Starbucks Reserve Releasing 6 Locally Made, City-Inspired Coffee Blends

Starbucks may be an international beverage brand, but when it comes to its reserve roasteries, it thinks locally. Starbucks Reserve is a bipartite entity, one half of which is the premium reserve roasteries that source and toast more select beans, and the other half a handful of high-end coffee, cocktail, and snack shops that offer drinks and services unavailable at most locations. The large, impressively-designed shops are often multiple floors and are currently located in six of the world's premier cities: Seattle, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Milan, and Shanghai. The latest location, the second in New York, just opened up inside the Empire State Building. And while these shops have always featured special menu items, a new coffee bean release is celebrating each of the cities Starbucks Reserve is located in, with six unique blends inspired directly by the cities themselves.

Launching during Global Coffee Week — September 25th through 29th — Starbucks' new City Roastery Microblends will "reflect the spirit of the cities they're created in," according to a press release sent to Tasting Table. Each of the six microblends being released will only be available at the Starbucks Reserve stores in the city they are inspired by, so the New York blend will only be available in NYC, and so on. 

How does a coffee reflect a city? Well, Starbucks started by working with the roasters at each location to help create a vision for the blends. For instance, the coffee that comes out of Shanghai has "taste profiles influenced by local fruits and flowers," while the Milan blend is a take on the Italian espresso shot. In the U.S., you can get a New York blend inspired by the global diversity of the city and its famously hopping nightlife, which is why it was engineered to work well in mixed drinks. Chicago opted for a more classic java blend with a homey Midwest feel. If you're passing through any of these major metros and are curious to experience the various flavors, you can stop by the Starbucks Reserve and pick up a bag for yourself; they come in a flavor-locked 8.8oz bag for $28 or a scoop bar bag of the same size for $32.

While you can only snag the City Roastery Microblends in their hometowns, Starbucks Reserve has other locally inspired blends that are more widely available in some standard Starbucks. Most of its roasts come from particular regions in coffee-growing countries like Kenya or Vietnam, and they are made to reflect the unique and specific origins of the beans. No matter where you live, Starbucks Reserve can give you a chance to celebrate some hyper-local coffee from all over the globe.