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It began in Naples about 10 years ago and spread to Bulgaria - one of Europe's poorest countries - earlier this year after widespread social unrest. Now Rita Capra and Declan Jacobs want ''suspended coffee'' to become a regular order at cafes in Melbourne and Sydney.
Suspended coffee - ''caffe sospeso'' in Italian - is a cafe variation of ''pay it forward''. The idea is simple: when you order and pay for a coffee, you also order and pay for a ''suspended'' coffee for someone who can't afford to buy one themselves. People who can't afford coffee can go into the cafe and ask if suspended coffees are available.
The idea sparked interest around the world after a post on Facebook before Easter. Declan Jacobs, 50, a manager at a small Prahran telecoms company, was inspired by the Facebook post and set up the Suspended Coffee Society Melbourne Facebook page over Easter. He put up the money to print 200 window stickers and set about recruiting cafes to display them.
''It only takes one person to start something,'' says Mr Jacobs. ''You don't need a corporation on board.''
Mr Jacobs has been in touch with welfare agencies including the Sacred Heart Mission and the Society of St Vincent De Paul to discuss ways of letting needy people know where they can get a suspended coffee. ''Obviously they might not have access to the internet. So we're thinking of providing printed lists to the agencies once cafes sign on,'' he says.
Sacred Heart Mission's Cathy Humphrey notes that a number of cafes around St Kilda are already welcoming some of the people the mission works with. ''There's goodwill in the community to take this up,'' she says. ''It will be important to engage cafe proprietors. Some could be challenged by dealing with people who are experiencing homelessness.''
But, she says, ''People really want to give and contribute. This provides a way for them to do it without making a big deal about it. It's a nice, simple act of kindness.''
One of the first to get on board in Melbourne was Valley Xpresso, which has coffee carts in Lilydale and Woori Yallock on Melbourne's eastern fringe. Valley's Steve Taylor says, ''One of our customers posted the link on our Facebook page and I loved the idea. We do a lot of charity work up here and try to do things at the local level.''
Mr Taylor has donated 20 suspended coffees at each cart to start things off.
''There are housing commission places down the road, and people living in caravan parks because they can't afford anything else,'' he says. ''There are a lot of people who are struggling.
''It's not too much for customers to chip in for one extra coffee a week. I can't see how this won't take off. We're fortunate to be in it in the early days and help get it going.''
Amici Bakery in Prahran has also started by making $100 worth of coffees available.
Mr Jacobs says cafes overseas keep track of the suspended coffees in a variety of ways, including using bottle tops, tickets and boards displaying how many are available. He has also spoken to cafes about the ethics of how you treat the people seeking suspended coffee.
''We need to ensure that the person in need is respected and gets what they want,'' he says.
What about fears that the suspended coffees won't be honoured? ''We have to have trust in the cafe owner,'' says Mr Jacobs. ''But the backlash on social media would be pretty severe if someone cheated.''
