Hey, that’s a nice-looking picture you just drew in my latte there, barista! But what fair price could one charge for something priceless?
A new study out in the Journal of Sensory Studies attempts to pin down the exact price—and comes away with a figure: Americans are willing to pay exactly 11-13% over the price of their coffee, if it comes with something pretty drawn in its foamy top.
But wait! This isn’t some communist dystopia where every dreary, corporate-mandated piece of coffee-art is judged to be equally valuable. This is America and we demand, no deserve, to know which of our latte art is the most equal among all the others.
Fortunately, the study delved into what America liked there too—and what America liked were angles, lots and lots of angles, which they judged to be inherently more pricey than a more “amoeba-like” rounded shape. Too true, America.
Image: קלאופטרה.