The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Experience
I am not a coffee connoisseur. After a lot of effort, I recently broke through my own taste buds and cultivated the habit of drinking coffee. After 35 years of never being able to drink it, I can now enjoy a good cup of coffee. I am still a coobie (coffee newbie). I still prefer a cup of homemade chai over coffee. But that is a discussion for a different day.This Memorial Day weekend, we made a family trip to Seattle. Included in that trip was a trip to Pike Place market. While the rest of the family was busy exploring the market, I took off on a brisk 15 minute walk to Starbuck's newest retail experiment, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery.The Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room as it is called is a huge coffee shop cum bistro cum cafe cum a shop for pricey knick-knacks cum a lot more things. What drew me there in the first place was the Roastery special edition of the Field Notes which I cherish and use daily. As I approached the store, it struck me, how big it really was. Imagine a retail space the size of a mini-Target. It is huge. And it is coppery and silvery everywhere. From the entrance, you are greeted by glinting copper and brass and silver every where. And there are a ton of helpful people walking around, helping you get a feel for the place and what it is attempting to do.
The Experience is the ProductI spent a good 30 minutes taking in the sights, sounds and most importantly, the smells of the roasting coffee beans. This place is bliss for someone who loves the smell of coffee like me. It is heaven for a coffee lover. Just the sheer scale of everything is incredible. I drank a flat white with their Roastery exclusive Gravitas No.1 blend. It tasted great. Then again, I am not the one who can spot the difference. All I can say is that it was pretty good.I took a whole bunch of photos and had a hard time choosing just a few to share. So here is the entire set. Wade through to experience second hand but if you are ever in Seattle, try to stop by. The first hand experience is that much better.The Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room experience is the product here. And you can feel it everywhere. I am told this concept store might expand to more locations in the coming months and years. If it comes to your town, definitely stop by. It is well worth it.[gallery ids="1368,1365,1366,1369,1367,1405,1353,1354,1355,1356,1357,1358,1359,1363,1364,1370,1371,1372,1373,1374,1375,1376,1377,1378,1379,1380,1381,1382,1383,1384,1385,1386,1387,1388,1389,1390,1391,1392,1393,1394,1395,1396,1397,1398,1399,1400,1401,1402,1403,1404"]