How much do you pay for your latte?

I always assumed the reason we could pay $5 for a coffee was because of the investment in infrastructure and education required for said coffee (yes, education...do *you* know how to operate a fancy coffee machine without scalding yourself? I don't...), as well as the cost of the ingredients. But this does not seem to be the case in Guatemala.

Here, I pay $1.50 for a medium latte. I pay $1.10 for a cafe Americano. I pay $1.30 for a cafe Americano con leche. Oddly, to make a cafe Americano here, one makes an espresso and then adds water and/or sugar.

On the face of it, this seems to support my original theory- we are using the same machines to make both coffees so both the training and infrastructure costs apply. But... how much is a cafe mochacino (sp?) $1.50. How much is a blanco cafe mochacino $1.50.

The range is quite narrow. You will always pay between one and 1.50 for each coffee, regardless of what you add to it. Ice? Whipped cream? Sugar? Non-dairy milk? No problem.

Were I not desperately trying to avoid becoming a gordita, I would have the fanciest coffee I could find every day.

Come to Guatemala. Drinks are on me!