Hong Kong coffee innovator taps into technology for barista-free brews

Butter Bar has a distinctly warm aesthetic: soft wooden furniture, pale yellow walls and huge windows that fold all the way open, transforming the space into an airy open patio. The sunlight turns the air a honey colour. Right at the entrance to the spacious cafe in Sai Kung sits a sleek, futuristic contraption that, oddly enough, does not feel out of place at all. “Do you want a coffee?” Cynthia Lok reaches out and taps the touch screen monitor. Somewhere inside the machine, a pump stirs to...