On Thursday, February 28 (in Japan), Starbucks welcomed its newest Roastery, a four-story tribute to innovation in Tokyo, Japan. Located in Tokyo’s vibrant neighborhood of Nakameguro, the Roastery’s design was inspired by the famous cherry blossom trees lining the Meguro River.
The Tokyo Roastery is the only Starbucks Roastery to be built from the ground up, designed in collaboration with world-renowned Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma and Liz Muller, chief design officer at Starbucks. The Roaster features modern and traditional Japanese design, such as a 55-foot blush-tinted copper cask adorned with hand-crafted copper cherry blossoms, the largest Teavana Bar (28 feet) of all Starbucks Roasteries made entirely by 3D printing technology, a wood-tiled ceiling inspired by the art of origami, and the AMU Inspiration Lounge (AMU in Japanese means “to knit together"”) that is a dedicated space for the community to gather for discussions on social impact topics.
At its opening, The Roastery introduced customers to a menu of artisanal Princi Italian fare for the first time in Japan, as well as dozens of unique coffee and tea beverages. Some of those beverages include:
- Cascara Lemon Sour: Made with Starbucks Reserve cold brew, this twist on a lemon sour is shaken with maple syrup and freshly squeezed lemon juice and garnished with cascara sugar, a lemon peel, and a maraschino cherry for extra sweetness.
- Golden Sky Black Tea Latte: A spiced black tea latte with notes of cardamom and turmeric, topped with turmeric cotton candy. A pair of chopsticks can be used to taste the turmeric cotton candy and then let it melt into the tea latte.
- Pop'n Tea Sakura Jasmine: Jasmine Silver Needle Tea is topped with a pink hibiscus and cherry flavored popsicle. Customers can take a bite of the popsicle or wait until it melts and perfectly blends with this delicious tea.
- Spring Shower: This signature cocktail will transport you to an intoxicating spring landscape with floral, fruity and smoky, woody notes in every sip. Made with Dassai shochu, Wapirits Tsumugi Buntan spirits and grapefruit liqueur, this cocktail is finished with a spray of Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew Coffee and a beautiful floating flower.
“As the first international market outside of North America, Starbucks Japan has contributed 23 years of innovation for the company globally,” says Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. “The opening of the Tokyo Roastery will further amplify what Starbucks Japan has done across all stores in the market for more than two decades—innovating and delivering the finest quality coffee one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”
“The Roastery will amplify and inspire coffee passion across all Starbucks stores, and will serve as a catalyst for a new wave of growth centered on the customer experience and passion for coffee and service,” adds Starbucks Japan CEO Takafumi Minaguchi. “Beginning with the “Make it Yours” campaign that will commence at every store in Japan upon the opening of the Roastery, customers will be invited to experience the first Starbucks coffee roasted exclusively in Tokyo, for Japan, and available in a variety of coffee beverage styles.”