Coffee Canteen at AEG (1909) Some large businesses provided workers with subsidized meals and housing. This canteen in the large-machine factory [Großmaschinenfabrik] of the AEG [Allgemeine Elektizitäts-Gesellschaft or General Electric Company] provided coffee for the entire workforce. The woman on the left measures out beans from a sack; the woman on the right checks one of many large vats of coffee.