The following is my personal insight into the common threads on how the pernicious virus has propagated from the original source in Wuhan, China. My theory of spread is derived through the lens of the coffee trade. Follow my intuition and observations, if you will. According to medical experts, the bat-hosted virus jumped to a human when a butcher at the Wuhan animal market cut up the flying nocturnal mammal for customer consumption. Inevitable fluid splattering into the face/hands of the "delicacy" preparer allowed the novel virus to jump from animal to human. That initial launch began the distribution of the sickness from the animal market in Chinese city to surrounding province of Hubei with 60.3 million inhabitants. How dit it get transported from there to untraceable initial hot spots like Seattle, WA and New York City? In comes the coffee supply chain theory! It is well known that Starbucks is headquartered in the West Coast bustling city of Seattle. The Chinese culture has embraced the Starbucks signature cafe's throughout its provinces. Unsuspecting customers of the crowded Wuhan market who were likely infected through airborne droplets congregated in the local Starbucks. Cafe employees became receptors of infection while servicing clientele. Starbucks cafe' personnel likely transferred the infection to visiting US headquarter managers who asymptomatically became hosts and disseminated the infection in their Seattle communities where they lived. From China, the spotlight next goes to the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy. I am personally familiar with the espresso coffee machine business in Bergamo, a nearby city to the world fashion center. One of my main espresso machine suppliers until five years ago was located in Bergamo commercial center. The Bergamo producer discontinued making high-end machines back then because he became an important consultant to the emerging Chinese low-end coffee makers. He traveled regularly to that country. I still prefer Italian made cafe' appliances, while scarcely remaining. But, in a role reversal, Italy is now a big market for home espresso makers produced in China. Further east of Bergamo to the city of Trieste is the headquarters of Illy Cafe', a coffee roaster concept analogous to Starbucks, but distributes coffee machines and cups now made in China plus coffee single servings prepared in Italy. Instead of local cafe' shops, Illy produces and distributes cafe' products for home (personal) use in Italy and the rest of the world. Travel to China and back by Illy staffers could have been a likely vehicle for stealthily importing the COVID-19 to the northern Italian regions. "Patient 1" who had social contact with "patient 0" is traced back to the Milan suburbs. First hospital patients appeared in Codogno and Bergamo, both cities in Milan vicinity. These victims are known to have convened in local cafe' bars where space is usually small and socially packed. One main event occurred on February 19, 2020. This was the soccer game championship between Bergamo's team Atalanta and rival Spain's Valencia. The stadium in Milan was packed with endearing fans from both countries who celebrated and hugged with each team's score. Many locals viewed the match on TV in cafe's as an alternative venue. The platform for wide dispersal came together on February 23, 2020, or four days later. According to Bloomberg News, "The two iconic events, (the carnival in Venice and the Milan fashion previews) which drew hundreds of thousands of visitors to the northern Italian cities, were disrupted Sunday by an outbreak of the virus in surrounding regions. The sudden spread since a man sought treatment on Feb. 18 has left Italy with more than 130 cases, the most in Europe." Now we can see two main "coffee-related" virus tracks. On board of the first Orient vector are hosts (asymptomatic Starbucks personnel) of virus returning to US West Coast (Seattle) from China. On second China dispersal course are coffee-trade carriers of disease heading back to Northern Italy and dispersing worldwide as well to US East Coast (New York City fashion center, especially) by way of coffee houses, and consequently, to sports, carnival and fashion show gatherings. Hopefully, this stealth threat to our health will pass quickly as it pervades through all parts of US and the world. Help to break the chain of transmission by socially distancing yourself until its over. Frank Fracasso, Blog Author