Coffee In The News - Things People Do for Coffee

Coffee In The News – Things People Do for Coffee

What would you do for your coffee? What does coffee inspire you to do? Grab a cup, sit back and relax and enjoy these stories culled from newspapers around the world of the weird and wacky things that people do for love of coffee.

Thou Shalt Not Come Between Me and Coffee

A gentleman – of sorts – walked into a small grocery in Bethlehem, PA on August 25, 2009. He was wearing a distinctive t-shirt on which was printed on the front a drawing of Jesus and on the back, the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Steal”.

Apparently, however, the Eight Commandment doesn’t apply to a serious coffee addiction. John Luciano, 45, of Bethlehem, was caught on the store’s security camera stuffing a $3.45 can of Maxwell House coffee under his shirt and walking out with it. He was arrested for retail theft and released on his own recognizance. But seriously??Â¦ Maxwell House? He went to jail for Maxwell House? It couldn’t at least have been, you know, Illy Café or Green Mountain Coffee?

Wantin’ a Little More than Coffee

Teofilo Burrell of Wilmington, Delaware apparently wanted a little more than coffee when he was stopping in to the Brew Ha Ha Coffee Shop along his jogging route. The 30 year old man had apparently been stopping in for a morning ritual of coffee and peek-a-boo with the female employees of the coffee shop.

Employees of the coffee shop told police that Burrell had come in every morning of the previous 10 days and exposed himself to them through a rip in his spandex jogging pants. He was arrested and charged with two counts of harassment, two counts of lewdness and one count of indecent exposure, and released on $5,000 cash bail.

I’ll Boil It Myself if I Have To!

When a water contamination problem in Gloucester, MA, pushed local health officials to issue a boil order for all water in town, coffee shop owners had to make a decision. Most modern coffee shop equipment has piped in water direct from the plumbing – and coffee machines are usually calibrated to heat water to between 195 F. and 198 F. and keep it at that temperature throughout the brewing process. Unfortunately, that doesn’t comply with the order from the Health Department to boil water used in food or beverage for at least 5 minutes.

Most coffee shops decided to keep their doors closed, including the five Dunkin Donuts shops in town, where owner Deo Braga says he’ll lose about $150,000 over the five days closure. There were a couple of exceptions, though. Jim Santo, owner of Jim’s Bagel and Bake Shoppe, got his equipment supplier on the phone and had the guy hunt down an old-fashioned pour-over coffee machine so that he could make coffee with boiled water. And over at Pleasant St. Tea Company, manager Allison Varga has been serving all coffee and brewed beverages in French presses to keep up with the coffee demands.