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Office Perks;

 

Perhaps no perk is as underappreciated as the free coffee that companies provide employees. That may have something to do with the quality of the typical office brew, particularly after it cooks for a while on a warmer. Enter modern technology, in the form of a machine that brews coffee one cup at a time, thereby ensuring freshness.

The manufacturer is Montreal-based Filterfresh Corp., which is entering the U.S. market after having placed more than 140,000 of its coffee makers in Canadian and European offices since 1979. According to the company, the system does more than provide fresh coffee. "The convenience factor really sells it," says Ted Baracos, franchising director. "People don't like to make coffee" in standard coffee machines.

The device is simple to operate: you just push a button, and the machine measures out the ground beans, adds hot water, and draws the brew through a filter into your cup. The catch is the price. Whereas a typical coffee service charges about 8? a cup, Filterfresh coffee costs almost 12? a cup for an office of 100 people, 14? for 50 people, and 18? for 25 people. A coin-box model is available, however.