The Coffee War, Part 2

The war is escalating between a coffee-drinking-blogger and an Arlington coffee shop, Murky Coffee (mentioned here on this page on Tuesday) and now the Washington Post is tackling the tale of The Meaning and Service of Coffee vs What A Customer Wants.

I was fairly certain that once this clash hit the internet, Chaos would reign. And I'm not sure if anyone can be declared winner, except for the marketing campaign for Murky Coffee.

The battle began to brew when a customer asked for his espresso to be poured into a cup of ice. Horror and revulsion from the barista followed - and of course Murky's Owner Nicholas Cho launched his own online salvo and the WaPo story dropped some lethal hyperbole ordinance into the fray with their article:

"Since coffee shops are little more than way stations and IV drips for many bloggers, it's not surprising that Simmermon's post quickly made the rounds in cyberspace. Murky's owner, Nicholas Cho, was alerted to the dispute and responded with an open letter on the cafe's Web site ( http://murkycoffee.com). He defended his berated barista, David Flynn, and ticked off a litany of store policies that would have made Seinfeld's Soup Nazi duck for cover:

"'No modifications to the Classic Cappuccino. No questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate (during the months we offer it). No espresso in a to-go cup. No espresso over ice. These are our policies. We have our reasons, and we're happy to share them.'

" 'While I certainly won't bemoan you your right to free-speech," he wrote, "I have to respond to you in your own dialect: [naughty word deleted] you, Jeff Simmermon. Considering your public threat of arson, you'll understand when I say that if you ever show your face at my shop, I'll punch you in your [another naughty word deleted]' "

The online debate rages on:

Coffee Geek
cleanhotdry
Arlington Yelp

One thing new I've learned from all this - The rise of the term "ghetto latte".

Ah, modern American Consumerism.