Shanghai has recently opened the world’s biggest Starbucks store ever, with a nearly 30,000-square-foot compound that does so much more than simply serve coffee.
The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery is the second location of a new series of shops designed to offer a more “immersive” experience for coffee lovers. The first location is in Seattle, U.S.
“The Starbucks Reserve Roasteries are immersive, theatrical shrines to coffee passion, where Master Roasters ply their craft to coax perfectly flavourful expression from each of our small-lot coffees,” said Starbucks on their official page.
“Simply put, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery offers an experience found nowhere else in the world.”
It is understandable why Starbuck would eye China for its second Roastery as the country is now its second-largest market with over 3,000 stores. Furthermore, the company plans to open another 5,000 stores in the next four years, Boston reports.
The Shanghai store is twice the size of the Seattle Roastery, offering coffee beans from over 30 countries including the China’s Yunnan province that can be roasted on premise and then enjoyed by customers.
The store has three coffee bars where one of them was handcrafted by a Chinese artist and measures nearly 90 ft (27m), the longest in any Starbucks store.
Other upcoming Starbucks Reserve Roasteries include Milan, New York, Tokyo, and Chicago.
The Shanghai Roastery will not be holding the largest Starbucks title for long, because the company is planning to open a 43,000-square-foot Reserve Roastery in Chicago in 2019.