Starbucks

Starbucks has transformed from serving caffeine into leveraging technology to deliver a delicious cup of coffee. It’s innovating the experience of coffee consumption by combining its products with an imaginative menu of beverages and using a well-integrated service design strategy with retail design in designing stores and more. For instance, not so long ago, they ventured with an innovative concept of giving coffee connoisseurs a peek into some of the finest javas on the planet in a relaxed, informal ambience, and they rightly named this experience ‘Reserve’ for the peculiar seating arrangement that resembles…you guessed it, a local bar! The first outlet opened in Seattle in 2017 and here’s what Starbucks has to say on its exclusive ‘Reserve’ experience:

Starbucks Reserve is a selection of the rarest, most extraordinary coffees Starbucks has to offer. It’s where we push our own boundaries of craft, developing a unique roast for each individual lot before experimenting with coffee as an art form—brewing, aging [sic], infusing and blending it into imaginative and often surprising creations. Through our Roasteries and bars, we share our discoveries and the enjoyment of exceptional coffee with the world.

As I said, it’s targetted at the coffee connoisseurs, so despite the excitement, I waited and finally got the opportunity today to visit the first Starbucks Reserve in Toronto. I had passed by this area at ‘Shops at Don Mills’ a couple of times, having read that there are only a handful of these premium Starbucks coffee locations around the world, I am lucky to experience the aura personally. There’s another retail concept on the same lines which is called the ‘Reserve Roastery’ that provides an immersive coffee experience to the consumers complete with freshly roasted coffee beans and a rare set of coffees from beans that are aged in whisky barrels (whoa!). I am longing to be there sometime in the future to wallow in the aroma of roasting java. (Tokyo, perhaps?)