Brewing up unique tastes with Seattle’s Starbucks roastery

The Starbucks tasting room offers brews you may not find at your local coffee house.
The Starbucks tasting room offers brews you may not find at your local coffee house.

The aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans wafts through the air, enticing your senses as soon as you walk through the door. If you weren’t in the mood for coffee before, you are now. Welcome to the first of its kind in Seattle – Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. It is to coffee what a taproom is to craft beer.

Your first look at the tasting room is that it's a spacious outlet.
Your first look at the tasting room is that it’s a spacious outlet.

Starbucks offers customers an opportunity to taste exclusive blends you won’t find at your local coffee house, with beans imported from South America and Africa. Located inside a former auto dealership’s building in Seattle’s Capitol Hill District, the tasting room opened in 2014. Visitors can watch roasters release the beans from one of two roasting bins, and, when packaged, the coffee beans can be purchased onsite.

Roasters release freshly roasted beans on a regular basis during the day.
Roasters release freshly roasted beans on a regular basis during the day.

Two floors, two menus

The tasting room has two floors. At street level, customers can sit and enjoy drinks off a special menu at a bar reminiscent of a local tavern. However, the place to be may be the lower level. Here, you can order from both menus. Visitors can sample a variety of coffee in flights, including cold-brewed or steamed espressos. Baristas share their knowledge about the brewing process, as well as the coffee you’ve selected. They’ll describe the flavor and taste you can expect to enjoy.

Baristas share their knowledge of Starbucks' coffee options and recommend blends to sample.
Baristas share their knowledge of Starbucks’ coffee options and recommend blends to sample.

For a different type of Starbucks experience, you can add a little Irish Cream or whiskey to your coffee at the Cold Brew Bar, giving it an extra oomph.

You don't see a bar at too many Starbucks.
You don’t see a bar at too many Starbucks.

While at the Reserve, visit Princi, an Italian bakery featuring pastries, breads and flatbread pizzas.

Freshly baked breads and flatbreads are available at the roastery.
Freshly baked breads and flatbreads are available at the roastery.

Located less than a mile from the original Starbucks at Pike Place, you can immerse yourself in coffee heaven and leave the tourists to the other spot.