A strange tale out of Provo Canyon, Utah, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney chose not to tip his Borders Cafe barista, and instead offered her the rest of his half-guzzled hot chocolate. Blogs are buzzing! Baristas the world over are beefing! Seattle’s very own The Stranger may not have a coffee columnist, but for today their “Slog” blog is a font of frothy gossip:

On their way out, Anne throws away her half-consumed hot chocolate, but Mitt approaches the counter.ย “I know you guys can’t sell this again, but I was wondering if one of you guys wanted the rest of my hot chocolate?”

advert but first coffee cookbook now available

 

“No thanks,” one of the other baristas told him, wondering if this was some sort of bizarre joke.

“I don’t want to waste it, there’s still plenty left, it’s still perfectly good…”

The news was first reported by a normally satirical blog, The Jesus’ General, but that mean old General is dead serious about this gaffe. His brother (allegedly) saw the whole thing!

“I think the important part of this story isn’t the tipping,”ย my brother explained.ย “It’s that he doesn’t understand that everyone else is throwing their unused drinks away because they understand that it’s against social norms.ย His germs are on it, but somehow, in his mind, his millionaire saliva is good enough that it shouldn’t bother a barista of the serving class.”

 

New Rules of Coffee banner advertising an illustrated guide to the essential rules for enjoying coffee