"The Guangzhou market is developing so rapidly. Five years ago you could say it was 50 years behind Hong Kong. Now maybe its 25 years. Who knows where well be in another year's time?"
Meanwhile, the last-minute training continues for Guangzhou Starbucks recruits, with trainees watching a subtitled video in which a top Seattle executive extols trainees to put their passion into making the perfect expresso, telling them, "You are an artist."
Karen Cheung Po Shan, 28, who was sent from Hong Kong to train the Guangzhou staff, said employees took little time getting a taste for drinking coffee, even after a lifetime of drinking tea.
Their expression when they first try it is funny to watch, she said. At first they complain it is too strong, but they gradually get used to it. Karen and her bosses at Starbucks are banking on the hope that the tea drinkers of Guangzhou will react in much the same way.
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