Slightly off topic. I strongly suspect that $3-4 for coffee is dictated by the unwillingness of the American public to have different prices for take away, cou

Slightly off topic. I strongly suspect that $3-4 for coffee is dictated by the unwillingness of the American public to have different prices for take away, counter or sit at a table with a computer for two hours. I live in Italy, and an espresso at the counter is on average 1 euro, go to a nice place sit down and have a waiter serve you and it can easily double in price, if you're sitting in a famous square in Venice it can go up to 5, but in any case you won't be able to order just one coffee and sit for two hours. So my guess is that every Starbucks customer is just paying for rent, whether they use the table or not. (also possibly the fact that Starbucks can't overcharge you for alcohol is a factor).