How Much For A Coffee?

I've no idea how much the coffee economy is worth in the UK but it must be huge. By coffee economy I mean the amount made out of selling coffee and all the food and other items that seem to be sold along side it these days. Now, I'm one of those strange people who actually likes the taste of coffee as it is - just black, maybe an Expresso or as a longer Americano.  I know it doesn't cost coffee shops a great deal to make these drinks, but I do go into them - some are far better than others but maybe that can be the subject of another rant, sorry, post. What got me recently though was the cost of a small Americano at a motorway service station - £2.69!!!!! 

Now, the coffee shops you see at service stations look like the main chains we see in the high street but they are in fact franchises and they seem to have carte blanche to charge what they want. I've written in the past about cutting down on how much we spend on coffee (it can certainly add up that's for sure) and maybe I've just been reminded of that again. The coffee was pretty awful too. So it's back to getting the vacuum flask out when I'm next on a long motorway journey and I'll make myself some decent coffee at home before I go. That'll be £2.69 saved at the very least next time.