This is where you will drink the most expensive and also cheapest coffee

Coffee is the most sought-after elixir in a symphony of fragrant steam and bitter-sweet appeal; it creates a mosaic of prices over continents. The British distributor of caffeinated pleasures, “Service Partner ONE,” has released its mysterious “Coffee Price Index” for 2016, a fascinating record of world coffee consumption and financial value.

Two cities show up as opposites within this complex tapestry: Rio de Janeiro, where it flows like a kind river, and Zurich, where the nectar of the gods commands a princely sum. In Rio, a mere €0.98 will get you a cup of steaming ambrosia; in Zurich, the same pleasure calls for a rather costly €3.40. These averages, a delicate ballet of home, business, café, and Starbucks rates, expose a startling disparity in the economics of caffeine consumption.

Starbucks’s siren song seems to attract consumers with prices as audacious as its beverages. A Starbucks cup will set you back a meager €1.41 in Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazilian sun-drenched cities. Still, travel to Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich, or another Swiss paradise and that very same cup rises to a high €5.76.

Still, the story does not finish with prices by themselves. Deeper into consumption, the “Coffee Price Index” reveals the most frugal drinkers among Hanoi, Vietnam, consuming just 0.4 kg per capita. By contrast, the Finns of Helsinki down an amazing 9.6 kg per capita and show champions of caffeinated dedication.

Still, shadows linger even in this global search. Still mysterious worlds, the Balkans, the Middle East, Russia, and Africa have their coffee cultures and pricing covered in secret. Maybe a next version of the “Coffee Price Index” will reveal their secrets, so augmenting the seductive story.