A Starbucks in Hong Kong’s financial district allegedly has used water from a bathroom sink to brew its coffee for the last two years, according to a local newspaper report.

The reports said the store had been using tap water from the nearby bathroom five times a day since it opened in October 2011.

A photograph taken by the Hong Kong-based newspaper shows a sign reading “Starbucks Only” attached to the tap near a urinal in the men’s restroom.

The news shocked many customers in Hong Kong and they vented their anger on the cafe’s Facebook page.

One customer said, “Starbucks, you need to make an open declaration that such crap is not repeated anywhere else, and fire the idiot who thought up the water supply ‘solution.’”

But Starbucks spokesperson Wendy Pang explained that “there is no direct water supply to that particular store, that’s why we need to obtain the drinking water from the nearest source in the building,” and added that the water went through a purification process in the shop and would meet the WHO’s standards.



From news reports
(knews@heraldcorp.com)