Luckin Coffee Opens Massive Qingdao Roastery, Claims World’s Largest Roasting Machine

China’s Luckin Coffee has opened a new automated roasting complex in Qingdao, including what the company claims is the world’s largest coffee roasting machine. Announced April 22, the Qingdao roastery project represents a total investment of approximately RMB 3 billion (roughly US$415 million at current exchange) and provides an annual roasting capacity of more than 55,000 metric tons. By comparison, Starbucks has said its York, Pennsylvania, roasting plant roasts up to 3 million pounds of coffee per week , which equates to roughly 70,800 metric tons per year. Luckin described its new plant as housing “the world’s largest single coffee roaster.” The company did not disclose the machine’s specifications or manufacturer, and DCN has not been able to immediately verify the claim. The Qingdao plant is the third of four major roasting facilities in Luckin’s network. It joins a 15,000-ton-capacity plant in Pingnan, Fujian, that opened in 2021 and a 30,000-ton-capacity Kunshan, Jiangsu ...