Last month we reported on a US ballot that would have restricted coffee sales in Berkeley, California to ‘politically correct’ blends. But it seems coffee and politics don’t mix. Voters poured cold water on a ballot measure that would have made their California city the first in the nation to mandate "politically correct" coffee -- deciding nothing should come between a thirsty consumer and a cup of mocha-java.



But with coffee shop owners facing up to six months in jail for selling the wrong brew, city voters soured on the measure and it trailed by almost three to one. The coffee campaign provoked a sharp reaction from major retailers including Starbucks Corp., Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc. and the National Coffee Association, which spent thousands of dollars on mailed pamphlets in an attempt to sway voters their way.