Coffee Shops Get Sexier

At the local coffee shop — a dashed-off Irish Starbucks clone — I am infamous for having asked out every single adorable barrista girl they've ever hired. Though I have nothing but rejection and failed relationships to show for it, I am still well-loved there: a lovely gaggle of giggling girl barristas in tight black t-shirts and jeans have adopted me like a flea-bitten, leg-humping puppy. I drink cappucinos for free at the Coffee Society.

The point is, I'm a sucker for coffee shop girls. And some of Seattle's more risque coffee bars — if franchised out to Dublin — would probably cause me to just drop to the floor in spine-thrashing seizures of pure lust.

At Port Orchard's Natté Latté, baristas sport hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops. Day-of-the-week theme outfits ranging from racy lingerie to "fetish" ensembles are the dress code at Moka Girls Espresso in Auburn and at several Cowgirls Espresso stands in the area. Bikini tops are the special at Café Lorraine on Highway 9 in Woodinville, and the women of The Sweet Spot in Shoreline pose provocatively in Playmate-style profiles on the stand's Web site.

"In this area, we all know how to make good coffee," said Barbara Record, who opened Bikini Espresso in Renton last month. The trick is to set your business apart, she said, and sex is one sure-fire way to do that.

This aphorism, muttered by one customer, has the ring of the Biblical to it in its hidden richness of profound truth: "If I'm going to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, I'm not going to get served by a guy." Amen.

Some coffee stands get steamier [Seattle Times] (thanks Mark)