One of the stories I heard, that I thought was neat:
The beans were used as a code among family members. If a daughter had her
boyfriend over for dinner, after dinner was done they would have a drink of
Sambuca. The mother would put two beans in if she didn't approve of the
boyfriend, and three beans showed approval! So I guess as bartenders we put
the three beans in to show our approval of our guest! Although sometimes I've
been tempted to put only two beans in! Heh, heh, heh!