While I was in travelling in Japan earlier last month I heard that the biggest Starbucks roastery in the world located in Naka-Meguro had just opened not too long ago so of course I had to pop by! My first trip there was a Friday night however the queue was 3 hours long! It was already 8pm and we were told that they close at 11pm so we decided to give it a miss that night and try again the next morning, which so happen to be my last morning in Tokyo. To avoid disappointment my friend, Florence and I decided to get there when the doors open in the morning and left our hotel bright and early to arrive at 7:10am (10 minutes since they opened their doors). Although we were quite early there was already a crowd but luckily no queue so we walked right in.
The building was just beautiful and quite breathtaking to look at so make sure to take your time to check out all the tiny details and the architecture itself. As soon as you enter the building you'll find a gigantic 17-meter-tall copper coffee cask while 2,100 hand-crafted copper cherry blossoms dangle from the ceiling. Right across the entrance you'll find the staircase that leads up to the other levels in the building where the wall features a different vibe every level from protruding cups to tinned tea leaves you will definitely find a wall worth taking a photo against. The exterior was designed by one of Japan’s most influential contemporary architects, Kengo Kuma, while the interior was created by the Starbucks community design team.
The building has four floors which caters to a different type of atmosphere on every level. The first floor is a bakery and cafe which was also the most popular floor as it was flooded with people by 8am, the second floor is a Teavana tea room where you could purchase tea-related drinks, mugs, cakes, desserts and loose tea leaves to take home. On the third floor is a Arriviamo cocktail bar where they offer classic cocktails, aperitivi, beer and wine. The fourth floor is a lounge area and workshop space plus the outdoor terrace seating area that overlooks the Meguro River has the most amazing view of the sakura trees, if they were in full bloom. However there were signs mentioning to not bring any food or drink outside.
Florence and I decided to head up to the third floor as it was the least busiest floor when we had arrived and ordered two of their signature cocktails; Melrose Tokyo and Cascara Lemon Sour, a lemon cake and croissant. While we were waiting for our order I decided to pop down to the Teavana floor where I purchased a few packets of loose tea leaves, a new mug and a cup of floating blossom tea.
The Melrose Tokyo was by far my favourite drink which was a cold brew complemented with the brown-sugar sweetness of the Demerara syrup combined with cherry bitters and garnished with a maraschino cherry. It was a lovely bitter-sweet drink that was incredibly smooth and delicious. As for their Cascara Lemon Sour, a cold brew shaken with maple syrup and freshly squeezed lemon juice, garnished with a lemon peel, maraschino cherry and cascara sugar topping which had a more bitter-sour flavour in comparison to the Melrose. The croissant filled with prosciutto, cheese and spinach was very fresh and served warm too. The lemon cake was also very delightful as it was light, spongy and full of flavour.
My experience at Starbucks Reserve Roastery was the perfect last spot before leaving Tokyo to head up north. I highly recommend getting the Melrose Tokyo if you're over the age of 20 and I did see quite a few people ordering their baked egg dish from the cafe menu on level one which looked amazing. Also if you don't mind waking up early, it's best to come here early if you want to beat the crowd and actually grab a nice seat. For more information about the biggest Starbucks in Japan you can check out their website here
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