What will coffee taste like with AI added?

Standing next to a robot coffee kiosk that covers an area of ​​less than 2.5 square meters, the experience of waiting for about a minute for a cup of the "product" of a sophisticated algorithm is not new on the streets of Shanghai. The third Shanghai Coffee Culture Week has lasted for several days, promoting an upsurge in discussions on the "coffee" cultural consumption ecology. In this case, AI (artificial intelligence) coffee seems a bit "anachronistic" due to the limited consumption quantity of coffee itself.

Although the blessing of AI technology can significantly improve the efficiency of coffee production, it also affects the important role of coffee as a medium. Are efficiency and culture a multiple-choice question? Han Feizi, founder of Shanghai Helium Dolphin Robot Technology Co., Ltd. and publisher of COFE Robot Coffee Kiosk, understands it this way: What consumers solve at our location is a "rigid need" problem, which is equivalent to the "unmanned version" of the take-out window of a physical coffee shop. It is believed that the technological changes brought by AI to coffee will form a corresponding scientific and technological innovation culture over time."

"The expression of coffee culture has different aspects." Bao Yaming, executive director of the Urban Cultural Innovation Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, believes that for example, Starbucks focuses on the "third space"; some coffee shops can gather groups with similar interests and hobbies ; Some cafes will express some connections with different historical and cultural scenes, and their main business is nostalgia. "What is currently lacking is future-oriented expression, and it is worth encouraging to give relevant companies a relaxed environment to explore."

"Helium Dolphin Technology" is located in Huayang Road Street, Changning District. The robot coffee kiosk is also a construction project in the "Shanghai Silicon Alley" Science and Technology Innovation District. Zhang Jingchao, the relevant person in charge of the Huayang Road Street Business Office, said that it is a good thing for coffee shops to provide physical space and promote the collision of ideas among scientific and technological workers; on the other hand, it is also crucial to whether technological products can feed back the community, "From From a community perspective, robot coffee is a very practical application scenario for artificial intelligence."

Just need

If AI coffee is currently solving "rigid needs", what percentage does it account for?

Meituan statistics show that Shanghai’s online coffee delivery sales are the highest in the country. As of April this year, in the past year, online coffee takeaway sales in Shanghai have reached more than 2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than 60%. Han Feizi believes that the proportion of takeaways can reflect the proportion of "rigid demand" to a certain extent, which determines the market base of AI coffee.

He believes that there are three dimensions for the development of the coffee industry: One is that when coffee consumption exceeds supply, it will extend to the cultural level to find added value. "This is in line with the development law of the real economy. The coffee economy needs IP or freshness The experience makes up for the shortcomings of the pure product level, that is, product consumption is raised to emotional consumption; the second is to extend to the Internet, artificial intelligence and other technological levels, such as the emergence of AI coffee, which reduces labor costs and greatly improves efficiency; the third is to emphasize the original ecology The craftsmanship of coffee.”

At present, these three dimensions have their own consumer markets, but Han Feizi believes that AI coffee will occupy a larger share of the future market size. "AI is always learning and has the ability to continuously improve the quality of coffee."

However, Bao Yaming believes that as far as the coffee industry is concerned, the understanding of "rigid needs" should be broader for different audience groups: for example, the elderly in Shanghai, the public space provided by cafes can freely choose between socializing and community space Things are different with acquaintances all over. Independent coffee shops may have a small and simple space, but they can allow people to sit down and experience Shanghai with their heart, and this has become a precious and special part of Shanghai coffee culture - "This is also a 'rigid need', a 'rigid need' for the scene. ”

In the eyes of consumers, taste and price determine the quality of what is needed.

After experiencing it, the reporter felt: the taste is okay and the price is relatively affordable. AI empowers the coffee industry, and the underlying logic is to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Han Feizi said that the company’s AI coffee is infinitely close to the taste of basic coffee from mainstream brands on the market, but the price is equivalent to 1/3 of a well-known brand. “The machine can replicate parameter standards such as water temperature and pressure, and the coffee machine’s Calibration, the accuracy of cocoa powder, the content of syrup, etc., and baristas need training and practical training for a considerable period of time to meet the standards.”

But the standard has two sides. In this city with an average of 1.35 coffee shops per square kilometer, in addition to chain brands, boutique and independent coffee shops are also indispensable vitality. For example, on Yuyuan Road in Changning District, many coffee shops regularly launch customized coffee that is popular with customers, which increases the opportunity for personalized selection.

This seems to be the weakness of AI.

Bao Yaming put forward a point of view: With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, AI coffee should better reflect the characteristics of artificial intelligence, such as providing consumers with a greater range of independent choices.

culture

How to reflect the cultural value of coffee?

Bao Yaming believes that the various cafes spread throughout the city are Shanghai’s further expansion of the “third space” theory of cafes and the revitalization of various public space resources in the city such as communities, shopping malls, parks, bookstores, markets, theaters, art galleries, etc. As a starting point, "coffee continues to break through industrial boundaries in its dialogue with modern life and fashion trends, jointly creating creative spaces and composite consumption scenarios, and becoming an important pivot to leverage the experiential consumer market and promote cultural and creative industries."

He believes that AI coffee also has ways to enrich its business formats, such as whether it can carry functions such as intelligent assistance to the elderly and disabled, information release, etc. "Create a community gathering scene around this."

Zhang Jingchao proposed the cultural expression path of AI coffee - a down-to-earth sense of science and technology.

At the end of last year, a science and technology themed exhibition was held in Huayang Road. Some high-tech exhibits had little direct contact with daily life, and residents were not very sensitive to them. On the contrary, products such as robot coffee and AI magic mirror are highly accepted by residents because they are close to daily life. “Especially children, they find it very interesting and have a concrete understanding of artificial intelligence.”

Author: Su Zhan

Editor: Zhou Chen

*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.

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