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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffee Shops, Drinkers Protest Seattle Java Tax
Aired September 08, 2003 - 06:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for some business buzz. Some espresso lovers in Seattle have staged their own version of a Boston Tea Party.
To find out why, let's go to Joya Dass at the Nasdaq market site.
And, Joya, it seems like it's not just the espresso machines steaming in Seattle this morning.
JOYA DASS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: No, we're calling this a Seattle brouhaha, if you will, because coffee lovers and coffee shop owners are protesting something called the coffee tax.
Now the city of Seattle is expected to vote on this 10-cent tax which is going to be added to espresso drinks. Now the proceeds from this particular tax is actually expected to benefit preschool programs and daycare programs. But the protesters here are saying hey, you are hurting the mom and pop shop owners here. And you're also unfairly characterizing espresso drinkers as wealthy folks.
So what they did was they staged their own version of the Boston Tea Party where they dumped burlap bags into the water. The twist here, I guess, is that it wasn't filled with coffee beans but the bags were actually filled with balloons so they could go back and retrieve the bags afterwards. So they are environmentally conscious protesters at the very least.
WHITFIELD: You know we're not going to be wasting good coffee.
DASS: Absolutely not.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Joya. We'll see you again in a bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 8, 2003 - 06:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for some business buzz. Some espresso lovers in Seattle have staged their own version of a Boston Tea Party.
To find out why, let's go to Joya Dass at the Nasdaq market site.
And, Joya, it seems like it's not just the espresso machines steaming in Seattle this morning.
JOYA DASS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: No, we're calling this a Seattle brouhaha, if you will, because coffee lovers and coffee shop owners are protesting something called the coffee tax.
Now the city of Seattle is expected to vote on this 10-cent tax which is going to be added to espresso drinks. Now the proceeds from this particular tax is actually expected to benefit preschool programs and daycare programs. But the protesters here are saying hey, you are hurting the mom and pop shop owners here. And you're also unfairly characterizing espresso drinkers as wealthy folks.
So what they did was they staged their own version of the Boston Tea Party where they dumped burlap bags into the water. The twist here, I guess, is that it wasn't filled with coffee beans but the bags were actually filled with balloons so they could go back and retrieve the bags afterwards. So they are environmentally conscious protesters at the very least.
WHITFIELD: You know we're not going to be wasting good coffee.
DASS: Absolutely not.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Joya. We'll see you again in a bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
