Are robots slowly taking over the world?
It’s no surprise that Korea is home to so many robot baristas. While some of these robo-baristas have been here for some time, the recent coronavirus pandemic has placed them under the limelight again. In a time where human interaction is frowned upon, these robot cafes are being praised for implementing technology to reduce human contact and vector transmissions.
From preparing espresso shots to making hand drip coffee, here are 7 cafes in Korea where you can see these robots in action:
Café A.I
Café A.I, which presumably stands for artificial intelligence, is a minimalistic garden-themed café hidden within the city. Decorated with plants, one can enjoy nature while sipping on a cup of coffee made by their in-house robot barista, Eddy.
The robo-barista’s role here is to prepare the espresso for espresso-based drinks. Putting the drink together is still the barista’s job.
Besides coffee, the café also serves items such as Hong Kong egglets and other pastries.
Café A.I
인천 서구 보석로18번안길 26
Mon-Fri,10am – 9pm, Sat-Sun, 11am-11pm
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cafe_a.i
B;eat by Dalkomm Coffee
B;eat is actually the world’s first 5G robot café, and was first introduced back in 2018 in the Samsung Life Insurance Building in Gangnam, Seoul. Fast forward to Jan 2020, B;eat opened their 60th outlet in Cheonggyecheon’s E-mart.
Unlike the other cafes on this list, b;eat is more of a kiosk and is entirely run by a robo-barista. Orders are made via a self-service kiosk, and the drinks are made by the robo-barista on the spot.
Fun Fact: A b;eat kiosk appeared in tvN’s drama, A Piece of Your Mind, that starred Jung Hae In.
Lounge X
Fans of hand dripped coffee, you can now experience hand drip coffee made by a robot arm. Lounge X’s robot barista, named Baris, focuses on making the hand drip coffee for the café. Lots of research has gone into creating an unbeatable coffee experience. For example, depending on the beans, the drip algorithm used is entirely different.
For now, there are currently 2 main outlets, one in Daejeon and one in Jeju Aewol. The third outlet is currently undergoing renovation and will be opening from July 1st in Gangnam, Seoul.
The Daejeon outlet is a mix of industrial and traditional aesthetics, while the Jeju outlet is more modern, with clean and simple interior.
Lounge X Daejeon
대전 동구 수향길 19
Daily, 11am-9pm
Lounge X Aewol
제주 제주시 애월읍 천덕로 880-24 981파크 A동
Daily, 11am-9pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoungeXofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loungexcafe/
Coffeed Method
Upon entering Coffeed Method, you’ll be greeted by a pair of robot arms that work hand in hand to make your drinks. Besides being a cafe, Coffeed Method is also a bakery that uses Lescure Butter, with amazing pastries such as croissants.
Coffeed Method
서울 강남구 영동대로106길 40
Mon-Fri, 8am-9pm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coffeedmethod_official/
Super Matcha
From the name, you’d know that Super Matcha is a café that well, focuses on Matcha. Unlike the other cafes, Super Matcha’s robot is an arm that whisks matcha.
The café is situated within the Seongsu neighbourhood, a hip and popular neighbourhood where small cafes and restaurants are aplenty. We visited Super Matcha back in Jan 2020 and one of their signature drinks took us by surprise.
Super Matcha
서울 성동구 서울숲6길 19
Daily, 11am-9pm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supermatcha.official/
Bot Bot Bot
Bot Bot Bot is located right beside the famous Café Onion in Seongsu. It is also one of the cafes that relies heavily on robots.
Similar to Lounge X, there is a robot in charge of making drip coffee here. If you’re in the mood for something alcoholic, the Drink Bot can make cocktails for you. Not just that, you can also choose from a range of designs for your cake and the Dessert Bot will replicate it for you on the spot.
Bot Bot Bot
서울 성동구 아차산로9길 8
Daily, 10am-10pm, Closed on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_bot.bot.bot/
Storant
The last robot cafe is Storant, a 24-hr unmanned 2-storey café in Daejeon. The drinks are made by the robo-barista, and there is a robot server that brings your drink to your table. In addition to coffee, the café also serves bread and sweet treats, but everything is self-service.
Storant is also planning to open another outlet in Cheonan, July 2020.
Storant
대전 유성구 문화원로 105 1, 2층
Daily, 24hrs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storant_offical/
While there are many pros to replacing a barista with a robot, we can also imagine the cons. For example, the human touch is almost non-existent in these robot cafes, and you can forget about having conversations with your barista.
Will these robo-baristas will be here for the long run or will it be just a phase? Meanwhile, the robots do have a certain ‘wow’ factor that makes us want to visit these cafes. What do you think? Will we see more of these robot cafes in the future?
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