An automatic matcha machine has been launched in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, drawing interest from Chinese tea lovers.

It usually takes a skilled tea artist about 5 to 7 minutes to make a refined cup of matcha using traditional methods. The newly-developed machine enables regular people to make a refined cup of matcha in just 2 minutes.

The machine, which uses capsuled tea powder, can make a tea soup with a fine foam and creamy texture. It can also automatically add milk to create a matcha latte, according to Shi Hongxin, president of Hangzhou Jingshan Tea Development Co., Ltd, developer of the machine.

The millennium-old Jingshan tea ceremony has been added to the national intangible cultural heritage list and the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, and it is believed to be the origin of the Japanese Sado.

Shi said that the machine is a new attempt to inherit and promote tea culture among the younger generation, with the aspiration that matcha could hopefully become the "oriental coffee."