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any Koreans feel ripped off by Starbucks, which charges twice as much for coffee in Korea when compared with the United States, according a Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) survey released on Sunday.

Nine hundred ninety nine coffee lovers were interviewed by the KCA for the poll late last year to analyze consumer perceptions on the country’s seven largest coffee chains including Ediya Coffee, Starbucks and Holly’s Coffee.

In the survey, Starbucks ranked last on “price appropriateness” with the score of only 2.4 out of 5, significantly lower compared with home-grown franchise Ediya which topped the list with 3.54.

Holly’s ranked second with the score of 2.91, followed by Angel-in-us, Tom n Toms, Caffe Bene and Coffee Bean.

Starbucks, a Seattle-based chain, scored highest in store accessibility, taste and service. It operates more than 750 stores across the country.

Ediya, which has expanded rapidly with its low price strategy, ranked first in overall satisfaction but performed worst in taste.

Ediya currently serves Americanos for 2,800 won, which is 1,300 won cheaper than Starbucks and 1,000 won cheaper than the next cheapest option at Tom N Tom’s coffee.



A previous KCA survey released last month found that Starbucks in Seoul serve the most expensive Americano coffee when compared to other major cities in the world.

The KCA compared the prices of coffee in 13 major cities including Paris, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Madrid, New York and Seoul.

Starbucks has increased its prices in Korea three times over the past five years.

The survey found a tall Starbucks Americano costs 4,100 won ($3.7) in Seoul, 3,679 won in Beijing, and only 2,477 won in New York.



More coffee shops report an increase in the cost of coffee per cup by between 100 to 400 won in the last 12 months. Americanos at Starbucks have increased 23 percent in Korea since 2007.

The Americano has been the most ordered drink at Starbucks in South Korea for the last seven years.

Starbucks in Korea sold more than 30.7 million Americanos in 2013 followed by 16.7 million lattes, 5.3 million caramel macchiatos, and 3.4 million green tea frappuccinos.

Starbucks in Korea has also come under scrutiny recently for failing to list short size drink prices on their menus.

The YMCA Citizens’ Mediation Center filed a complaint with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety against Starbucks for violating the Food Sanitation Law, which requires all businesses to post the prices of their products.

The group alleges Starbucks deliberately omits the price of its smallest sized drink to induce consumers to buy larger-sized drinks.

Intern reporter Chung Hye-min contributed to the article.