Leaving a sweet message on a cup of coffee has long been a tradition among baristas, like an painter signing an artwork or a potter stamps their mark on a nice vase.
Often this cup-based message will be as simple as wishing someone a good day to put an extra spring in their step, or even just simply writing someone's name so they don't get mixed up with every other skinny decaf matcha latte.
But one Starbucks barista in Canada may have taken this a step too far, writing a coded message to customer Ari Chance, that left her saying she was 'never going back' to the establishment.
Chance posted a video of the message-bearing-cup to the TikTok channel she shares with her identical twin Noe, revealing the large coffee cup with the words 'SECRET MESSAGE' scrawled on the side.
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A large black arrow was adjoined to these bold words, bringing Chance's attention to the very bottom of the cup where information about ingredients and safety are printed. Presumably, words that no one ever reads.
The barista had circled the first sentence of the small print and blacked out sections of the text. Normally, these words would read: "Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot."
However, in an apparent attempt at flirtation, the Starbucks worker had removed words so that the warning read - 'Careful, you're extremely hot.'
While this subtle attempt at romance could have worked on some, Chance shared her horror at getting an extra splash of passion with her coffee by asking: "What just happened at Starbucks? Never going back there."
But while the Canadian twin was repulsed by the message, many of the 2.9 million people who viewed the TikTok disagreed.
Many thought it was a sweet romantic gesture, or just a cute moment during a mundane part of ordinary life. One remarked, 'That was smooth, not going to lie.'
Another added: "It's cute, girls say guys never do anything. He just put his heart out to you."
But some wondered whether the barista was serving far to smooth a blend of coffee and flirtation, one that may have been perfected over the course of many cups and customers.
One user pointed out: "I'm wondering how many other girls he did that to."
But in the modern world of clout chasing, fake news, and the social media circus, many expressed a healthy dose of skepticism about whether the barista even existed in the first place.
One postulated: "Imagine if she did that by herself just for the TikTok." With others arguing that it was strange for her to have waited until she was in her vehicle to record a video about the allegedly flirty cup.
And with no evidence that a barista had even written it, another said 'She definitely wrote that herself.'
William Morgan