China's Robot Cafe Sets Guinness Record by Serving 202 Coffees per Hour, Solving 'Part-Time Staff' Shortage

Chixian Coffee, JD.com's Subsidiary, Launches Robot Café in Beijing

Sets Guinness Record with 202 Cups of Coffee in One Hour

Aims to Open 10,000 Stores in 3 Years with 2 Trillion Won Investment

A cafe in Beijing, China, staffed only by robots and with no human employees, has set a Guinness World Record by serving 202 cups of coffee per hour.

Chinese JD.com-affiliated beverage brand Chixian Coffee opened a 24-hour unmanned robot cafe in Beijing on the 16th. A robot bringing a drink. Official website

On August 18, Yonhap News quoted the online outlet of China Central Television (CCTV), Yangguangwang, reporting that "JD.com-affiliated beverage brand Chixian Coffee opened a 24-hour unmanned robot cafe in Beijing on the 16th." On its opening day, this store attempted the Guinness World Record for "most coffee served by a robot cafe in one hour," achieving 202 cups and receiving recognition on the spot. The speed was less than 20 seconds per cup. On this day, Chixian Coffee live-streamed the robot's beverage-making process for 24 hours, and customers who visited the store were served complimentary robot-made coffee.

The cafe is located in the Galaxy SOHO complex in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Each cup takes less than 30 seconds to make—around 10 seconds for cold drinks and about 15 seconds for hot drinks. The equipment is designed to withstand continuous operation for up to 1,800 servings. In addition to coffee, tea, sparkling water, and lactic acid fruit drinks are also sold all day. There are no employees at the store. All processes—from grinding beans and brewing coffee, to pouring it into cups and moving it to the pick-up storage locker—are performed entirely by robots. Consumers place orders through an unmanned terminal, and a large screen in the store displays the production process in real time.

Customers can adjust sweetness and coffee strength anywhere between 1 and 100, allowing for personalized blends. Chixian Coffee explained, "We have automated the production process by combining JD.com's artificial intelligence (AI) with physical AI technology." The company also plans to introduce a personalized recommendation feature that suggests an appropriate daily caffeine intake by analyzing customer health status using AI.

The push for unmanned operation stems from longstanding industry challenges. Employee turnover is high, leading to frequent new staff training, and there have been ongoing complaints of inconsistency in beverage taste. Increasing demand for 24-hour operation, mainly among late-night and shift workers, was also cited by the company as a reason. Management stated, "By running a 24-hour store without employees, we can maintain consistent coffee quality while also reducing labor costs."

JD.com first unveiled this brand at the "JD Global Technology Explorer Conference" in September last year, announcing plans to invest 10 billion yuan (approximately 2.0947 trillion won) to open 10,000 stores within three years. That November, founder Liu Qiangdong personally declared a distinctive strategy of "using only fresh milk." In January this year, the company opened its first store outside Beijing in Harbin, expanding into regional cities. At the first Tianjin location, which opened in March, the unmanned robot cafe drew attention, with wait times exceeding one hour on opening day.

Meanwhile, by 2025, the Chinese coffee market is expected to reach 217.79 billion yuan (about 45.6205 trillion won), up 13.4% from the previous year, and franchise brands account for nearly 40% of the market. Brands that have surpassed 10,000 stores include Luckin Coffee, Kudi Coffee, Xingyun Coffee, and Nuo Wa Coffee, with Luckin Coffee approaching the 30,000 mark. Starbucks, now in its 26th year in China, operates about 8,000 stores in the country.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.