All-You-Can-Drink Coffee App Fuels Your Addiction via Smartphone

I’ll be the first to admit I have a problem. My affection for coffee has moved beyond love, into lust, and well into dependence. Granted, it’s no longer all that unusual to hear 20-somethings griping about withdrawal symptoms after missing that daily venti peppermint mocha, but apparently, Israel is ahead of the game in this aspect. Specifically, a Tel Aviv start-up company called Cups has recently (finally) debuted an all-you-can-drink coffee app for $45 a month. Too rich for your blood? There’s also a cheaper option: a cup a day for $27 a month. But come on. That’s just insulting.

The Israeli loyalty program, apparently started as a discount service for real addicts, currently includes 55 different cafes in Tel Aviv and Jaffa and is comparable to more inclusive American programs like Belly (albeit more focused in the caffeine sphere). Most of the revenue comes from more occasional coffee drinkers, as subscribers who drop in twice a week are spending just as much money as the guy in the corner who’s been sitting on his laptop since 5 am, refilling his cup at steady thirty-minute intervals.

Co-founder Gilad Rotem explains that Cups is reliant upon both customers (to whom it promises cheaper coffee over time, and more immediate discounts) and local coffee shops . . . to whom it promises information about individual buyers. Which is mad sketchy at first glance, though the company claims to anonymize said information.

And while the Cups app is spreading to other large cities in Israel, it may be some time before the concept reaches America. Still, it’s not a bad way to test its success. True, you really have to commit to get the thing to pay for itself, but with a Starbucks on every corner, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. While you’re waiting, check out the video below to see the app in action. I’ll be over here, buying one-way airline tickets to Tel Aviv.

H/T Fast Company