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Caffeinated Communication

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By JEFF HOUCK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

Scrawled in black Sharpie, the messages of love and support adorn hundreds of white bags of Starbucks coffee in Bob Williams' Wesley Chapel warehouse. (See above item.) Filling a dozen gigantic bins, the mounds of donated bags of coffee, purchased by Starbucks customers as part of a donation effort by franchisees, are shipped to U.S. troops stationed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A cursive message on a bag of Komodo Dragon blend reads, "We are proud of you and are proud of all of you." Another, a house blend of whole-bean coffee, says, "Thank you for all you do. We are grateful." A mild breakfast blend's bag simply pleads, "BE SAFE." There are so many, it would take hours to read them all. The collective emotion behind them is as powerful as the flavor of the coffees. Some even have an e-mail address at the bottom. Williams said two nurses who included their e-mail addresses later wound up marrying the soldiers they corresponded with.

Note to self: Purchase the Web domain CoffeE-Harmony.com.

Jeff Houck

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