Do you know the hierarchy of Starbucks stores? It looks like this:

image001 starbucks store pyramid

The Roastery is at the top of the pyramid. At least right now, there is only one Starbucks Roastery, and it’s located in Seattle. I dropped by again yesterday afternoon and took a few photos – Here’s what it looks like on a busy Monday:

2017+July+03+Victoria20170703_173944 Lincoln and Paulo at the engine2017 July 03 front of the roastery2017 July 03 front of the roastery with front doors handpicked2017 July 03 Paolo latte art2017 July 03 Lincoln at the engine20170703_173832 vietnam de lat coffee at the green coffee loading pit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Click onto images to make them larger.)

Starbucks has announced that in 2018 there will be a Reserve Roastery in New York City.

The next category is the “Reserve Store” category. There are NO Reserve stores as of today, July 4, 2017. The first one is under construction and will be in this location here. I know it is extremely common to hear a barista say, “I work at a Reserve store” (and once upon that was correct nomenclature – when Reserve coffee was new, that was considered acceptable to say, but not now) but there is no barista that can say that as of right now because the first actual “Reserve Store” is still under construction. Sometimes when a partner (Starbucks calls their employees, “Partners”) says, “I work at a Reserve Store” they actually mean, “I work at a core Starbucks that offers Reserve coffees.”

From what we know about the “Reserve Store” category, all the food will be Princi food and there will be no core Starbucks coffees, like Verona, Gold Coast, and more. You’ll only find Reserve coffees at the Reserve stores.

Following the Reserve store category, there are “Reserve Bars.” There are only a few Reserve Bars right now, but many more are coming. Here in Seattle, you’ll find a Reserve Bar Starbucks near the Seattle Art Museum, at First and University downtown.

The next categories are the many frequently visited Starbucks locations across the world: “Core Starbucks” stores that may or may not offer Reserve coffee. These stores have all your favorite beverages, like the the Pink Drink, the Frappuccino, iced Caramel Macchiato and drip coffee all day. One thing to keep in mind is that not every Starbucks which offers Reserve coffees may offer all the Reserve coffees. In other words, there are some Starbucks stores which may have fewer Reserve coffee offerings than other Starbucks locations.

Now you know!

(There is a slightly more mobile-device friendly version of this article here.)