These machines were delivered to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang and Sungai Buloh Hospital, providing fresh coffee to frontliners who really need them.

And here's the best part: the coffee is free for the heroes.

The coffee machines has been in operations since 14 April and have served more than 12,000 cups of fresh coffee to the frontliners.

Refreshing and safe

The coffee from these coffee machines are not only freshly brewed but also safe – the machine is unmanned and works with no human-to-human contact.

The unmanned “Coffee ATM”, as it's formally called, is a completely automated machine.

After a user selects a drink on the touchscreen panel, a sequence of step run entirely automatically, from cup selection to coffee brewing to dispensing.

This process without human intervention or touching guarantees health and safety, observing social distancing as opposed to traditional barista machines.

The free coffee distribution started after MAEPS was transformed into a quarantine and treatment centre for 600 patients.

MAEPS, as a caring host for wanting to do extra and showing a small act of kindness to our frontliners, met generous small businesses who have made their dreams a reality.

One way to thank the frontliners

MAEPS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zaidi Shahrim said they are honoured to support this initiative by partnering with Coffee Star to provide the heroes in our communities fresh coffees to recharge.

“We are immensely grateful to our health care heroes for the dedication they demonstrate every day to help our city heal, and while no words or acts are sufficient to express the depth of our gratitude, we'd like to show them our thanks through this small act of kindness," he added.

He said that during this crisis, we have seen so many examples of frontliners working around the clock in the most challenging circumstances, sacrificing their family time during Ramadan and Hari Raya for the greater good to keep our communities safe.

"A cup of fresh coffee is not only a useful and refreshing drink for medical staff but also lends a sense of spiritual warmth," Zaidi said.

Meanwhile, Sungai Buloh Hospital Director Dr Kuldip Kaur Prem Singh said the fresh coffee donation will be a welcomed relief for the hundreds of medical staff in our hospital enduring long hours under challenging circumstances.

“We are in uncharted territory, we are so thankful for this kind of compassion and caring initiative, it has never been more welcome.”

“In these trying times, it can be comforting to know that we’re in this together, and hope that this campaign inspires others to give back in any way they can and remember that even the smallest acts of kindness can have a significant impact”, she added.

Coffee Enthusiastic Officer (CEO) of Coffee Star Malaysia Raja Ahmad Fauzan bin Raja Hassan said that the company have tremendous admiration for all of the frontliners fighting in this unprecedented time.

"When we heard that they needed an energy booster to help them through their long days, we were eager to help.

“We experience the impact of coronavirus directly throughout our business locations in airports, shopping malls and office towers. So, we are redeploying our machines from those locations and utilised for a greater good to serve fresh, free coffee to the frontliners.

The machine serves fresh coffee on-demand at the right moment they need it.

“We are honoured to extend our Coffee ATM machines for their usage during this crucial time. Our frontliners have been our nation’s heroes through this pandemic; we are humbled by their service and simply trying to do what we can to provide comfort to them during this time," he said.

"While we can never express the depth of our gratitude, we wanted to offer our sincere thanks for all the caregivers who are working tirelessly on the frontlines and hopefully our fresh coffee could make their days a little brighter. They are truly our heroes," he added.