Dubbed the « first fully-immersive coffee wonderland in China », it’s something of a caffeine-fueled Disneyland.
With more than 600 Starbucks stores already in Shanghai, there’s hardly a shortage of options to get your grande latte fix in China’s biggest city.
But the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery promises a coffee experience with few equals.
So what’s it like?
Occupying a jaw-dropping 30,000 square feet, the game-changing spot in the Shanghai’s swanky Taikoo Hui development is the largest Starbucks in the world, and more than twice as big as the only other Reserve Roastery in the coffee shop company’s hometown of Seattle.
Dubbed the « first fully-immersive coffee wonderland in China, » it’s something of a caffeine-fueled Disneyland.
In fact, the multi-million dollar building actually looks like a giant coffee bean when viewed from the sky.
Once you get behind its enormous thick wooden doors, which are curved like a roasted coffee bean, there are two floors of theatrical, interactive entertainment.
While it may not quite be the « magic carpet ride » one senior executive enthusiastically described it as, it’s certainly not your neighborhood store either.
When customers walk in they are even given an « exploration guide, » which doubles as a map.
As the sounds of Luciano Pavarotti’s « Nessun Dorma » play in the background, the sheer scale of the place becomes apparent.
There’s a two-story, four-ton copper cask where freshly-roasted coffee beans are stored and more than 1,000 traditional Chinese « chops » or stamps which tell the story of Starbucks.
The ceiling is covered in 10,000 handmade tiles made from American walnut, that are hexagonal in shape and apparently inspired by the locking of an espresso shot on an espresso machine.
If you’ve ever wondered what « symphony pipes » are, then wonder no more. The coils of long copper pipes criss-cross the ceiling, carrying the beans from the copper cask to the main coffee bar.
As well as the new lingo, customers should prepare themselves for some new flavors.
Maybe you fancy a smoked butterscotch latte — or an espresso suspended above a chilled vanilla bean breve, known as an Undertow?
There’s a « pairing bar, » which focuses on how coffee complements food.
