Starbucks is opening premium stores where you can buy coffee flights and cold-brew floats - take a look inside

Melia Robinson/Business Insider

On a recent coffee run in the Bay Area, I learned not all Starbucks stores are created equal.

Most stores make you want to duck in and duck out, with their fluorescent lighting, lack of comfort seating, and swarms of cranky, under-caffeinated customers. A Reserve bar is different.

Last year, the big-box coffee chain announced an expansion of its premium brand, Reserve, with 1,000 new coffee bar locations across the US in 2017. The bars turn the ritual of grabbing a cup of coffee into an experience. Baristas prepare small-batch coffee using a variety of uncommon methods, like siphon brewing. They also sell coffee flights and cold-brew floats.

I visited a Starbucks Reserve bar in Redwood City, California, an outpost of Silicon Valley. Here's what it was like - and what it cost me.