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Coffee Tips

Coffee Tips is a friendlier flavor of Donation Mode built for creators, streamers, open-source maintainers, and anyone who wants small, casual support instead of a formal “donate” ask. Instead of typing a random amount, supporters pick a drink from a menu — an Espresso, a Latte, a Cappuccino — and it shows up in a public feed as “Alex bought a Cappuccino”.
Coffee Tips is a style switch inside Donation Mode, not a separate product or page type. Everything from your PayRequest Page — your avatar, tagline, and accent color — stays exactly as it is; only the tipping experience changes.

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Overview

A Real Drinks Menu

Pick from 8 ready-made drinks (Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino, Latte, Mocha, Iced Coffee, Hot Chocolate, and plain Coffee), each with its own fixed price and a hand-drawn cup icon.

Donor Messages & GIFs

Supporters can leave a short thank-you note and pick a GIF to go with it, straight from a built-in GIF search.

Automatic X Profile Pictures

If a supporter shares their X (Twitter) link, their real name, profile photo, and verified badge appear automatically — no upload needed.

Privacy by Default-On

Supporters can choose to stay anonymous, but by default their message, GIF, and social link are shown publicly — most people want the shoutout.

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How It Works

1

Switch to Donation mode

Open PayRequest Page from the dashboard, scroll to What to show on your page, and click the Donation goal tab.
2

Choose the Coffee style

Under Donation style, switch from Generic to Coffee Tips. Your goal card, progress bar, and donor feed all switch to the coffee-themed wording (“Recent coffees”, “Be the first to buy a coffee!”).
3

Build your drinks menu

A Coffee entry is added by default. Add or remove drinks from the fixed catalog — each card shows its name, price, and cup icon. There’s no free-text pricing; every drink’s price is set by PayRequest so the menu stays simple and consistent for supporters.
4

Name your goal (optional)

Give the goal a title like “Help keep the servers running” or “Coffee fund for late-night updates” — it appears above the progress bar.
5

Set your goal amount and reset period

Same as regular Donation Mode: pick a target amount and choose Monthly (auto-resets on the 1st) or One-time.
6

Save and share

Your page at payrequest.me/<your-handle> now shows the drinks menu instead of a plain amount field.

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What Supporters See

Instead of typing an amount, visitors pick a drink card from the menu — each shows its own cup icon, name, and price. After picking a drink and paying, they can optionally:
  • Leave a message — a short note (up to 500 characters), shown under their name in the feed
  • Add a GIF — searched right from the checkout page, no external links needed
  • Share a social link — X (Twitter), Instagram, GitHub, YouTube, Twitch, and more (see below)
  • Choose visibility — a checkbox, checked by default, for showing their message/GIF/social link publicly. Unchecking it keeps their name, drink, and amount in the feed but hides the message, GIF, and link.

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The X (Twitter) Integration

This is the feature that makes the feed feel alive: when a supporter pastes their X profile link (x.com/yourname or twitter.com/yourname — with or without https://), PayRequest looks them up and automatically shows:
  • Their real profile photo, pulled live from X — no need to upload anything
  • Their display name, auto-filled into the name field if they hadn’t typed one
  • A blue verified checkmark next to their name in the feed, if their account is verified
Supporters don’t need an X account to tip — the social link is entirely optional. It’s simply a shortcut so regulars and fans get recognized properly in the feed instead of showing up as a plain “Anonymous” or a typed name.
The same auto-avatar trick works for other platforms too — Instagram, TikTok, GitHub, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Telegram, Reddit, and a dozen more. X is the only one that also pulls the display name and verified badge; the others show the profile picture only.

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The Coffee Feed

Each paid tip shows up as one card in the feed: 
[avatar]  Alex ✓                              5m ago
          bought ☕ Cappuccino                 €3.50
          "Keep the good work coming!"
          [ GIF ]
  • Avatar — the supporter’s X profile photo (if shared), or a generated placeholder
  • Name + verified badge — clickable through to their profile if a social link was shared
  • Drink badge — the exact drink they bought, with its cup icon
  • Amount — the drink’s fixed price
  • Message and GIF — shown only if the supporter left one and kept visibility on. Click any GIF to see it full-size.
Anonymous or privacy-toggled tips still show the drink and amount — only the message, GIF, and social link are hidden, keeping the feed honest without exposing anyone who wants to stay private.

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Best Practices

Keep the menu short. 3–5 drinks is plenty — Coffee, Cappuccino, and one “big tip” option like a Mocha or Hot Chocolate covers most budgets without overwhelming the choice.
Ask supporters to share their X link. A feed full of real faces and names feels far more like a community than a list of “Anonymous — €3.50” rows. Mention it in your page tagline or stream/community rules.
Reply to messages publicly. Since messages and GIFs default to public, screenshotting a favorite one and thanking the supporter (on stream, in a newsletter, in Discord) encourages the next person to leave one too.
Pair it with a monthly goal. “X coffees to cover this month’s hosting” is a concrete, relatable ask that resets automatically — no manual bookkeeping needed.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Not yet — drinks come from a fixed catalog (name, price, and cup icon are pre-set) so the menu stays simple and consistent for supporters. You choose which of the 8 drinks to offer, not their price.
No. The social link is entirely optional. Without one, supporters just type a name (or leave it blank for Anonymous) and their message/GIF still appear normally, just without a profile photo or verified badge.
Tips still work exactly the same — supporters still pick a drink, leave a message, and pay. The feed (and the coffee-bought badges) simply won’t be shown publicly on your page.
Yes. Unchecking the visibility option keeps their name, drink, and amount in the feed but hides the message, GIF, and social link — a middle ground between fully public and fully anonymous.
Yes, at any time from the same Donation style toggle. Your goal amount, reset period, and past tips all stay exactly as they are — only the wording and drinks menu change.
X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, GitHub, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Telegram, Snapchat, Spotify, WhatsApp, Facebook, Reddit, SoundCloud, Substack, and Pinterest. X is the only one that also shows the real display name and verified badge.

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Next Steps

Donation Mode

The base fundraising goal, progress bar, and donor feed that Coffee Tips builds on.

PayRequest Page Styling

Brand your coffee page with an avatar, tagline, and accent color.

Celebration GIF

See how PayRequest’s built-in GIF search works elsewhere in the checkout flow.

Custom Domains

Use your own domain for your coffee/tip page instead of payrequest.me.