ever seen so empty. 4 visits... not even a single person in line. Although 2 of the Starbucks' went off the cookie cutter plan for a very unique Chinese interior design. Well done.
The Cahones to open directly across from Starbucks. So close in fact that their employees often receive Starbucks free samples when they are out passing samples. Props for in-house roasting. Special Belize made coffee contraption for some sort of special coffee. But 168 RMB to try it. If you order 5 cups they will roast it on the spot but who can drink 5 cups (not to mention the 5 cup price was 7 times the price of one cup.) Deeply enjoyed their Kenya AA. Fresh roasted and a brilliant cup. Favorite cup of coffee in all of China outside of Kunming. Worth trying although prices are high.
So a quick look at their suggested alternative. $199 for the machine. $20 (includes shipping) for 24 K-Cups individual coffee servings. So this alternative costs you only $500 for the year. Not bad. Half the price. Ahhh, but wait. We're talking apples and oranges here. Instead of getting a 16 oz latte you have only a "7.25 oz regular cup" of brewed coffee. Ignore the fact that you aren't getting any milk or froth in your coffee beverage and just assume you want at least the same amount of liquid as you were getting with your $4 latte. Now it's going to take 3 K-cup single servings just to brew that 16 oz coffee and a whopping $1107 a year to feed your K-cup addiction. Top that off with a little cream or sugar and its no longer even close. Oh, but you're right it takes gasoline to get to your local coffee shop on your way to work and that gasoline is not cheap. But we will stick it to our local Starbucks and show them we don't need their lattes and their mochas by simply quitting our jobs, saving on the gasoline, and start brewing our K-cups. Brilliant. I already have a hundred ways I could be spending that extra $300 saved in gasoline expenses.
Now I can definitely concede that wine is more expensive to make and that the cost of raw coffee beans are actually quite low. But every other beverage, besides coffee, requires little or absolutely no labor to prepare for the customer. Wine has to be uncorked but last time I checked that wasn't a very complicated process. Soda and bottled water requires no effort. But when you buy coffee beans at that comparatively low price they don't just magically ooze into a piping hot latte to be enjoyed. Espresso drinks take labor. It takes complicated and expensive equipment. It takes training...to make it right at least. Coffee beans from numerous different countries or regions have to be blended together to make a good espresso blend, they then are roasted, then ground into a fine powder, then pressurized water is pushed through them, and usually milk needs to steamed or froth so that you can finally combine the drink to make a wonderfully tasting latte or cappuccino.
The Olympics kicked off with a bang. Overall pretty amazing. A few thoughts.
1) This definitely made me think China was unveiling their answer to Star Wars Death Star. 
2) Is there anything more tedious than watching 3 hours of the athletes walking in? I remember why the opening ceremonies never seem to excite me too much. Although a few very interesting things happened during that long walk in....unfortunately none of which I can comment on.
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