If there’s one thing we love about the Lakeland community, it’s that we’re always down to help out a member of our flock. So when Reader Sandy R. reached out to share the concept of “hanging coffee” with us, our ears perked up.
The tradition can be traced back to Naples, Italy as far back as a century ago, when customers experiencing good fortune would visit their local shop and order a caffe sospeso, or “hanging coffee.” Essentially, customers would pay for hot coffees in advance, and baristas would then make them as needed for other customers who could not pay for one themselves. The practice could also apply to more than coffee — sandwiches, snacks, or other basic necessities could easily be swapped in.
Is this a tradition you’d like to see Lakeland get in on? Tell us which spots you could see incorporating the practice, and we may just share your answers in a future newsletter.
