Coffee: Brew for a time of changing taste among consumers

In several sleek gray-and-blue-themed countertops across Beijing, fast-rising internet startup Luckin Coffee offers customers a seamless and unique experience to order a variety of coffee drinks and light snacks. Customers order and pay for their coffee and food through the coffee chain's app - no friendly cashiers available to write your name and add a smiley onto your coffee cups. Neither is cash accepted at the cafes, as baristas solely focus on making drinks orders and efficiently packing deliveries. This is the so-called new retail trend in China, a term coined by Alibaba's Jack Ma for the seamless digitization of logistics and offline and online business.

Also known as Starbucks' closest and fiercest competitor in China, drinks at Luckin Coffee are priced about 6 to 10 yuan ($0.90 to $1.49) lower than Starbucks, hoping to attract new customers and more caffeine lovers to patronize their outlets.

Moreover, it has been offering huge discounts on a regular basis in a bid to gain new customers and retain its current customer base. The company officially launched its business at the start of last year, and aims to open 2,500 new outlets this year to overtake Starbucks with the largest number of outlets in China, according to a Reuters report in January.