On Fri., Nov. 15 the world’s largest Starbucks opened up in downtown Chicago. Located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, around 1,000 people waited outside in the line, anxious to try out the coffee and experience the well-awaited roastery.

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery has a total of four floors, with cafes on each floor full of homemade pastries and freshly roasted coffee. The aesthetic of the roastery is perfect, with Starbucks merch on almost every floor. The products they sold included coffee cups, key chains, tops, bags, and coffee mugs. The store was easy to navigate with two gold elevators, a staircase, and escalators that wrapped around the front of the store.

The line outside the store; however, was shockingly long as it wrapped around the block of the store. Since it was only the second day of the roastery’s opening, the crowds were pretty long and there was no room inside if everyone went in at once. The people working the flow of the line outside made sure they weren’t blocking off the hotel entrance of the hotel next door, the Conrad, and split up the line into sections.

When I first arrived there with my friend, to wait in the line would’ve been about an hour and a half. My friend and I then came there later at around 7:00 pm and the line moved by quickly as time passed and it only took us 40 minutes to wait to get inside.

Inside the roastery, the employees each wore matching uniforms with the same hats. On each floor, there were different outfits that the employees all wore together to help you differentiate between the floors and which workers specialized in the products that were sold. For example, on the second floor, the bakers by the cafe would wear white hats with white shirts and grey aprons.

All the employees were extremely nice and welcomed you into the roastery. When I went in, they greeted me and held the doors for everyone walking in and out. While the menus were a little different with fewer drinks than your typical Starbucks has, the employees made sure to answer any questions you might have and help you out.

The drink that I ordered was a tall dark chocolate mocha which cost around seven dollars. I admit, it’s a lot of money for a small coffee but it was worth it. The barista even made a heart design on the coffee when I first got mine.

The pastries and desserts offered on each floor are homemade and delicious, with croissants, tiramisu, Nutella chocolate muffins, Princi baked goods, and more to go perfectly with your cup of freshly roasted coffee. While there are cafes on each floor, the fourth floor is the cocktail bar which serves alcoholic drinks as well as a bar on the third floor.

The view on each floor of the roastery was amazing, you could see most of the Magnificent Mile of Chicago and even sit by the windows with your coffee in hand and lounge on the chairs and decor. The city vibe mixed with the best coffee in the world made me feel at peace and happiness. If you’re ever Downtown with friends, I highly recommend trying out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery even though it might be a little pricey. Overall, I would give the world’s largest Starbucks a ten out of ten because of the pleasing aesthetic and joy that the coffee and place itself brought to me.