The Rise of Bubble Tea Robots

Posted on Nov 30, 2020

Bubble tea robots can make at least 8 types of drinks with at least 40 variations based on the customers' preferences with specific regard to the varying amounts of ice and sugar. It was reported that each drink takes about an average of 90 seconds to make with a bubble tea robot. Bubble tea robots are incorporated with advanced technologies which have been a part of the smart-store initiative, making use of QR codes, intelligent pick-up lockers, and robotic tea mixers.

About Bubble Tea Robot

Bubble tea is a popular drink among the hand-shaken drink market. In today's world, a subpar hand-shaken drink can be frustrating if it has too much sugar, too little ice cubes, too little tapioca, or tastes too watered down. To eliminate the inconsistency mentioned above, bubble tea robots have been created so that exceptional bubble tea can be crafted consistently and conveniently.

Bubble tea robots can make at least 8 types of drinks with at least 40 variations based on the customers' preferences with specific regard to the varying amounts of ice and sugar. It was reported that each drink takes about an average of 90 seconds to make with a bubble tea robot. Besides bubble tea robots, there are more and more types of beverage robots invented as time goes by.

Bubble tea robots are incorporated with advanced technologies which have been a part of the smart-store initiative, making use of QR codes, intelligent pick-up lockers, and robotic tea mixers. They are a new innovation that brings a new phenomenon to the tea sectors, which allows tea merchants to rethink how they sell and engage with customers.


Why Are Bubble Tea Robots Created

The concept of smart stores is nothing. It uses smart technologies like smart shelves, automated machinery, smart carts, etc. Smart stores usually deliver their service via the web, smartphone apps, and augmented reality applications in an unmanned setting.

As the food industry has started to implement the idea of smart stores and automated services, so has the tea and beverage industry. Traditionally, hand-shaken drinks including bubble have always been made manually. Every tea shop has to be equipped with a handful of clerks who specialize in making bubble drinks, ringing up sales, and even delivering drinks to the intended location.

These clerks would need to have all the drink recipes memorized in mind while being able to make adjustments (such as the different amounts of ice and sugar) based on customer preference.

However, the trend of low birthrate (at least in Asian countries), the economic landscape of the food and beverage service industry has been negatively impacted by the lack of manpower. It is no longer an easy task to look for stable employees and retaining workers while keeping them trained becomes a double challenge. This is why the idea of smart stores will gradually become accepted and implemented globally.

With specific respect to the bubble tea sectors, automating the tea-making process will become an inevitable trend. This is why a handful of companies have started to develop robotic arms that are used to make quality bubble tea to cope with the inevitable progression of the beverage industry.

Customers will still be able to enjoy a cup of hot bubble tea with their desired drink preference fulfilled by the advanced technology of bubble tea robots.

 

:: Read More: What Is a Robot Coffee Shop?
 

The Benefit of Bubble Tea Robot

As mentioned above, bubble tea robots are specifically designed to make and shake a fresh cup of bubble milk tea which has now been purchasable in the market. These bubble tea-making machines aim to ensure consistent quality of some of the most popular drinks in the world and happy customers.

One of the biggest headaches for the traditional bubble tea vendor is that the drinks have to be shaken thoroughly and evenly so that the powder is completely dissolved into the drinks.

This could be both exhausting and time-consuming at times, which is why food machinery specialists (or manufacturers) have worked closely with the local government and bubble tea material suppliers to develop a robot that is an "expert" at making well-shaken bubble tea with sugar and chewy tapioca pearls.

These robots are able to vigorously shake a cup of bubble milk tea in about 30 to 40 seconds until the drink becomes well-shaken, ensuring optimal efficiency. It has been said that these bubble tea-making machines can help shake up to 100 cups per hour.

However, unlike the regular unmanned smart store regime, each cup of bubble tea cannot be 100% crafted by the robot. You still require someone to cook the tea and tapioca pearls before the robot can proceed to the mixing and shaking procedure which is carried out by the robotic arm.

This however leads to another advantage in the sense that people will not lose jobs simply with the existence of bubble tea robots as it still requires specialized personnel to operate them. Lastly, once these bubble tea robots become more widely deployed worldwide, it could stimulate the exports of Taiwanese bubble tea drinks and promotes the country’s unique tea culture to the world.

 

What Other Impacts Do Bubble Tea Robots Have

It is no doubted that the prospect of popularization of bubble tea robots could potentially lead to fewer job opportunities in the food and beverage industries. However, these robots can also be a lifesaver for countries that are facing a labor shortage.

Taking Hong Kong as an example, the low pay and long working hours associated with working in the local tea shops or restaurants are not the Hong Kong youngsters’ “cup of tea” these days.

Along with the rising rents over the years, people are less inclined to take up a job in the local hospitality industry. In such an event, automating the tea-making process may offset the lack of labor power to some extent. But vendors may still face the challenge of how drinks crafted by robots can match the quality of a human tea maker consistently.
 

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