Starbucks has still not advertised in Japan, but it has a loyal clientele. Nikkei Restaurants, a monthly magazine that tracks eating and drinking establishments, has rated Starbucks the No. 1 franchise chain.
"The stores have cushions and that cozy feel I get at home," said Yuki Ibuchi, 28, a Tokyo office worker who has a collection of 20 Starbucks mugs with logos of US cities she has visited.
Not only are Japanese drinking more coffee, they are anxious to serve it. Just as the number of sommeliers surged after the wine boom in the mid-1990s, many Japanese are now studying to become barristers, or those trained to make espresso.
At Maccinesti, a cafe that pipes in-Seattle radio stations over the Internet, Miho Kanai, 24, makes lattes with steamed milk on top, shaped like a swirling leaf.
Kanai, who studied with David Schomer, the Seattle-based author of Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, eventually discards two cups of espresso before getting the flavor and color she wants.
"Only once have I made a perfect cup of coffee," she said.
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