Suspended Coffees
Paying it forward … anonymously
Caffè sospeso (Italian for “suspended coffee”) is a cup of coffee paid for in advance by a cafe patron as an anonymous act of charity … paying it forward.
The tradition had its genesis in the working-class cafes of Naples, where someone who had experienced good luck, or just felt like it, might order a sospeso, paying the price of two coffees but receiving and consuming only one. The receipt for the second cup would be pinned to a board or stored in a jar … ready for redemption down the track.
A person – not necessarily, but often, poor – enquiring later whether there was a sospeso available would then be served a coffee for free.
The beautiful thing about this random act of kindness is that the donors and recipients remain completely anonymous to one another, and the recipients are always treated with dignity.
A 2008 article in the Italian Corriere della Sera reported the tradition had potentially become obsolete, the reporter having visited three bars where it had not been observed for at least 15 years. But the idea enjoyed a revival in 2011 with several small Italian festivals forming a Suspended Coffee Network to encourage solidarity in response to cultural budget cuts.
Then, in 2013, along came a young Irishman, John Sweeney. After learning about the caffè sospeso tradition, he was inspired to found a suspended coffees “movement”. He did this by creating a “Suspended Coffees” Facebook page with a mission “to bring communities together in hope, to inspire and empower people to change lives, and to restore faith in humanity”.
By 2015 this had led to the purchase of 15 million coffees worldwide.
In a 2024 conversation with Chris Anderson, the Head of TED [RR1:79], Sweeney reported that although the number of registered cafes adopting the system was officially 2,000, some research was indicating an actual take up of over 10 times that number, located throughout 54 countries. As of 2025, the movement’s Facebook page has 532,000 followers. Hooray for that good idea!
Sweeney receives daily messages of appreciation from both cafe owners and suspended coffee recipients. Win-win.
The Generous Coffee Shop in Denver, Colorado, takes the concept a step further. As customers enter the cafe, they are greeted with a large bulletin board arrayed with hundreds of handwritten credit notes:
TO: A newly single mom. You got this. FROM: A single mom ($10)
TO: Someone studying for the bar exam. FROM: Someone doing the same ($5)
TO: Stranger with a broken heart. FROM: Soren and Ellie ($6)
TO: Someone struggling with their new business. FROM: Someone who has made it (it gets better!) ($6)
That represents a bit of a break from the anonymity idea … but is heart-warming nonetheless.
Finally, have a listen on Spotify HERE to “The TED Interview” of Sweeney speaking with Chris Anderson about the power of random acts of kindness, the beauty of gifting economies and how the philosophy of generosity can really make a difference to communities.
Video
Interview
Book Chapter
