If you like coffee, it’s hard to beat a visit to a Starbucks Roastery. As soon as you step inside, you are overwhelmed by the smell of warm coffee. Starbucks Roastery allows you to see the coffee be processed from bag of raw beans to cup. It’s a neat experience, especially if you are a coffee lover. It is almost like a mini coffee amusement park. The Milan Starbucks Roastery is a gorgeous Starbucks Roastery (the first one in Europe!) that is worth the stop if you are in Milan. Read more to get all the insider info on the Starbucks Reserve Milano Roastery and things I wish I would have known before visiting.
Note: All the Starbucks Roasteries are set up in a pretty similar fashion, but I will be referring to specific details about the Milan Roastery in this post.
Where is the Starbucks Reserve Milan Roastery?
The Milan Starbucks Roastery is located in a beautiful old historic building that was originally housed the Italian Stock Exchange and a post office before becoming a coffee destination. It is super close to many tourist attractions, including il Duomo and il Castello Sforzesco. It is located in the Piazza Cordusio.
If you are at il Duomo, the easiest way to get to the Starbucks Reserve Milan Roastery is by taking via Piazza dei Mercanti (which will also pass Piazza Mercanti which was the center of Milan in the Middle Ages).
Things to Do Inside the Milano Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Try a delicious drink from the Main Bar
The Main Bar is the coffee bar you will see to the right side when entering. Here you can get all the types of drinks offered here at the Starbucks Reserve and you can watch them make the drink right in front of you. You can see the different types of beans traveling in transparent tubes in the ceiling and dropping to the coffee dispensers at this station. Here you can also get pour overs and various unique gourmet coffee drinks. One drink that I tried that is absolutely delicious if you love coffee and chocolate is the “marocchino.” There are also a ton of drinks that are only available at this location including the “sparkling espresso with lemon” and “nitro gelato affogato.” There are many seats in this area if you are able to snatch one up.
One thing to note, Starbucks Reserve drinks are often a bit pricier than normal Starbucks drinks, (for example, a lot of drinks are in the 9 to 10 dollar range). It is definitely more of a treat, rather than an everyday sort of thing. I was surprised by the prices when we first went, so I just wanted to make sure you were aware.
Try a nice pastry from the Princi Bar
The Princi Bar is located on the left side when you enter. Here you can find coffee drinks, but also pastries of all different kinds. This counter does more to go orders, so this may be a better place for you to go if you are in a hurry or want to take your drink with you.
Watch the coffee be roasted and processed in the Roasting Area
The Roasting Area is the main area in the the middle of the roastery. This area is hard to miss as it takes up most of the room in the center. However, its magical watching all of the coffee be made. There is a station where they roast the beans before sending them up into the clear tubes crossing the ceiling taking the beans to all different places. Closer to the back of the room, you can watch the beans be packaged up into the coffee bags to be sold at the Starbucks Reserve.
Shop for unique coffee gear found only at the Milan Roastery
Every Starbucks Reserve has their own gear that can only be found at Starbucks Reserve at that specific location. They also have lots of nice items, ranging from luxury coffee gear to nice souvenirs to take home.
Visit the Arriviamo Bar
The Arriviamo Bar is located upstairs. The “bar” is a more of a relaxing, sit-down experience. Here you are seated, order what you want, and have it delivered to you. They have some different varieties of drinks here, including aperitivi and adult coffee drinks. A really awesome thing about the Arriviamo Bar is that they have many non-alcoholic cocktails available! To get to the Arriviamo Bar, go up the stairs that can be found straight back at the back of the room.
Insider tip: The bathrooms are downstairs. Find the stairs at the very back of the open room (behind where the coffee beans are being packaged). The bathrooms are directly at the bottom of the stairs.
Things to do near the Starbucks Reserve Milano Roastery
If you are visiting the Starbucks Reserve Milano Roastery and are wondering what there is to do nearby, well you’re in luck because there are so many things to do close to the roastery.
A few things I recommend doing include il Duomo, la Galleria, la Scala, and il Castello Sforzesco.
For more details on visiting these different places in Milan, be sure to check out my full blog post on Milan (which also has itineraries for your trip!)
Have you been to a Starbucks Roastery before? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!
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