FOR $45 PER MONTH, ALL THE COFFEE VOU CAN DRINK

New York caffeine junkies, look alive: A new app called CUPS allows subscribers to pay $45 per month for unlimited coffee from almost 40 independent coffee shops around the city.

Designed by a small team from Israel, the app is intended as an alternative to the smartphone loyalty cards offered by the likes of Starbucks (SBUX). "lt's a similar service," says Gilad Rotem, a co-founder of the startup, which is also called CUPS. "We're offering a mobile app, prepaid plan, but it's for independent, higher-quality coffee."

New Yorkers will pay $45 a month for brewed, drip, pour-over, or filtered coffee (or tea). Latte drinkers will pay more: The unlimited espresso subscription costs $85 a month.

Rotem says the prices are equivalent to about 22 cups, or roughly one java beverage per workday per month. On average, Americans consume 1.7 cups of coffee a day, according to Studylogic, which means a CUPS subscription may not be a bad deal. For coffee drinkers with a lower caffeine tolerance, CUPS also offers prepaid package deals for 5, 10, or 20 drinks per month.

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By Caroline Winter - Businessweek- April 15, 2014. Adapted from :

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-15/for-45-per-month-all-the-coffee-you-can-drink