Visiting Tokyo’s Starbucks Reserve Roastery

On a recent trip to Tokyo I had the chance to visit the newly opened (Feb. 2019) Starbucks Reserve Roastery.  With its sleek modern design and a four-floor coffee (and tea) wonderland, this is a must-visit for coffee lovers and even non-coffee lovers alike.

Located in the chic neighbourhood of Nakameguro, on the banks of the Meguro River, the reserve roastery is Starbucks’s fifth and largest around the globe. I love Nakameguro, it’s full of interesting shops, bars and eateries and slightly underrated as it’s next to the trendy Daikanyama neighbourhood. (Check out my awesome Nakameguro neighborhood guide here) It is, however, a very popular spot to see the cherry blossoms bloom in early spring and the banks of the river can get very crowded.

Now back to the awesome roastery

The 1200 sqm building was designed by contemporary Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma, with materials such as Japanese cedar wood playing a big role in blending the building with its surroundings. Inside, the Starbucks team did an excellent job with the interior with copper and rose gold featuring everywhere. Your eyesight is immediately drawn to the 17-metre copper cask (roaster), extending into the ceiling with pipes carrying freshly roasted beans throughout the building. It gives a warm steampunk feel, and with the origami-like copper cherry blossoms extending from the above, you know this is Starbucks – Tokyo style.

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The first floor has some wonderful reserve beans and coffee from all over the world to try and you can buy freshly roasted beans on-site.  The coffee bar experiments with different brews and types of coffee beverages and the baristas are most helpful and knowledgeable on any questions you may have. There’s also an Italian bakery selling mouth-watering pastries.

The second floor has the Teavana tea bar where you can find various types of loose-leaf teas, black or green, from all over the world. Try the ‘Golden Sky Black Tea latte’, infused with turmeric, cardamom and pepper with an orb of cotton candy on top or the ‘Teavana Matcha Cream Soda’.

The third floor has another coffee station with cold brews as well as the Arriviamo Cocktail Bar which includes cocktails like ‘Orange coffee tonic’, ‘Nakameguro espresso martini’ or the Japanese whiskey ‘Tokyo pour over’.  Non-alcoholic options are also available.

Once you have your drink head out to the terrace overlooking the Meguro River, if you can find a spot, and sip and enjoy.

I visited a lot of coffee shops in Tokyo on this trip and I have to admit, the cold brew latte I had here was one of the best. Drink it straight without any sugar for the best taste experience. It’s hard to remember that this is a working roastery that can roast up to 1800 kg of beans a day. Depending on what you drink and if you buy any beans, prepare to spend roughly between 1000-2000 yen here. Take a stroll along the river afterwards to work off all that excess caffeine.

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Address: 2-19-23 Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

Access: Relatively far walk from Shibuya station, but you can do it leisurely with lots of shopping along the way. Or walk from Nakameguro station along the river.

Website: https://www.starbucks.co.jp/roastery/

You might also like: Alternative Tokyo Nakameguro Guide

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