> without really demanding a lot of cost
> Starbuck

Ooooh boy.

Back when bookstores actually carried books the starbucks that were attached to them were convenient. Go in after college classes with the laptop, grab a "cheap" cup of $7 coffee, do some homework without the distractions caused by home, be able to freely utilize the bookstore for reference material. Unfortunately the late 90's-early 2000's are gone.

These days? It's just overpriced drinks and snacks with no real purpose.

I drink black coffee and the largest size at Starbucks is like $2.71. This is cheap as fuck if you consider I routinely use a coffee shop for at least 30 minutes to an hour to sit and hang out on WiFi and talk to friends and whatnot. The price of a black coffee at my local roastery I go to is almost identical to Starbucks' cost, as well.



See above.

If you consider that a third place like I'm mentioning doesn't have to be a cafe/coffee joint and can be a tavern you are absolutely looking at a bigger bill at any of those and yet they could still constitute a meaningful gathering place for a community.

Who is really making your coffee

https://simplebooklet.com/publish.php?wpKey=tGV6DRfTOVdmWhzsK4J85N#page=0

I neither drink coffee nor go to cafes, but the few times I have been in one, it seemed most people were on their phone or laptop. Interaction, particularly interaction among strangers, was seemingly non-existent.

Coffee shops are something I just don't get. The mark-ups are ridiculous compared to other drinks and does it even taste that good? The social dynamic isn't that sociable, either.

I don't like hot drinks but I'm a huge fan of cold brew. Coffee that's black with no sugar is certainly an acquired taste but I really enjoy it.

Starbucks is ass though. If I can't taste the Guatemalan tears in my coffee, it's garbage.

I think that certainly has become the case, and only increasingly so.

I've had way more of the interaction you're referring to in the OP at bars, but only if they have a pool table.

Pubs. Alcohol decreases social inhibition.