Majority of Coffee Drinkers Rate Their Morning Cup as More Important Than Sleep, Food or Proper Hygiene.

Recent Survey Shows 56 Percent of Respondents Would Rather Give up Sleep, Showering, Lunch, Daily News, or Even Brushing Their Teeth Than Start the Day without Coffee

SAN DIEGO -- Two thirds of American adults are coffee drinkers, and nearly half have at least one cup of coffee every day, according to a recent survey commissioned by OnTech Operations, Inc., the market innovator in self-heating coffee. Shining the harsh morning light on our collective addiction, the survey showed a majority of Americans would give up an important part of their daily routine to hold on to their morning coffee. Forty-two percent said they would give up their morning radio, television, or newspaper, and one-fifth said that they would give up lunch. Twelve percent said that they would give up three hours of sleep and 10 percent would be willing to go as far as giving up brushing their teeth. OnTech commissioned the survey on America's coffee drinking personality and habits as part of the launch of its Hillside line of hot beverages including gourmet coffees and lattes, teas, and hot chocolates.

What Does Your Coffee Personality Say About You?

Survey respondents fell into five main coffee personalities: The Social Drinker (33%) who shares coffee as a break with family and friends; The Comfort Lover (24%) who likes to hold a warm drink in their hands; The Coffee Addict (14%) who must have coffee to get through the day; The Task Master (11%) who uses coffee to stay focused; and the Coffee Gourmet (7%) who matches the optimum brew with the perfect meal. The largest group of coffee lovers classified themselves as Social Drinkers. Demographic data revealed social drinkers are most likely to live alone and see coffee breaks as a way to connect outside the home with family and friends. As household size increases, the likelihood of being a Social Drinker decreases.

Younger coffee drinkers are the Task Masters who primarily drink coffee to help them accomplish tasks, according to survey data. More than a third of those age 18-24 (37%) put themselves in this category, while 16 percent of the 25-34 age group also chose this category. Younger drinkers are also driving the flavored and iced coffee craze while older groups said they prefer basic brewed coffee.

Not surprisingly, those who drink five or more cups of coffee per day are the most likely to characterize themselves as Coffee Addicts, with half saying they fall into this category. However, only a quarter of those who drink three to four cups per day classified themselves as addicts.

Although coffee drinkers from most income categories were equally likely to call themselves coffee addicts (around 12%), those from the highest income category were twice as likely to call their love of coffee an addiction.

Making Coffee More Convenient

Coffee could become even more addicting however. One third of coffee drinkers said that they would drink more coffee if it could stay hot longer and a quarter each said that they would drink more coffee if it were more convenient for them to carry with them or if they could fit it into their schedule.

"The survey supported what we already know - on-the-go consumers really want a convenient way to take their coffee with them and enjoy a hot beverage whenever and wherever they choose," said Jonathan Weisz, chief executive officer of OnTech. "We've taken one of American's most loved beverages and added an easy way to heat them anywhere and keep it at the perfect temperature longer, offering a great solution for commuters, sports spectators, and really any active consumers."

Additional key findings from the survey include:

* Men admitted to drinking more coffee than women. On average, men reported drinking about 1.6 cups of coffee per day, while women only reported an average of 1.2 cups per day.

* People from the Northeast report drinking the most coffee of any region, with an average of 1.6 cups per day, as compared to 1.4 cups, 1.3 cups, and 1.2 cups each for the West, North Central, and South regions, respectively.

* The most preferred variety of coffee, by far, is brewed coffee, with more than half of all coffee drinkers (57%) choosing this as their favorite.

* Surprisingly, latte and cappuccino drinks came in a distant second at 12 percent, followed by flavored coffees at 10 percent and iced coffee at only four percent.

About Hillside Self-Heating Beverages

All Hillside beverages come in OnTech designed containers, activated to self-heat by the touch of a button. The beverages are heated to what tests have shown to the be the ideal drinking temperature of 145 degrees in six to eight minutes, remaining hot for up to 30 minutes and warm for up to one hour. Hillside coffees, teas, and hot chocolates are currently available regionally and will be available nationwide by Spring 2007. The suggested retail price is $2.99 per self-heating container.

About OnTech

Headquartered in San Diego, OnTech Operations Inc, is the leading provider of self-heating containers and related technology to food, beverage and other manufacturers. OnTech invented self-heating beverage technology and the company currently holds 102 approved utility patent claims on its beverage container in the U.S. covering all aspects of the technology from the container to the heating mechanism to the venting system. OnTech is now the sole proprietor of Hillside products. For more information on Hillside products or OnTech self-heating technology, visit www.ontech.com.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted on behalf of OnTech Operations, Inc. by the Opinion Research Corporation January 11-14, 2007. Using a random-digit-dial technique, telephone interviews were completed with a nationally representative sample of 1,015 U.S. adults 18 years and older. Most questions were asked only of self-identified coffee drinkers, which represented 65 percent of the sample. Error due to sampling will not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, at a 95 percent confidence level.