It’s Pranking Time, Coffee Lovers!

Any experienced prankster knows that a good prank, when executed correctly, can be a lighthearted way to bond with friends, family, roommates, and coworkers. If any of those people happen to have a special fondness for coffee, then catching them off guard with a coffee-related goof can be a hilarious and unexpected surprise.

Whether you’re looking for new ideas or just curious to see what others have done, here is our list of the best practical jokes and pranks involving coffee.

Pranks A Lot

Need some ideas to prank the coffee lover in your life? Here are some pranks ranging in levels of mischievousness.

That’s Not Sugar – Most coffee drinkers can’t start their day without a morning java fix. If you know that your pranking victim takes sugar in their coffee, surprise them with this simple practical joke. Just replace the sugar with salt (keeping sugar safe in a container for the meantime), and watch them take a sip of super salty coffee. Just be ready to make them a fresh cup or have a back up coffee ready to make amends.

The Splash Zone – This prank will make a mess and possibly a new enemy, so only do this with someone you know won’t mind too much and who appreciates your devilish sense of humor. Offer to grab a coffee for your pranking prey and with a hole puncher, punch holes around the top of the to-go coffee cup so that it spills on the unsuspecting person who tries to take a drink. Just like with the prank listed above, have a back up coffee ready and maybe a clean, dry towel!

The Fake Out – Spilling a cup of coffee is never a good thing. But spilling coffee on something important or expensive, like a roommate’s high-end stereo system or the stack of important papers on top of your coworker’s desk, is much, much worse. This crafty prank involves a few materials and some time to plan ahead, but the look on your friend’s face will be so worth it! See the tutorial here.

The Hidden Message – This prank would be great for a coworker who always uses the same mug every day. Tape a silly message on the bottom of the cup so when the cup gets tilted up, everyone can see the hidden message underneath. The note could say something that will get other people in the office to react to it, like “Make a funny face at me”. The prank is most effective when it gets multiple people involved and makes the person being pranked wonder why everyone is saying or doing the same thing to them throughout the day.

The Un-Prank Prank

Jimmy Kimmel is the king of viral video pranking, so it’s no surprise the late night talk show host’s love of pranks would eventually enter the world of coffee. Kimmel’s April Fool’s coffee prank from 2015 is great because it shows that sometimes the best pranks are purely psychological, with no actual foul play involved at all.

The video shows people filming their friends and family members, saying “April’s Fools!” as the person takes their first sip of coffee, letting them think their precious beverage has been tampered with.

Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise

To promote the remake of the classic horror movie Carrie in 2013, a coffee shop in New York City’s West Village pranked its patrons into thinking a woman was using telekinesis to throw a man against a wall after he accidentally spilled coffee on her laptop.

Thanks to spring-loaded props, remote controls, a tethered stuntman, and a couple of actors, the prank worked. It even won a gold award in the Key Art Awards theatrical category, as it absolutely terrified everybody else in the cafe.

Prank Aftercare: Keeping the Coffee Lover in Your Life

While pranks can be a fun way to connect with the people in your life, remember to always respect people’s boundaries! It’s important to keep in mind that some practical jokes can have undesired reactions, especially when it comes to a coffee lover’s morning cup of Joe. Use your best judgment and have fun with it!