No matter where you live, there’s no doubt you know the name Starbucks. What you may not be as familiar with is what’s called Starbucks Reserve. What’s Starbucks Reserve all about, exactly, and how is it different from the Starbucks you already know so well?
Starbucks Reserve refers to a specific selection of craft coffee roasts; some of these coffees are available at select store locations, but Starbucks Reserve is mostly experienced through a small group of new establishments called Starbucks Reserve Roasteries.
Where Starbucks Coffee offers signature or premium coffee roasts, Starbucks Reserve offers rare or extraordinary coffee roasts. Where Starbucks employees are called baristas, Starbucks Reserve employees are called Master Roasters. And where Starbucks is considered a standard cafe or coffee house, Starbucks Reserve locations are considered high-end roasteries and coffee bars.
Let’s discover all of the differences between Starbucks and Starbucks Reserve, based on three main categories: the coffee itself, the store locations, and the experience they offer.
Starbucks vs. Starbucks Reserve: the breakdown
| STARBUCKS | STARBUCKS RESERVE | |
| Coffee | Regular rotation of signature coffee roasts such as Pike Place Roasts, Veranda Blends, Caffe Verona Roasts, and featured blonde and dark roasts. Arabica coffee beans sourced predominantly from Latin America. | Seasonal, regionally-limited coffee roasts sourced from small farms, cooperatives, and historic estates all over the world and roasted at a Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Rare or exceptional beans that come from places like Colombia, Vietnam, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, and more. |
| Locations | 16,000+ Starbucks stores throughout the US, located in over 3,200 cities in all 52 states. 35,000+ locations worldwide in 84 countries. | Seven Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations in six cities: Seattle, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Milan. |
| Experience | Classic and signature craft coffees, teas, and beverages; prepared breakfast and lunch items; mobile ordering; small spaces with seating and WiFi; drive-thru windows; fast-casual coffeehouse environment. | Main coffee bar with exclusive Starbucks Reserve beverage creations and Princi Bakery food items; roasting and brewing equipment and machinery; large spaces that include merchandise stores, cocktail bars, and additional coffee and food counters; signature experiences available like tastings and coffee labs. |
Starbucks vs. Starbucks Reserve: the coffee
One of the major differences between Starbucks and Starbucks Reserve comes down to the coffee itself. Most Starbucks Coffee locations offer a similar rotation of roasts, most of which have been signature selections for years: Pike Place, Caffe Verona, and Veranda Blends. Starbucks Coffee uses 100% arabica beans, which are mainly sourced from Latin America. Arabica coffee tends to have more acidity and complexity, and a more refined flavor once roasted.
Starbucks Reserve, as an entity, refers to a selection of more premium and more thoughtfully crafted coffees. These coffees are sourced seasonally and vary by region. They are made from rare or exceptional beans found all over the world, from Vietnam and Papua New Guinea to Malawi and Rwanda. Starbucks mostly collaborates with small family-run farms, cooperatives, and historic estates to source the coffee beans. All of the Starbucks Reserve coffees are roasted at one of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations, each crafted to bring out different characteristics of the coffee beans.
Starbucks vs. Starbucks Reserve: the locations
Traditional Starbucks coffee houses are located all over the world – with over 16,000 locations in the US alone – so it’s likely that you can find one of the chain’s store locations fairly close to you regardless of where you live. While some are more modern in design than others, pretty much all Starbucks locations are marked by that recognizable green logo.
Unlike regular Starbucks stores, Starbucks Reserve Roasteries are only available in a handful of cities – six cities and seven total locations, to be exact. These spaces don’t look like your typical Starbucks; they are several times the size of a normal store, and are indicated with a simple logo that consists of a star which sits atop a thin letter “R”. There are currently Starbucks Reserve Roasteries open in New York (which has two locations), Chicago, Seattle, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Milan.
You can find some limited-quantity Starbucks Reserve coffee available at certain select Starbucks locations, which you can search for on the Starbucks Reserve website. Otherwise, the only way to experience the specially crafted coffee is at a Roastery location.
Starbucks vs. Starbucks Reserve: the experience
Chances are you’re familiar with the Starbucks experience: it’s a coffeehouse chain that offers a large menu, quick and convenient ordering, and usually a space where people can sit and chat, relax for a while, or get some work done. Many offer order-ahead options via the mobile app, and some locations even have drive-thru windows.
Starbucks is known for its signature coffee creations, whether it’s seasonal hot beverages like the Pumpkin Spice Latte or iconic concoctions like Starbucks Frappuccinos. At the end of the day, it’s a coffee shop: you go there to grab a craft coffee drink, meet with a friend, or enjoy a quick meal on the go, and you can always expect a consistent experience.
Then there are Starbucks Reserve Roasteries and bars, which are set apart from regular Starbucks locations. These are expansive, elevated spaces that take pretty much every part of the experience to the next level. The Roasteries of course include a main coffee bar, but it offers a more high-end craft coffee experience and more options overall. More brewing methods and machinery, exclusive coffee roasts and microblends, and printed menus that are expanded with specially crafted drinks and a wide selection of food in collaboration with Princi Bakery.
These spaces are substantially bigger than a traditional Starbucks store and include several spaces and experiences within – so they offer much more than just a coffee bar. As a roastery, the locations are filled with impressive machinery and a first-hand look at the roasting process, and customers can even purchase freshly roasted beans. And rather than a few products available at the storefront, Starbucks Reserve Roasteries contain entire merchandise stores inside with an extensive inventory.
There are lounge areas throughout the space, as well as additional food and bakery counters that serve entirely different menus from those available at regular Starbucks stores. The Roasteries even contain full cocktail bars that feature coffee-based cocktails. And lastly, there are “experiential bars” available that offer signature experiences you can only find at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, like an Oleato Tasting Experience, a Siphon Experience, and a Coffee Lab Experience.
Yes, while Starbucks Reserve offers many of the same classic coffee drinks that are offered at most Starbucks locations or on the online menu, Starbucks Reserve Roasteries include additional menu options that are exclusive or specific to Starbucks Reserve. This includes beverage options from slightly different versions of Starbucks seasonal drinks, to whiskey barrel-aged cold brew and nitro almondmilk mochas, to coffee flights and more brewing methods. Starbucks Reserve Roasteries and bars also offer an entire selection of food from Italian bakery Princi, including pastries and sweets, breakfast sandwiches, and pizza.
There are currently seven Starbucks Reserve Roasteries open in six cities across the world: Seattle, New York, Chicago, Milan, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
Starbucks sources their Reserve Coffee roasts from all over the world, working mostly with small family-owned farms, pioneering cooperatives, and historic estates. Selection is seasonal and varies by region, but Starbucks offers Reserve roasts from places like Colombia, Guatemala, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Jamaica, Kenya, Brazil, and more.
