Until you have visited a Starbucks Reserve, one of the highly experienced specialized cafés run by the business, you really cannot fully understand the whole Starbucks experience. And this week the brand is introducing a range of fresh, interesting products to further enhance the experience.
A spokesman of Starbucks tells Food & Wine that some Reserve stores are starting a brand-new spring menu. Starting tomorrow, Reserve stores in Seattle, Chicago, and New York will only have this seasonal lineup—springtime tastes and pastel colors—available. It aligns with the general spring menu of the chain, which also is expected to drop.
Try the Sakura Float, which has Sakura Allure tea inspired by cherry blossoms topped with a scoop of vanilla gelato. The thick coating of vivid purple cold foam and coconut sprinkle on the pillowy Iced Ube Coconut Latte will also appeal. The Lavender Matcha Malt, which tastes sweeter, blends green tea, vanilla gelato, and bitters—akin to a milkshake.
Beyond that, people who like to drink will be happy: With its Lavender Matcha Margarita, Butterfly Tea Spritz, and Sakura Blossom Negroni, Starbucks Reserve—which has traditionally offered cocktails—is bringing in additional spring tastes.
Regarding food pairings, you should expect a rainbow of delicious delicacies: Reserve outlets in the United States carry the Twice-Baked Pistachio Rose Cornetto, Blueberry Lavender Doughnut, and Butterfly Pea Swirl Cake. (Of course, it excludes the year-round menu’s tantalizing array of sandwiches, pastries, snacks, and other morsels.)
The Starbucks Reserve is what?
Originally appearing on the coffee scene in the 2010s, reserve outposts provide a distinctive behind-the-scenes extension of the Starbucks brand. New interpretations of past coffee masterpieces abound here.
Formally, Reserve is the pinnacle of “craft, theater, and innovation of coffee,” Starbucks says. (Think very creative cocktails, rich layered cakes, and an eventually better experience than your neighborhood Starbucks.) These cocktails will cost a little more, but you will also get a more sophisticated, well made experience.
Another item you’ll find are coffee- and tea-based cocktails offered at some Reserve sites, which combine a little mixology with the company’s coffee expertise. For a cool $95 per person, at some venues you can even learn to shake your own espresso martini.
