Starbucks wants to be fancy again

There was a time when coffee connoisseurs trekked to Starbucks for a cuppa brew considered a bit more drinkable than what they could get at a fast-food restaurant. Then, popularity caused Starbucks to become something of a fast-food restaurant, itself.
 
Now, the ubiquitous coffee chain with more than 21,000 stores wants to reclaim its original cachet as the go-to place for the coffee elite. Last week, Starbucks opened its first "roastery cafe" in Seattle and plans to open 100 more in the next five years.
 
The Reserve cafes will serve small-batch coffees, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. "Coffee masters" will replace baristas and conduct "coffee information sessions" for customers, who can watch as green coffee beans are roasted brown, transported in clear tubes and dumped into transparent coffee silos.

Read more from Bloomberg Businessweek.