What the coffee machine name debate misses about Luckin's tea brewers

Luckin Coffee rolled out tea extraction machines nationwide after piloting them in Guangzhou stores since December, but many units now sit wrapped in cling film with "do not use" stickers. Staff call the device good-looking but useless, saying it needs front and back disinfection and dries slowly, extracts only one tea type per cycle, and adds workload rather than replacing the tea powder used in light milk tea.

Unlike a routine coffee machine name question about how to work a coffee pot, the rollout followed counter wiring changes and reserved spots arranged by engineers before machines shipped, so stores could install them the same day. Management still requires use, yet some employees switch the units on at shift start and off at shift end to satisfy backend monitoring, leaving the equipment as counter decoration.

Since December last year, Luckin has piloted a tea extraction machine in some Guangzhou stores, planning to replace the tea powder used in light milk tea with freshly brewed hot tea to improve the taste and health attributes of its drinks. However, since the testing stage, this device has been ridiculed by store staff as "good-looking but useless." Now that it is being rolled out across the country, many stores have wrapped it in plastic film and slapped "do not use" stickers on it, turning it directly into an idle ornament on the counter. Staff report that it is tedious to clean and inefficient, actually increasing their workload. Although management requires its use, frontline employees still deal with backend monitoring by simply "turning it on at the start of the shift and off at the end." This article reviews the various practical dilemmas encountered during the tea extraction machine's journey from pilot to rollout, as well as the tug-of-war between the brand and its stores.

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In December last year, Luckin stores in Guangzhou took the lead in introducing the tea extraction machine, and it was reported that the brand planned to replace the tea powder used in light milk tea with hot tea brewed from tea leaves, thereby optimizing drink flavor and letting customers drink more healthily.

It is worth mentioning that during in-store testing, this tea extraction machine was sharply criticized by Guangzhou staff, who called it "good-looking but useless." One employee listed in detail the various drawbacks of this tea machine that takes up counter space, such as needing to be disinfected and dried on both the front and back, and being able to extract only one type of tea liquid per cycle, and bluntly said, "Brewing tea ourselves is actually more efficient."

Although some employees have tested the tea extraction machine and given their real user feedback, these responses seem not to have stopped the brand from continuing to invest in the equipment, and new machines have recently continued to appear in stores across the country.

Some staff revealed that before Luckin planned to roll out the tea extraction machine nationwide, it had already arranged for engineers to visit stores to modify the counter wiring, reserving a spot in advance for this device. Therefore, after receiving the package, most stores could move it onto the counter the same day and put it into use after cleaning and sanitizing it.

However, while some people were busy unboxing and installing the new equipment, the first wave of workers who "ate the crab" said their tea extraction machines had already become an ornament on the counter. From photos posted by employees, the conspicuous "big guy" inside the counter is wrapped layer upon layer in plastic film and also has a "do not use" sticker attached, quietly occupying a spot on the work counter.

The brand spent money on new equipment and delivered it to stores, yet it is unwelcome among workers, which genuinely puzzles onlookers. But staff explained that for them, this tea extraction machine is not the helpful assistant the public assumes, but an extra cleaning task. "How is this launching a tea extraction machine? It's launching an SM assignment." "I really hate that there's another hygiene task." "How many more opportunity points is this going to add?"

Moreover, most employees who have tried the machine report that the device actually cannot help much with daily work and instead increases the workload. Therefore, many stores that have already received the equipment either "hog-tie" it with plastic film or simply throw it into the warehouse, saying outright that they do not plan to use the tea extraction machine allocated by the brand.

However, because Luckin's management requirements differ by region, some stores were told that after receiving the machine they could choose whether to use it based on order conditions or seal it up in the warehouse, while some stores were forcibly required to install and use it overnight after receiving it.

But employees revealed that although their stores are required by management to use the tea extraction machine placed on the counter, they have their own countermeasures for top-down policies. Normally, they just turn it on at the start of the shift and off at the end to satisfy the backend's device online monitoring, and do not actually need to use this device to brew the tea liquid used every day.

It cannot be denied that if the tea extraction machine appears in some stores handling a thousand orders, it might play a slight role, so that workers do not run out of tea during peak order periods. But for the vast majority of stores with average order volumes, this new device is more like a burden on the counter. Not only does it provide no help at all, but it also makes the already small counter look unbearably crowded.

However, whether it is workers' sharp complaints or objective statements of the actual situation, the brand probably remains unmoved. The trend of popularizing the tea extraction machine nationwide will not stop, and the situation of offline stores having one more useless counter ornament may only become more and more common.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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