News

Coca-Cola adding flexible tea brewer

October 7, 2009

Coca-Cola Co. continues to develop innovative products for restaurateurs, starting with the field test of its self-service 100-plus flavor Freestyle soft drink fountain. Now the company is testing a machine that can brew more than 18 different kinds of iced tea in select portions, according to a story by Bloomberg. The Flex Fresh makes tea from Coca-Cola's Gold Peak black or green tea leaves and allows users to brew tea by the glass, pitcher or gallon, adding sweeteners and flavors.

From Bloomberg:

"You've had a very primitive sort of brewing process and a lot of waste," Chris Lowe, head of Coca-Cola North America's food service unit, said in an interview Sept. 29 in Atlanta. "With Flex Fresh, it's on demand."

Most Coca-Colacustomers carry one type of iced tea and offer it sweetened or unsweetened, said company spokesman Ray Crockett. Restaurants throw out an estimated 20 percent of the tea they brew, he said.

The Flex Fresh is being used at 40 restaurants. Coca-Cola won't comment on which restaurants are testing the device or how much they'll pay to have one, Crockett said. Testing started in July.