I went to a 25,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve in Italy and it was unlike any coffee shop I've seen before. Take a look inside.

Starbucks gave me my first taste of coffee back in seventh grade. I remember taking a sip of that initial Caramel Frappuccino and being excitedly overwhelmed by the sweet, frozen taste and the marveling effects of caffeine.

Since then, I've visited everything from my neighborhood Starbucks when I need a quick caffeine fix to trying an outpost on the world's largest cruise ship.

Starbucks is now so prevalent, it's found all over the US and in 80 other countries.

Since every Starbucks I've been to has looked nearly identical, it wasn't initially on my radar to visit when I planned a recent trip to Europe.

But then I learned about the Starbucks Roastery Reserve in Milan, Italy, which is one of six Starbucks reserves around the world. Reserves, also found in Seattle, Shanghai, New York, Tokyo, and Chicago, offer menu items that regular Starbucks locations don't have, as well as an inside look at how coffee is made.

I thought it was the most unique coffee shop I'd ever been to, located inside a historic building with a massive, stunning interior, and huge machines for roasting and degassing coffee beans. Here's a closer look.

Unlike your regular Starbucks cafe, all Starbucks Roastery Reserves house a coffee roasting plant on-site.

Customers can view the entire manufacturing site inside these stores. For example, in Milan, I was able to walk around and have a view of every part of the coffee roasting process — from bean to cup.

Starbucks Reserves also offer so much more than an inside look into the coffee roasting process. At Milan's reserve location, there's a scooping bar where customers can get a fresh batch of beans to go, plus three bars where customers can order pizza, cocktails, pastries, breakfast, and of course, coffee.

The Reserve aims to appeal to tourists and locals by giving them a unique experience, according to a Starbucks press release.

"During my first trip to Milan in 1983, I was captivated by the moments of human connection that passed so freely and genuinely between baristas and their customers," Howard Schultz said of Milan's espresso bars in the same press release.

The Starbucks Roastery Reserve is located inside Milan's Palazzo Delle Poste building, a former post office built in 1901, Italy Magazine reported. It opened in 2018 and was the first-ever Starbucks location in Italy, according to the same source.

To me, the outside of the building didn't look like a Starbucks, which I normally recognize by a dark green awning. I thought the Reserve's historic and intricate facade was more elegant than the outside of other Starbucks locations I've visited. If I didn't know it was a Starbucks, I would have guessed it was a museum or library.

Starbucks calls its Milan location "the most beautiful Starbucks in the world," Insider previously reported.

I thought the terrace was lush with green plants and matching tables and chairs. I noticed huge, bronze bird cages hanging over some of the seating areas, which I haven't seen at any other coffee shops.

Milan was cold when I visited, but on a warmer day, I would have taken my drinks and snacks outside to enjoy the terrace.

As I stepped inside, I was mesmerized right away by the vibrant mosaic tiles on the floor, which were made of marble, according to Starbucks. The flooring was handcrafted and inspired by Palladianan architecture, a 1500s style with classical and symmetrical elements, according to Britannica.

When I visited, the Reserve was bustling with customers shopping, drinking, and working on their laptops in the many seating areas.

In front of me, I saw more merchandise for sale than I've seen at any other Starbucks. Near the entrance, tables of cups, mugs, and coffee makers stood next to racks of Starbucks-themed clothing.

In addition to pre-packed bags of coffee as is typically seen in most Starbucks locations, the Reserve has a scooping bar where customers can select fresh coffee beans to take home. According to Starbucks, the baristas serving the scooped bags of coffee can help you pick a roast based on the bean's flavor profile and your personal tastes.

The Reserve has Arabica coffees at the scooping bar, which come from rare, high-quality beans sourced in more than 30 countries, according to Starbucks. Starbucks' team of coffee quality experts pick the beans based on their unique taste profiles, according to the same source.

Everyday at the reserve, roasters turn these beans into coffee, Starbucks reports.

As I explored the first floor, I saw the Main Bar, which serves pastries and an array of coffee drinks.

Inspired by Milan's famed espresso bars, it has a marble countertop that is sourced from quarries in Tuscany, according to Starbucks. This separates the baristas from the customers waiting to order their drinks. Hundreds of baristas work at the Reserve, Insider previously reported.

When I visited, the Main Bar was the most crowded area in the store, with a long line of customers waiting to order and people enjoying drinks in the nearby seating areas.

The reserve serves many food products by Princi, a line of pastry stores started by Italian baker Rocco Princi.

The Reserve's pizza is made in a Princi oven, which is a wood-fired oven made of brick and limestone, according to Starbucks. The oven radiates heat into the dough using indirect fire, according to the same source.

I was certainly surprised to see pizza on the menu at a Starbucks, but I visited for breakfast, so I didn't have the appetite for one. Next time I'm in Milan, I'll try a slice or two.

Starbucks Reserve gives customers a complete look at the science of roasting coffee in Milan.

The coffee roasting process begins with pouring burlap sacks of beans into the green-colored Scolari roaster, which is a nod to the iconic green label for the Starbucks Reserve Ethiopia Mountain Farm coffee, according to the Starbucks website.

I thought getting a peek at the roasting process was fascinating. The scent of freshly roasted beans filled the air, which made me crave a coffee drink myself.

The roaster heats the beans for 11-15 minutes, according to Starbucks. Within the first 5-7 minutes, the beans pop for the first time, doubling in size. The second time the beans pop signals that they have reached their full flavor potential and are ready to be released into the roaster's cooling tray, according to the same source.

The Scolari roaster runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, a representative from Starbucks told Insider.

Before the beans are ready for packaging, they rest inside a large brass cask, which releases gas inside the beans by unfolding and rotating every so often, according to Starbucks.

This step makes the coffee taste better, according to the same source.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see the cask rotate during my visit.

When the roasted, rested coffee beans are ready to be served and packaged, they move through copper pipes that lead to silos at each coffee bar, according to Starbucks, although I didn't get a chance to see this while I was there.

The beans are they then stored in the silos until they're ready to be distributed to be used at the Scooping Bar, the Main Bar, and the Arriviamo Bar, where cocktails are served.

From there, they are used to make fresh coffee for Reserve guests and packaged to be distributed throughout Starbucks locations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, according to the same source.

The tradition of the Italian aperitivo, which are small dishes and cocktails served in the early evening, inspired the Arriviamo Bar on the Reserve's second floor, according to Starbucks. This bar only serves cocktails, a representative from Starbucks told Insider.

The menu has more than 100 alcoholic beverages including original creations, like matcha combined with tequila, and Italian classics, like the Aperol spritz, according to the same source.

There were tables and chairs up here too, and I noticed that some were reserved. I learned by calling the Arriviamo Bar that customers can reserve tables.

On the menu, I saw no frappuccinos listed. Instead, the roastery serves 115 unique coffee drinks crafted by hundreds of baristas using seven different brewing methods from pour-over to espresso, according to Starbucks.

As I waited in line for about 15 minutes to order, I scanned the large menu and was overwhelmed with choices.

The menu at the Main Bar was vast. I saw that they had sweet espresso drinks, like smoked butterscotch and pistachio praline lattes, as well as teas and coffee, brewed seven different ways, including pour-over, Chemex, french press, and cold brew.

The coffees were available on their own or in flights so customers could try and compare different drinks.

Along the counter of the Main Bar, I also marveled at the glass case full of pastries from breads and cakes to cinnamon rolls and cream puffs. According to Starbucks, these desserts are baked fresh daily using local ingredients.

The pastries are products of Princi, which started in Milan and has locations in Chicago, Seattle, New York City, Tokyo, Kuwait, and Shanghai, according to their website.

Affogato is a dessert coffee drink with espresso poured over a scoop of ice cream or gelato, according to Food Network.

Italian food writer Anna Del Conte called affogato "one of Italy's most delectable modern dishes" in her book "Gastronomy of Italy," The New York Times reported. According to the same article, affogato can be made with chocolate, vanilla, dulce de leche, or cherry amaretto ice cream.

At the main bar, fresh gelato is made for each order, according to Starbucks. The Reserve collaborated with Italian gelato artisan Alberto Marchetti to create a nitrogen-infused gelato, according to the extensive menu.

The cold brew flight came with three drinks: a lemon sour, an Aransia Rossa, and a nitro cold brew. Served in glasses with garnishes, I thought they looked more like cocktails than coffee drinks.

The cold brew lemon sour was coffee mixed with maple syrup and fresh lemon with a cherry and a lemon peel for garnish. I've never had a lemon coffee drink before and was initially reluctant to try it since it sounded like two clashing flavors to me. But I was curious and went for it.

When I took a sip, I thought it was delicious and surprisingly didn't taste like coffee at all. To me, it tasted more like a citrus juice. I thought the sourness of the lemon cut the bitterness of the coffee, resulting in a refreshing, tangy flavor.

Moving onto the cold brew Aransia Rossa, it consisted of a sweetened cold brew, blood orange, and orange juice over ice with an orange peel for garnish. I was skeptical of this drink, too, but after trying the lemon sour, I was optimistic about how it would taste. I thought this drink was light and refreshing with a soft, fruity, floral flavor.

Finally, the nitro cold brew was infused with nitrogen to bring out the coffee's sweet flavor. I'd had a nitro cold brew before, so I wasn't surprised by its taste. I thought it was light with a hint of wood in flavor. Like other nitro cold brews I've had, I thought it went down easy with less bitterness than a typical coffee.

Next, I tried the cafe gelato shake made with espresso and vanilla gelato using the Affogato machine. It was easily my favorite drink of the bunch.

I found it to be light and creamy with a strong vanilla bean flavor complimenting the coffee taste. I thought the fresh gelato made it fluffier than other shakes I've had.

Of all the drinks I ordered, the shake is the one I'd order again.

I love cinnamon rolls. It's my go-to order at bakeries, and the Reserve's cinnamon roll was one of the best I've had. I thought it wasn't too sweet, as I find many cinnamon rolls are. It was light and flaky on the outside and fluffy on the inside, in my opinion.

I thought the black forest cake was good, too. Consisting of chocolate cake and Chantilly cream, I thought the light sweetness of the cream complimented the rich chocolate flavor.

But if I had to choose one to order again, it would absolutely be the cinnamon roll.

The New York Reserve Roastery is in the city's Meatpacking district and serves unique drinks as well as pastries by Princi. Another reserve location opened in New York's Empire State Building on November 16 and sells brand new coffee concoctions, Insider reported.

After trying the Starbucks Roastery Reserve in Milan, I'm looking forward to visiting these two locations in my city to see how they compare; although I can't imagine that they're as beautiful as the one in Italy.