RC Coffee's robot barista grinds and tamps coffee, foams milk and delivers premium espresso drinks and other hot beverages in less than two minutes.
This week, the company announced the deployment of its second Robo Café location in Toronto at 160 Baldwin St. Another Robo Café can be found at 1235 Bay St. in Yorkville. It was originally dubbed the Dark Horse Espresso Coffee Automat, before rebranding.
Robo Café is powered by technology from RC Coffee's parent company, KioSoft Technologies LLC. Beverage orders can be placed using the kiosk's intuitive touchscreen display or RC Coffee's mobile app. Users can view the inner workings through a clear, plexiglass window, giving full access to the robot arm at work.
Both the Yorkville and Kensington Market kiosks serve Dark Horse specialty coffee, including espresso, cortado, cappuccino, flat white, latte and americano, as well as hot chocolate and chai latte. Decaffeinated and dairy-free oat milk options are also available.
"Robo Cafe makes a phenomenal calibre of coffee served to perfection every time," says Brad Ford, RC Coffee's general manager. "RC's mission is to offer an alternative to the traditional cafe for busy coffee lovers on the go. Our Robo Cafés are fun, dynamic and interactive.
In addition to serving premium coffee beverages, both locations are modern and stylish, featuring bold, yellow Robo Café logos; but the design of each is distinct.
"We have chosen locations for Robo Cafe that have high foot traffic and distinct subcultures, Ford said. "The design of the store is customized to each location's community. The Baldwin St. Robo Cafe design reflects the vibrant, artistic Kensington community and the Yorkville location has a playful, upscale vintage look."
In Yorkville, the Robo Café features sleek walnut-stained wood and a faux mid-century modern cafe created by the Toronto design duo behind the gallery and shop, Mjölk. In Kensington Market, the storefront is cobalt blue with magnified yellow letters and a bright floral design.
The Kensington Robo Café had a soft launch in late June 2021. During the pilot period, 600 free cups were served and hundreds downloaded the app. Customers can find rewards and discounts in the RC app.
RC Coffee is planning a Canada-wide rollout, with another three Toronto locations this summer. These include Church St. and Front St., St. Clair and Yonge, and College St. West in Little Italy.
RC Coffee says it's the showpiece of KioSoft's Coffee Kiosk solution. KioSoft, a leader in unattended management and payment solutions, has been rooted in Canada since 2003, bringing contactless payments to tire inflators and air vacuums at service stations, as well as to car washes and laundromats.
