The Unique Bronze Cask Featured At Starbucks Reserve Roastery In Milan

From castles in Prague to mountainous ski slopes, Starbucks has found plenty of creative ways to keep coffee-seeking customers coming back for more orders. Some of the Starbucks locations have set out to delight customers with unique and interesting features, and others have focused on cranking out favorite recipes with consistent speed. At the first Starbucks in Seattle, little touches serve as reminders of the brand's humble beginnings, while inside Amsterdam's The Bank, caffeine aficionados are treated to specialty coffee tastings and fresh bakery items made on-site.

Though Starbucks' initial foray into the Italian market was met with skepticism and public pushback, the company's Roastery in Milan has won local customers over with an artful interactive atmosphere filled with artisan decor, an aperitivo-serving cocktail bar, and coffee equipment not found anywhere else in the world — including a large rotating bronze chamber that sits smack in the middle of the bustling store.

Located in the Piazza Cordusio, Milan's Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened in 2018 and made a splash with locals and visitors alike. While other locations may serve as backdrops for remote workers typing away at laptops, the Milan concept is a lively explosion of colors and textures that command the senses. A garden terrace — complete with a marble statue and bronze bird cages — offers refreshment outside the store's vivacious environment.

Spanning an impressive 25,000 square feet, the Roastery provides not only coffee drinks but also plenty of entertainment to visitors. Parked in the middle of the store sits a 22-foot-tall cask that roasts coffee beans. When the bronze folds open, customers can see for themselves how Starbucks' coffee is processed. Dubbed the "dancing lady" by team members, this behemoth of an installation is one of many eye-catching features inside the Roastery.

Should you want to learn more about Starbucks and coffee-making, an augmented reality experience can be accessed via mobile at the entrance wall of the location. You may need more than one cup of coffee to do so.