Sydney - Connoisseurs, business rivals, xenophobes and marketing gurus lined up to stick the boot in Starbucks when the Seattle-based coffee chain declared in July that it was closing 61 of its 85 Australian outlets with the loss of almost 700 jobs.

The coffee snobs said that the locals didn't take to the sweet and watery offerings from Starbucks. They stayed with the European-style espressos brought to Australia generations ago by Italian migrants.

"Their coffee is more like a milkshake," scoffed coffee luminary Ron Basset. "We probably have three times the coffee in ours that they do."

Starbucks, which owns all its shops rather than operating a franchise like McDonald's, opened its first Australian outlet just before the Sydney Olympics.

It came in at a good time: the economy was booming, drink driving laws were shifting people out of bars, and local authorities were encouraging cafes to set tables and chairs out on the pavement.

Markus Hofer, the Austrian who brought Starbucks to Australia, said the timing was right because tastes were becoming more sophisticated and there was a democratization that saw the middle classes cracking open a cafe culture that had been the preserve of the rich.

"I think it's clear to say that over the past few years - certainly in the research we have done - the whole movement is from alcoholic beverages and fast food to cafes," Hofer said in 2001.

Business rivals like local chains Gloria Jean's and Coffee Club reckon Starbucks got ahead of itself, trying to grow the business too quickly.

"Out of all the sites that Starbucks has got, there are only one or two that are making any money," said Emmanuel Drivas, the head of the 30-outlet Coffee Club.

Starbucks taught the locals a bit about retailing - and they proved quick learners. Lots of cafes nowadays have loyalty cards and soft furnishings. They also try harder at consistency.

"Starbucks serves up fairly indifferent coffee, but at least you know what you're getting," says Catholic University marketing lecturer Al Marshall.

Sydney University economist Nick Wailes also compliments Starbucks, saying it was successful in creating what the chain called a "third place" in people's lives: the local cafe.

Starbucks reckons that the average customer visits 18 times a month.

Wailes says that Starbucks, brilliant at bringing European coffee culture to the United States and Britain, stumbled in Australia because a vibrant coffee culture already existed there.

"Australia with its history of European immigration, was always going to be a test," he said. "Starbucks has trying to sell a watered-down product in one of the most sophisticated and lively coffee markets in the world."

Testimony for just how sophisticated the nation has become is that industry lobby group, the AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association, through its chairman Robert Forsyth, wants to licence baristas so that "the customer will be certain that the person behind the machine knows exactly what they are doing."

The world champion barista in 2003 was an Australian. He beat national champions from 27 countries. (dpa)