About Eckhardt Cafe Art Lounge

English – Chinese Language

We are an advanced coffee solution provider with a high standard in the Eckhard Family tradition. Once building awarded pianos now advancing the way to make one of the best coffees.

Eckhardt Coffee Art is a brand belonging to a German invested Group active in international trade, Brand development and establishing of brands into China Mainland market. Planning to issue an IPO when the time is right.

The name of Eckhardt Coffee is based on a long tradition of the Eckhardt family which reaches back to the 17th century. It became famous for the award-winning development and production of pianos for private and commercial use. The Eckhard Piano brand did win a gold medal at the Paris world exhibition.
In the 1980th the German-based production of Pianos in “Germany” stopped. However, there are still large numbers of Pianos in use all over Europe.

Eckhardt Coffee is directly connected to this quality-orientated family tradition by combining technology with Art. The art of making a high-end barista-quality mug of coffee.

Following the recent policy of the China Government in promoting and developing advanced AI and robot technology to the different industries.

1. The Barista Robot  design concept of our complete set of equipment is  truly combining advanced techniques and techniques of baristas to produce a cup of specialty coffee on the spot, strictly follow the coffee production process, to ensure the pure taste of each cup of coffee

2. Competitors are more just providing automated retailing functions. Those robots out of the coffee-making process, can only help customers to pass a cup of coffee, instead of making a coffee, coffee production is still completed by the automatic coffee machine, taste and technology can not compare with ours;

3. Our device is suitable for unmanned retail application scenarios, from mobile payment to online ordering to AI voice interaction and other functions under development, is a true representative of the future of smart retail pioneer products; There are many competitors products can not achieve truly unmanned, need personnel assistance (for example, some have no order function, some need to manual with filter paper (hand coffee), some require self-service cup and so on); Our system can provide high food safety and hygiene man-less operation. 

4. We fully consider the equipment maintenance and after-sales service needs, The equipment is easy to operate, the internal parts are modular design, easy to disassemble and replace, the robot system has an integrated remote service module. The service team can remotely understand and troubleshoot at any time. In the major cities in the country we have after-sales service points which can respond to after-sales demand at any moment;

5. The team has strong engineering design ability, can meet customers’ customization requirements, including appearance, overall color matching, product customization, etc.

6.Training of service team, marketing and location development plan are a key point of partnership with our clients.

And finally, we provide on top of this a full package of coffee shop interior design and selected coffee with tailored cups and bags to share the power of the brand and promotions. Connected with WeChat and other advanced media to build a solid VIP customer base in all locations

In October 2021 the German TV was showing a report, how in Asia the robots start more and more replacing low paid jobs in the service industry. When several restaurant owners were asked if they could imagine replacing serving staff or coffee making staff with a robot they were rather old fashion thinking and mentioning potential high costs for investment for such robots. However that is, what we call in Germany, a “Milchmädchenrechnung” meaning a not really considering all facts calculation.

No matter where, robots bring increased productivity and quality, and in the COVID 19 times, robots not only mean increased productivity, but also safety and the possibility of contactless service.

The robot – actually just a robot arm – places cups in a Coffee machine and takes them out or taps cold drinks from a tap. If you enter a numeric code on a touchscreen in front of the robot’s housing, it places the corresponding drink on a platform, which then descends to a dispensing slot. If you need help with the order or are looking for a lid for your mug, they are still available at your convenience.

Coffee is becoming a big business in Asia – locals and tourists alike stand in long lines for their favorite beverage. We spoke to several customers at the Eckhardt Coffee Art locations over two days to find out whether the robot experience increased their satisfaction.

The robot barista in Eckhardt Coffee does the same job as a real barista. He grinds Coffee beans, brews Coffee, prepares perfect milk foam, and makes it all nice and sweet with syrups. If you compare the robot café with a traditional coffee machine, it is just like comparing a bicycle with a car. Both have wheels and can drive, but the difference is clear. The robot barista in Eckhardt Coffee works with professional Coffee grinders, machines, and milk frothers. The taste and quality are like in a real café.

Precision and repeatability
 Robot means stability. Regardless of whether it is cappuccino or mocha, early in the morning or midnight, your drink always tastes the same. Today, tomorrow and in two weeks. Wherever a tired or less experienced barista would make mistakes, a robot remains stable and reliable.

The robot barista can make about 400 drinks per day and can work 24/7 without breaks and vacations, sick leaves, or holidays. In addition, the efficiency does not change during the day. The robot never gets tired and stays alert even at the end of the day. It will return your investment in about 6-10 months depending on your location and for sure will be more efficient than low-paid staff trained on the job as in some of the “fast-food style coffee chains.”

The café station will be delivered to the customer in a few weeks after the request. The Eckhardt Coffee product includes not only the robot but all the equipment: the carcass, the Coffee machine, the grinder, the refrigerator, etc. The entire café is collected over three or four days, it only takes 6 square meters and electricity and WIFI. The water is filtered by reverse osmosis process and provides high food safety. So you just need the connection to the central water system. If not available, it can be also attached to the bottle water supply. Thanks to its small area and mobility, the café can be quickly moved to the new location. Whether at the airport or train station, in office buildings, events, or in the supermarket and malls. The little robot café fits everywhere.

And yes. Eckhardt Coffee is contactless. This is valued more than ever nowadays. The robot prepares the Coffee from the first to the last step without human help and hands the cup to the customer. The preparation time depends on the drink but is no longer than 1-2 minutes. The work surface of the robot barista is protected by a 1-meter-high glass pane. In this way, customers can watch the robot at work, and at the same time the safety of the entire process is guaranteed.

It is not the goal to replace the human barista with a machine. The barista has different strengths and tasks than the machine. He can advise customers on decisions and develop new recipes. They are creative. In addition, once a day you need to quickly clean the café, refill containers, etc. This work even allows people without technical experience to be hired.

What customers think of the robot

The answers contain good news and bad news for people, baristas, and customers alike.

• One of our questions was whether the experience was better or worse than a normal Coffee shop. Or: Could you imagine ordering morning Coffee from a robot every day? 
• Does the appearance of robot baristas enable the replacement of humans in foodservice with robots or is it just newsworthy? 
• And most importantly – how does the Coffee taste? 

Most of the visitors were positive about the speed of the transaction at Eckhard Coffee Art. When the line is the shortest, they would like to go back there, some said. A Cappuccino is perfectly made in in less than 50 seconds
Customers liked to watch the robot reach for the mugs - it was more interesting than watching a barista prepare a drink, one of them said.   

On a scale from 1 to 10, the taste of the drinks was mostly rated 7 or higher; 7 and 8 were the most common scores. The robot can give you the same quality every time you take your mug of fresh coffee.

Even so, customers said they enjoyed chatting with the baristas in their regular cafes – they appreciate the fast making of a high-quality coffee with special blended freshly grounded imported beans from Brazil, Ethiopia and Tanzania, fresh milk from Europe and purified water. Made by an Italian style coffee machine and following high standards of hygiene and cleanliness on a permanent basis.

Most of the visitors were positive about the speed of the transaction at Eckhard Coffee Art. When the line is the shortest, they would like to go back there, some said. A Cappuccino is perfectly made in in less than 75 seconds

Customers liked to watch the robot reach for the mugs – it was more interesting than watching a barista prepare a drink, one of them said.

The Eckhardt Coffee Robot is a role model robot for robot baristas, and robot pizza makers and robot chefs will follow in the line of development.

Also, in operation in our Ningbo Eckhardt Coffee Art shop, we are operating a servicing robot that can use the elevator on its own and service the need for drinks and other items delivered to the room of our business center. This way we can provide service to any high-rise office building anywhere in China as well as to any country in the world.

No matter where, robots bring increased productivity and quality, and in the COVID 19 times, robots not only mean increased productivity, but also safety and the possibility of contactless service.