Starbucks Reserve in Chicago
Custom Probat
A crowd of 10,000 visited the world’s largest Starbucks on opening day and the crowd has hardly thinned since.
The massive 35,000 sq. ft., five-level facility showcases roasting operations, with staff encouraged to explain the coffee journey from bean to cup.
“The locally fabricated, custom Probat roaster allows us to unlock the enormous potential for flavor in every Starbucks Reserve coffee,” according to the company. The roastery will produce 200,000 pounds of coffee annually in batches that take 12-15 minutes.
The roastery is fed coffee through a 56-foot tall bronze-colored metal cask that stores and distributes coffee beans throughout the roastery. “The skin itself is perforated and slit to reveal views of freshly roasted coffee moving through tubes in all directions. Customers ride a spiral escalator that wraps around the cask and gaze up at the ceiling emanating rays that reflect onto our centerpiece,” according to Starbucks.
Chicago is home to the first Starbucks located outside the Pacific Northwest, a point of pride with founder Howard Schultz.
Learn more: www.starbucksreserve.com