Your response is extremely condescending and expresses more that you were interested in making me feel bad about myself than you engaging with me in good faith.
No, I'm trying to point out that you have very unrealistic expectations of the world you live in. This is very simple: beverages such as tea and coffee are brewed, held, and served at temperatures that make them extrememly dangerous if you spill them on yourself. This isn't my opinion. At the risk of repeating myself: when Stella was injured, McDonalds' corporate policy required coffee to be held at 180-190 deg F. This is nearly identical to the range recommended by professional coffee associations like the NCA, who TODAY recommend that coffee be held and served at around 180-185 deg F (~80-85 deg C) [1]. This temperature range was, and still is, used by nearly every coffee shop, restaurant, and domestic coffee machine.
So if you personally can't handle the risk of dangerously hot beverages, then you'll want to be sure to specifically ask, everywhere you go, for warm coffee. Starbucks has a procedure to accommodate people like you, which I believe involves simply setting the cup aside for a while to cool before they give it to you. (EDIT: I hear Starbucks actually has a more flexible process and equipment settings which can "officially" accomodate a range of service preferences, so that might really be the place you want to go).
If you want to make coffee for yourself, you'll need to come up with a procedure that's safe for you. Don't use a coffee maker; like I said, my Mr. Coffee machine holds coffee at around 185 deg F. So does yours. Look it up. Remember that this is right around the temperature that melted Stella's flesh.
I and most other people prefer coffee that has been brewed, held, and served at the proper temperature, which is why those standards exist and are almost universally used. And I'm extremely grateful that Stella's hot coffee lawsuit didn't ruin it for everybody; I felt really bad for her, and I don't begrudge her medical bills being paid, but I'm very glad her lawsuit had no lasting effect beyond sterner warnings on coffee cups.
Folks like yourself who for whatever reason don't want to be exposed to that danger are in a difficult position, and you need to take responsibility for your special needs, as it were. You will not be successful in suing for "excessively" hot coffee; Stella's lawsuit was pretty much a one-off, and personal injury lawyers have mostly moved on to suing over defective lids instead of excessive temperatures [2].
My comparison with knives and other common hazards is not merely academic. I've come very close to losing fingers and my eyesight to knives and other cutting tools. And you will not be successful in suing the maker or seller of knife that turns out to be "excessively" sharp. Just an example.
