The first Starbucks store to open in Italy is “the most beautiful in the world,” according to the American coffee company itself. The location and design are indeed remarkable. Housed inside the 1901 Palazzo delle Poste, former seat of the Italian post office, Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan, as it is called, is in Piazza Cordusio 3, in the heart of Milan, close to the Duomo and the Sforza Castle.
A siren-shaped sculpture, made with Tuscan marble by an Italian sculptor, welcomes visitors at the entrance. Inside, the ‘palladiana-style’ marble pavement, the giant coffee roaster made in Cinisello Balsamo near Milan, the Carrara-marble counter, the wood-burning oven, all seem to point to a celebration and an admiration of the Made in Italy.
Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has said that indeed the opening of a store in Milan is a homage to the country that, back in the 1980s, inspired him to bring Italy's coffee culture to the U.S.: "During my first trip to Milan in 1983, I was fascinated by the sense of community that I found in the Italian bars, the genuine human contact between the baristas and the customers. Now we bring our 35-year experience, with 28,000 stores in 40 countries, to Italy and Milan, the city of fashion and design, with respect, humility and affection. We're not coming here to teach Italians how to make coffee.”
The Milan store isn’t your standard Starbucks, but rather a ‘Reserve Roastery,’ which is only found in two other locations, in Seattle and Shanghai. A convivial space, with the large coffee roaster at the center, working non-stop to produce high-quality Arabica coffee, and tables all around it, where to sit and linger while sipping one of the 115 beverages on offer. Pastries are made in collaboration with Italian bakery Princi.
"Every coffee that we have ever served brought us here," reads the inscription on one of the walls.
As in any Starbucks, there’s a space for the brand’s merchandise on sale, and customers can also buy freshly toasted coffee beans. In addition, there’s a space on the first floor for aperitivo and post-dinner cocktails, some inspired by Italian drinks (Spritz, Negroni), others devised in Seattle. You can even have gelato (by Italian gelato chef Alberto Marchetti). Oh, and free Wi-Fi of course.
“Starbucks is bringing a premium experience, with many different brewing techniques, in a space where we want you to stay longer, and relax and enjoy,” a Starbucks representative told AFP.
The staff, who underwent a training of 3 months, is happy to explain the drinks on offer, which don’t come cheap: an espresso costs €1.80 euros (for an Italian espresso the average price in northern Italy is €1.10), a cappuccino is €4.50 (average in Italy €1.30), a tasting of Starbucks reserve prepared with two different methods of extraction costs €14.
