New multi-sensory retail experience offers customers an immersive:

• manufacturing and cafe environment including roasting, packaging and brewing;
• integrated offline and online augmented reality (AR) digital experience; and
• debuting food freshly baked onsite by Italian food purveyor, Rocco Princi for the first time ever in China

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SHANGHAI, Dec. 5, 2017–– Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, the first fully immersive coffee experience in Asia, will celebrate its historic opening tomorrow, Dec. 6, culminating in Starbucks most ambitious project ever. When the doors open to world’s second Starbucks Roastery, created three years after the inaugural Seattle Roastery, customers will be greeted by a multi-sensory coffee experience in an interactive coffee and retail destination like no other.

The Roastery is the epitome of coffee and retail innovation for Starbucks in China, the company’s fastest growing market with more than 3,000 stores across 136 cities, unprecedented for any global consumer brand and with immense growth opportunity. Starbucks already has over 600 stores in Shanghai – the largest number of stores in any city where Starbucks has a presence.

As customers enter the Roastery and step through the front doors of the 2,700 square-meter (30,000 square-foot) building, they’ll be greeted by the stunning sight of a two-story, copper cask, adorned with more than 1,000 traditional Chinese chops, or stamps, hand-engraved to narrate the story of Starbucks and coffee. As part of their experience, customers can visit many attractions including one of three coffee bars offering multiple brewing methods, explore specially-crafted teas at the 3-D printed tea bar, enjoy freshly baked Italian artisanal food by Princi, and marvel at the ceiling made of 10,000 handmade wooden hexagon-shaped tiles, inspired by the locking of an espresso shot on an espresso machine.

And, all along the way, customers can point their mobile devices around the Roastery for even more moments of discovery as they immerse themselves in the augmented reality (AR) experience. Integrating this technology into the store, located at 789 Nanjing Road W., in one of the world’s busiest shopping destinations, makes it one of the most advanced digital locations for Starbucks in the world.

“The affinity we have built with our partners (employees) and customers over the past 18 years in China is special and we knew we must bring the Reserve Roastery, our boldest, most premium store ever, to

Shanghai, China’s bustling metropolitan hub and one of the world’s most dynamic retail destinations, as well as a gateway to customers from across Asia and the world,” said Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company. “We’ve created a space that both recognizes and celebrates our 47-year history of coffee leadership and retail innovation with China’s rich, diverse culture.”

A Theater of Coffee with a Chinese Focus

For the first time ever, unique, small-lot Reserve coffee which Starbucks sources from more than 30 countries around the world, including coffee from China’s Yunnan Province, will be roasted in China by eight highly trained Chinese coffee roasters – passing on 47 years of Starbucks roasting expertise to the first batch of Chinese roasters. Customers can watch the green beans as they are roasted, then sent through copper “symphony” pipes (named because of the musical sound the beans make as they travel through them) directly to silos at the coffee bars, where customers can enjoy a fresh cup of Reserve coffee, or to the in-house pack line to be packaged for distribution across Starbucks Reserve® stores in China.

The Yunnan Reserve coffee, grown in Pu’er in Yunnan Province, is roasted and available exclusively at the Roastery in Shanghai. It’s the culmination of Starbucks ongoing, deep commitment to Chinese growers. Since 2012, agronomists at the China Starbucks Farmer Support Center have worked closely with farmers and the government to provide resources and expertise to improve quality and promote sustainable coffee-growing practices. Like the Shanghai Roastery, the Yunnan Reserve coffee truly is made “In China, For China.” The introduction of Yunnan Reserve coffee also signifies an important step in completing the Starbucks China supply-chain, delivering premium coffee from bean-to-cup, and now introducing a rare, exquisite yellow honey processed cup of Yunnan coffee to a global audience.

Princi, Italian Artisan Bakery Comes to Asia

At the Shanghai Roastery, acclaimed baker Rocco Princi combines the craft of bread baking, exceptional ingredients and the “Spirito di Milano” to bring his artisanal offerings to Asia for the first time. Princi, famed for bakeries in Milan and London, joins the premium Starbucks Reserve® brand as the exclusive food pairing to its rare, small-lot coffees. Princi is the exclusive food offering in all Starbucks Roastery locations, including Seattle, Shanghai and upcoming locations.

In Shanghai, a team of more than 30 skilled Chinese bakers and chefs bring artisan baking to life using exceptional ingredients sourced specifically for each fresh food offering. Much like Rocco’s European locations, the Shanghai site is centered around ovens, with more than 80 different menu items – from flaky cornetti to focaccia sandwiches filled with Parma ham and Italian mozzarella – for breakfast, lunch and dinner, baked fresh onsite. A Commessa (or culinary concierge) will guide customers through the breadth of offerings.

A tribute to China’s tea culture

The new Shanghai Roastery features China’s first Starbucks® Teavana Bar, an entirely modern tea experience specifically designed for Chinese customers. While demonstrating deep respect for the thousands of years of Chinese tea tradition, the Starbucks® Teavana Bar reimagines a modern tea experience for customers who increasingly seek new and different tastes and experiences. Customers to the tea experience bar can select a Teavana signature pure tea or blend, served either hot or iced. Using only the finest tea ingredients in the world, tea curators handcraft unexpected creations with tea mixology as well as nitrogen and tea. For those interested in experiencing a whole new brewing method, the Steampunk brings together science and theater. Watch tea leaves dance in the water, while steam extracts every nuanced flavor in one of tea’s most dynamic moments.