Shanghai, China: Starbucks Reserve Roastery
The third largest Starbucks in the world as of 2020 (second largest at the time of this visit), Shanghai’s Starbucks Reserve Roastery is an impressive coffee playground. It represents everything Starbucks is about and fits it into one location.
How to get there
Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery is located on West Nanjing Road in a nice area full of fashion and high end shops from Chanel and Dior to Nike Kicks Lab and Levi’s. It’s right across the street diagonally from exit 11 at West Nanjing Road metro station (南京西路) on Line 13.
Package station and first floor of Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai
Starbucks has its fair share of critics, but it’s always around us no matter where we live. So when I had planned to be in Shanghai, I decided I had to check this location out.
Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery is formerly the biggest Starbucks in the world before Tokyo’s Nakameguro location dethroned it in 2019. It is 2 open stories and 30,000 sq. ft. (2,787 sq. meters) big.
Brew station and coffee bar on the first floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
The first floor
At the center of the first floor is the bean roasting facilities, packaging station, and large Chinese-themed bronze cask that houses their nitrogen-infused tea drinks.
The gift shop area takes up a significant portion of the floor and is full of multiple variations of everything coffee-related as well as clothing and more.
There are 2 coffee bars on this level with one featuring chocolates. There’s also a bakery counter and deli.
Chocolate counter at Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
The second floor
The stairs overlooking the packaging area will lead you to the second floor, with the first area being Starbucks’s tribute to tea - TEAVANA. It’s just as impressive as their coffee bars, rightfully so as it is in China.
Along with tea, the second floor has a cold brew coffee area, a pastries and bakery counter, another brew station and coffee bar as well as a roaster.
There’s a decent amount of seats on the second floor for people to sit and enjoy their drinks, sipping to the occasional sound of coffee beans being shot through the pipes above.
Brew station and coffee bar on the second floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
The menu
As expected, the Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery’s menu is quite extensive. Different coffees, teas, cakes, pies, pastries, chocolates and everything in between.
We stuck with mixed drinks for the evening.
Amongst the mixed coffee drinks were the Emerald City Mule (Cold brew, ginger ale, burnt cinnamon syrup and lemon, finished with an apple slice) and the exclusive Shanghai Lane Romance (Cold brew, plum-flavored syrup and Chinese yellow rice wine and preserved plums infused with wine and coffee).
Tea mixed drinks had selections like Citrus Mint Mojito (citrus jasmine tea muddled and shaken with mint, Demerara sugar and lime, and tonic and sparkling water along with rum) and the exclusive Youthberry Prosecco (chilled Youthberry tea layered with bubbly prosecco, and vermillion sugar cubes).
These were just a few of the selections.
Everything here looked really good and it would be great to sit at the counter and learn about coffee from one of the baristas.
This is one of the prime showcases to how a global coffee chain still focuses on the craft while steering towards the future. Impressive and worth the visit.
Brew station and coffee bar on the first floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
Bakery counter on the second floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
Some pastries and baked goods at Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew Bar on the second floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
Different types of coffee beans on the second floor of Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
“Shanghai” wall made from coffee packages at the Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery
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