Whenever I visit a new country, I invariably find myself drawn to the local Starbucks. I have been to so many over the world just to try variations of coffee concoctions and their spin on local flavours. Being the Starbucks fan that I am, when I heard about Starbucks Reserve from the video of a YouTuber I love to binge watch, I put it on my bucket list vowing to visit as soon as I could. Starbucks Reserve basically takes the best of the Starbucks experience and elevates it to a whole other level. It is a coffee lovers paradise and if Willy Wonka had to create a sophisticated coffee version of his chocolate factory, I'm sure it would look similar to a Starbucks Reserve. This blog post is about my experience visiting the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in New York.
In New York, the Reserve is Located in Chelsea - Manhattan. We went there by taxi on a rainy morning. I entered the glass building through the lofty wooden doors and gasped in awe of the interiors. The ceiling was so beautifully designed and full of complexity with a myriad of squares of different sizes in shades of coffee. The Willy Wonka feeling came again when I saw the transparent pipes running all across the ceiling transporting freshly roasted coffee throughout this massive space.
At the entrance, I was greeted by a massive and absolutely stunning Siren Sculpture, the beloved icon of Starbucks. It was so beautifully designed in 3D like she was just about to come to life and step right out of the wall!
The main bar had such a steampunk vibe to it with huge laboratory-style glass tubes filled with freshly roasted coffee behind the counters (which was transported from the pipes overhead). The beautiful wooden walnut counters in shades of brown were stacked to the brim with rows of delicious food.
Here one could order seasonal favourites, salads, fresh tarts, the day's freshly roasted Starbucks reserve coffees, barrel-aged coffees, nitro brews and more. My favourites were the Princi menu items. Princi is a world-famous bakery with its origins in Milan. Starbucks tied up with them to bring this amazing brand to New York. This tie-up definitely adds another layer of sophistication to the Starbucks Reserve Brand. There were traditional Italian treats like cornetto, girella, bolognese, cannoli and of course mouth-watering pizzas with the most delicious crusts and gooey cheese! Do note that not all the items are available at all times, some items like pizzas are restricted to lunch timings onwards only. I waited till the afternoon to order the same as I really wanted to try it. I was spoilt for choice, if I had the stomach space I would have tried all the treats as everything looked so appetizing! We tried the focaccia sandwiches filled with pillowy mozzarella, fresh juicy tomatoes and arugula. The focaccia was by far the best focaccia I have ever had, so soft, full of flavour and fresh. The tiramisu was creamy and rich. I also tried the Princina, their signature shortbread crust tart with rich ganache, as a chocolate lover I found it quite indulgent.
I had the Funghi pizza at lunchtime, square-shaped with a crispy thick crust topped with quality cheese and mushrooms, cut into six bite-size pieces. It was an extremely satisfying pizza experience. I tried the hazelnut coffee, it was quite nice but the highlight for me was the treats I ate. That being said, this is a coffee lover's dream. I could from my seat observe an ongoing Coffee Experience at the Experience Bar. People sat there trying out different coffees guided by a knowledgeable barista. It appeared to be like a wine tasting but with coffee instead.
To take coffee love to an even higher level there was the Arriviamo Bar where one could try out cocktail and coffee concoctions. Their menu is designed in collaboration with famous mixologist Julia Momose. This bar was clearly defined with a separate niche space with a variety of drink bottles tastefully displayed clearly giving it a high-end cocktail lounge vibe.
I then headed to the merchandise area as I am a huge fan of their merchandise as well. I especially love their coffee mugs, I find them to be long-lasting and easy to clean. Exclusive Starbucks Reserve merchandise ranging from keychains, mugs and cups, bottles, carry bags, t-shirts and hoodies etc. were available as well as some classic merch as well. Starbucks Reserve New York was also written on some of them in case one wanted a souvenir of their visit. I really found the merch quite interesting. Here as well I was spoilt for choice because there were so many options in each category, plus as I visited a month prior to Christmas, they had Christmas themed merch as well! It really seemed like a well curated selection, aptly named Handpicked at the Roastery.
After that I headed to the roasting area where I marvelled at the huge vat of coffee being freshly roasted, the team member who was handling the roasting was quite friendly and explained the process and answered my questions. There was also this huge copper cask where the beans rest after roasting! It was massive, I felt like I was in an actual factory. This was such an immersive experience as I sipped my coffee while coffee was freshly being made in the background! Lastly, I visited the Scooping Bar, where a helpful barista guided me to all the varieties of coffee available. The aroma wafting from here was truly spectacular. With so many choices and so much history behind every choice, it was again just fascinating just to stand there and take it all in.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery New York was just such a thoughtfully designed, exceptionally planned out space, everywhere I looked there was something new to discover. The multi-level design of this space, with the carefully thought out interiors, combined with the extremely helpful and knowledgable team was the complete package. Enjoying my food and freshly made coffee, while being able to see how the bread was freshly prepared at the Princi baking space on site and the coffee roasting at the probat roaster with the smell of freshly roasted coffee filling the air, made me appreciate what I was consuming even more.
This highly immersive, multi-sensory experience was really mind-blowing from every angle. The sheer excellence that this space exudes is something I still reminisce about and marvel at in my thoughts. Hats off to you Starbucks, you have truly outdone yourself. I really look forward to my next visit where I can experience this magic again!
Thank you for reading, hope you liked my blog post! ❤️
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