Review: World’s Biggest Starbucks Reserve® Roastery In Tokyo, Japan
Calling loyal Starbucks fans, have you been to any one of the 6 Starbucks Reserve® Roasteries located in Seattle; Shanghai; Milan; New York; Chicago and the world’s largest in Tokyo? Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo is located along the serene Meguro River, offering 4 storeys of coffee, food, cocktails, and more. We explored this 1,200sqm coffee retreat which offered an immersive coffee experience, from discovering and shopping numerous coffee varieties to witnessing the entire process of coffee production.
At the entrance, the contemporary building with heavy front doors will lead you into a coffee bean wonderland. Whether you’re a curious traveller or a coffee lover looking for a good caffeine fix, the artistically designed roastery in Tokyo has plenty to offer.
Ground Floor
Giant Copper Roasting Machine
The towering copper roasting machine which stretches up 17m through all levels of the building is a sight to behold. The first step of the coffee roasting process begins with the coffee roaster popping raw green coffee beans into the machine. Listen to the beans whizzing through various tubes and ending up packaged in the upper floors.
Retail Area
Buy freshly roasted coffee beans to take home, along with essential coffee-making accessories and merchandise.
Main Bar
Coffee aficionados should take a seat here and enjoy a personalised coffee ordering experience, chat with the experts on the various coffee beans available as well as the best extraction method for a perfect cup of coffee.
Pastries Counter & Main Bar
Grab some sweets or tasty baked treats on a relaxing afternoon date with your friends and loved ones.
Second Floor
Teavana
The second floor of the roastery houses “Teavana”, the tea faction of the Starbucks empire.
The main bar showcases several tea blends with intricate tea steeping equipment to brew you a lovely cup of matcha.
Third Floor
L: Roastery Tropical Mai-Tai, R: Cinema Cappucino
Arriviamo Cocktail Bar
Love your coffee and booze? Have them all together in a coffee-inspired cocktail. Mocktail renditions are also available for non alcoholic drinkers. We had 3 seasonal mocktails- (left) Roastery Tropical Mai-Tai (¥ 1,700, ∼SGD 17), (right) Cinema Cappucino (¥ 1,500 ∼SGD 13) and (below) Citrus Lavender Sage Tea Soda (¥ 1,700 ∼SGD 17).
We visited Tokyo during the peak of Japan’s sweltering summer, so we definitely needed icy coolers to douse the heat, as much as we would have loved to order a hot cup of artisan coffee. We enjoyed these refreshing mocktails, especially with the addition of fruity and uplifting toppings such as lemon, pineapple and citrus lavender sage. The Cinema Cappucino was a whimsical coffee drink topped with caramel popcorn, cinnamon powder and craft caramel sauce. It was not overly sweet, we could still taste the aromatic coffee while munching on crisp caramel popcorn.
Fourth Floor
The top floor wraps up the coffee roasting process as the beans are packed into bags at the end of the production line.
Lastly, you can get your daily dose of vitamin E at the outdoor lounge area/riverside seats. P.S: This is a prime location for hanami during cherry blossom season.
Final Thoughts
Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo is a great spot to rest and relax over a decent cup of coffee. We certainly had fun admiring the artistic design elements in this extraordinary coffee space. Do be prepared to pay more than your usual Starbucks order given the one-of-a-kind immersive coffee experience exclusively available at this mega roastery.
P.S: You can also stop over for a refresher, before/after your shopping spree at the Don Quijote store nearby.
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