At a nice coffee shop, most of what you&#x27;re paying for is not the coffee. You&#x27;re paying for the place to sit down, the convenient access to Internet service, the atmosphere, etc.<p>If there were more price transparency in the whole situation, it wouldn&#x27;t be a flat $3 for a basic cuppa.  It&#x27;d be more like $1 for a to-go coffee and $5 for sitting in.  Or maybe a flat low price for the coffee plus an hourly charge for a chair.