Time-honored brand rejuvenated with herbal coffee and robot barista

Orion Star's Robotic Coffee Master makes coffee. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Matrimony vine, longans, red jujubes… sounds like the ingredients for herbal tea. However, these will actually be made into coffee as part of a new product line from Tongrentang, China's largest producer of traditional Chinese medicine, to catch up with latest health trends among young people.

With the addition of a robot barista, the Robotic Coffee Master released by Orion Star, the 100-year-old brand hopes to win hearts with three special herbal coffees that use traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients. The three specials belong to the company's tailored autumn health preservation coffee series. 

Thanks to its artificial intelligence, the Robotic Coffee Master can replicate the complex brewing techniques of human baristas, including making curves and spirals, with its two robotic arms. 

Both Tongrentang and Orion Star believe that the latest technology is the best way to adapt to young people's  preferences.