Is this the end of coffee as we know it?

Italy has long been revered as the home of the world’s obsession with coffee, perfecting what we’ve come to know as the art of the modern cafe culture. But with news that American chain Starbucks is set to open stores in Milan and Rome by 2018, it’s left a bitter taste on the once impeccable reputation of the Italian coffee market.

In a bid to be competitive, the Seattle-based company plans to expand aggressively, hoping to open more than 300 stores across Italy by 2023, while also mirroring the layout of local espresso bars and lowering prices.

While there had been plans to open its first store in May this year, delays caused the chain to push the date back to late next year.

For CEO Howard Schultz, opening in Italy has been a 33-year-old dream. It was on a business trip to Milan and Verona that then Starbucks marketing director Schultz first began to conceive the idea of bringing Italian-quality coffee to America. It was an idea that changed the trajectory of the company forever.

“Starbucks’ history is directly linked to the way the Italians created and executed the perfect shot of espresso,” he said. “Everything that we’ve done sits on the foundation of those wonderful experiences that many of us have had in Italy, and we’ve aspired to be a respectful steward of that legacy.”

While Italy may prove a bit of hard task for the beverage giant (after all, it failed to make any significant ground in Australia’s flourishing coffee culture), Starbucks shows no signs of slowing down. Conde Nast Traveler reports that in China alone Starbucks opens more than 500 stores a year.

Now, that’s a lot of coffee.