Starbucks Japan reduces amount of brew in some offerings

The price of the Arabica coffee Starbucks uses is now cheap having plunged more than 50%.

And their prices haven't dropped either, and now they are short filling cups of coffee too? Hmmmm.....I prefer to make my own coffee and this is just another reason to continue doing so.

Starbucks coffee is all that great anyway, I'll take my home-brewed any day over theirs!

Short size and short fills......What they should do is offer a short filled coffee on their menu and drop the price. If someone wants to get burned with an over flowing cup of coffee leave it to them.

It is a sad, sad indictment on coffee when the best cup around is from Starbucks... McCoffee and nothing more frankly.

Saying customers were complaining about its cups being too full,

You know, it is possible for the sales person to do something OTHER than being a mindless robot, and simply ASK each customer if they want room for cream or sugar. But that would require some THINKING and getting feedback from customers that would not only require MORE THINKING but actually some SPONTANEOUS ACTION based on the customer's response.

I'm not sure that Japanese customers NOR Japanese sales staff are ready for this. The whole system might come to a screeching halt.

The consumers are being ripped off by this multinational coffee chain. Drip coffee is the cheapest form of coffee, the profit margins are huge. McDonalds charge a 100 yen a cup and still make a huge profit (fact,get them to dispute it, they can't)) plus Mcdonalds its a better coffee than Starbucks,this is only my opinion.

If a short-size drip is double the US$1.70 in US, I assumed that a short-size is equivalent to what we called a small-size then the price of this size coffee is cheaper than in Australia. A small size in Australia cost Aus$3.50 which is approximately equivalent to 310 Yen. Sound like Starbuck is ripping off the Australian more than the Japanese.

Why not just map the cups 9mm larger if they are honestly standing by that excuse?

Just another way to rip off the public. Make an excuse for not filling up the coffee to the rim and charge more money. I will never again go to Starbucks in Japan!!!

Sorry, commenters, but I agree with *$$$. I always have to pour out a big slosh just to get the lid on and safely navigate the streets with it.

However, "gaijinfo" is also right.

I will always support Starbucks as the coffee is decent and they have 100% NO SMOKING. Why haven't other coffee stores noticed that their stores are always filled with customers and they are making record profits...without capitulating to the Smoking Everywhere lobby.

@minello7

The consumers are being ripped off by this multinational coffee chain.

Not just the consumers. The growers are the one who really get ripped off since these huge buyers set the unlivable price on the coffee exchange.

STARBUCKS of ALL chain-coffee shops can afford to be more generous...............That is simply crass greed !!!!!! ........................ THAT is one reason have I avoided going there...............so many other, leass crowded and equally delicious coffee houses .

Filling to the brim makes no sense if you're like most people and have milk or cream in your coffee.

I respect Bucks because they had the balls to go ahead with their all no-smoking policy, against the urging of their narrow-minded Japanese consultants.

How do you say "No space" in Japanese? Seems like an easy solution to what is barely a problem.

As one who takes their coffee black I always say "No space" when ordering coffee. If they give me too much space I just throw it in their face and say "What is this crap?". Simple! Baristas love me.

i do not believe that Starbucks is worried about my spilling coffee I have noticed over the past several months less and less in my cup of soy latte. for now i am not buying starbucks. mcdonalds has great coffee and even has refills.

Honestly speaking, I stopped going to Starbucks a couple of years ago because of those ridiculous overflowing paper cups, and also because of the fake friendliness of the staff. I mean, c'mon, I just want my morning brew, I don't need anyone to pretend that he's my new best friend! I thought the coffee was okay, but I liked it better when they offered cream and coffee sugar to go along with it.

Simple solution, pour the same amount and just make bigger cups.

I prefer the old-style kissaten, with a carefully brewed cup of real coffee, jazz in the background.

Basroil, you are obviously right. I still think the only reason to go to a Starbucks is the quality of the air as a result of the no-smoking policy.

Are they also reducing the size of the espresso? A double espresso is still almost empty.

Who cares how much coffee is in the cup? I never notice. I went to Starbucks this morning and they gave me a Christmas card. I like Starbucks because it is a cheerful atmosphere and the girls are always friendly.

He further explained the decreased amounts were not part of any "cost-cutting measures."

Then why didn't they just get bigger cups?

What's the prob? A few drops of coffee missing? Who notices? Starbucks is not bad and you know it's gonna be a more expensive coffee than you can make at home. They also usually have chairs and tables outside - something far to rare in Tokyo.

I prefer to find real coffee houses.

That in Japan are usually thick with cigarette smoke, in my experience. No thanks.

I'm no Mormon but what is so great about any coffee?? I do not like over priced Starbucks Japan so I don't my time nor money there! I guess the only thing I really like is that they are no smoking???

I'm gonna go Tullys from now onwards, thats not fair with such high prices Starbucks is charging to clients already!! Why not make to paper cups bigger?? Is that an excuse??? Pathetic

It started with a customer service and ended with how Starbucks is great for being a non-smoking space. I tried hard to find how relevant that could be but I couldn't.

I believe Starbucks does the cup filling in good faith. Well, if they can squeeze some profit, good for them. It's a business, not a charitable enterprise. I never go there anyways. Too expensive for what it is.

Regarding the cost of Starbucks in Japan compared to the States, it should be noted that, possibly, higher expenses are involved. For example, rent, wages and supply of materials generally cost more in Japan . Also, you can get another cup on the same day for just 100 yen, even in another shop. However, I use my own Starbucks pot, so I would be disappointed if there were any reduction in the amount of coffee I receive. To those who complain that the cups are too full, there is already a container provided in every Starbucks to pour out as much as you want, so this reason for giving customers less coffee seems a little ingenuous .

Lol Starbucks? It failed miserably here in Australia because we saw it for the weak, low-grade rubbish it really is. Now there's only a handful left and most fellow countrymen avoid it like the plague. Good luck, Japan.

Coffee in GOOZ coffee chain is cheaper than Starbucks. Good thing in this coffee shop is you can choose size of a cup(12oz or 14 oz...) and pour how much coffee you want to.

It looks like Starbucks is finding yet another way to make even more money as, perhaps in Japan they have to pay tax, unlike the way they dodge it in the UK.

"... weak, low-grade rubbish..."

Coming from the land that gave us Foster's Lager, that's a bit rich....

@caffeine

Agreed. But it got me through four years of uni (98p a pint), so maybe I shouldn't complain. : )

I'm sure that Starbucks are genuinely (perhaps misguidedly) trying to respond to customer preferences here. It doesn't take a genius to see that the cost saving is insignificant - people seem to be assuming that they're only paying for the coffee when they go there but in fact you're paying for rent, salaries and a whole host of other things besides. There are plenty of things to criticize them for (tax avoidance and the effect they have had on independent coffee shops being among them) but this isn't it. As for 100 yen cups of coffee at McDonalds - they'd never be able to match that price if coffee was a key part of their turnover.

StarBUCKS is FiveBUCKS... NO THANK YOU!

Huge market in Japan as they actually respond to customer needs. Japanese companies don't understand how to respond to customer needs- case in point Vie de France- I like the food but there is no feedback forms at shops and nothing on the website so I can't tell them what I like and I don't.

What i dont understand about "sutaba" is ... They have decaf coffee, you can order it and they make it like normal drip coffee...

however they refuse to make decaf drinks (other than filter coffee)

I went into starbucks recently, and I couldnt drink caffine recently because of some new meds I was temporarily on. So I asked them to make a Christmas gingerbread latte, but with decaf coffee, I was willing to pay for any extra charges. They refused in the end, but could not give me a reason why ...

I can drink coffee again now, but I dont want to go back there, just because they were kind of unhelpful. I mean ... is it really that hard to replace a shot of regular coffee with a shot of decaf? I only ever went for the Christmas drinks anyways ... but .... yea ... rant over

I agree with Gaijininfo. In the States, I used to always just say, "Leave a little room for cream, please." Here I asked the same thing and they gave me only half a cup of coffee!

After a few times of this, I stopped asking and just dump a few milliliters into their garbage if they don't have a sink nearby.

(But generally I do like Starbucks and their staff.)

Star$$$ is mostly a waste of $$$, they only want your $$$ haha

Stay away & your better off

Yeah, yeah, whatever. I go to Staba sometimes, Tully's sometimes, the girls are friendly and efficient, taste of coffee is fine, you pay a bit more but you are in a kind of 'club' when you go there, for people willing to spend a bit more.So all the ketchi gaijin can stay away if you like but if you're that hard up you can't afford a decent cup of coffee now and then maybe it's time you got a better-paying job. People like to splurge on small luxuries, it makes them feel special. Live it up !

Ask for "oomeni" to get it full to the brim.

Now, if someone would fix it so that their pints didn't have a third of foam.

I'm not Coffee fan but I love Hot Chocolate. Is Starbucks paying any corporate tax in Japan? Now the Starbucks will make more money by short fills if the company does not reduce the price.

I stopped drinking Starbucks when I found out the CEO was a Obama buddy...

Bigger cups? Hell's teeth, less water would do the trick - the coffee might be slightly more than pale brown water and have some taste - and no-one gets their pinkies burned!

Starbucks Japan is maybe saving money because Starbucks UK must be losing a lot of money . When it was discovered how little Starbucks pay in tax in the UK, a lot of people have been boycotting them going elsewhere . It would be of interest to the Japanese people, how much they pay in tax in Japan especially in these hard times ! I prefer Doutor myself !

they do have good coffee, and I saw spilled cups burning fingers more than once (yeah, I'm a caffeine junkie, and I ambrave enough to confess). that being said, Starbuck are such a worldwide power they can easily ask for bigger cups at the same price from their current suppliers.

the problem is that they serve humans, and humans like to complain: there are people saying that 15 mm under the brim isa reasonable amount, and there are people saying they are ripped off, asking for a fuller cup, even with the bigger cup size.

What is the problem???

If you want them to fill it to the top, tell them "please fill it up!!"

This isn't a Starbucks thing, this is a Japanese thing. When was the last time you got a full cup of coffee anywhere in Japan?

Japanese people have to quit being so darn afraid to speak up...

I visit Starbucks once or twice a year... That's surely enough...

"customers were compalining about its cups being too full"

Those are the idiot customers, just ignore them.

It's true they are quite full, I ask them for a small cup and then poor some in the extra cup and then add my honey and milk. In my opinion Starbucks coffee is good, although a bit strong. With a little inguiinity you can find a solution to every situation.

Out of the thousands saying they were not getting enough they found two (to make the sentences plural) who complained about the cups being to full... And of course they had to take action... LOL

caffeinebuzz, thats because there is no shortage of good coffee in Australia. It is actually very difficult to find a cappuccino here in Japan that isnt made by an automatic machine. That, and the fact its one of the few coffee shops that is virtually all non-smoking is why i keep going back, and i suspect others too.

Its not cheap, coffee isnt great but its consistent, and smokefree

The coffee in Starbucks isn't very good, its expensive and now you get less. Don't buy coffee from Starbucks, the coffee in MacDonald's is at least as good and much cheaper.

Starbucks coffee is somewhat better than McD's coffee, plus they give you brown sugar and real cream to put in it, but it's just not worth over 3 times the price.

OK, if Starbucks was the same price as MacDonald's I'd probably buy the Starbucks but that's it. The coffee in Starbucks is very average and you can make much better coffee at home with a cheap espresso machine and some mid priced beans. I don't buy from Starbucks because the coffee isn't good enough for the price they charge and their policy of tax avoidance.

Soo funny the amount of people here who rate Starbucks as good coffee.... really makes you wonder if they have ever actually had 'good' coffee. It is ordinary swill.

Hey Jaymann - What's the 'good' coffee?

Starbucks doesn’t offer the short size on its menu in the U.S. where the smallest serving is the tall size.

Take it from a former Starbucks USA vendor, Short size is not on the menu board, but it is offered in most US stores if you ask. I miss the Hojicha tea that is offered in Japanese Starbucks. Nothing like that to be found in US or Euro Starbucks unfortunately.

Come to Wellington and walk into any cafe to find out

With over a 1000 shops in Japan and huge growth expected in China as well, SBUX will become bigger than McD's someday (2023?).