1. nobody ever sits

2. no paper cups

3. no useless lids

4. no endless variants of latte, mocha and what have you [1]

Let's suppose the rush hour is after lunch, then everyone will be getting an espresso, someone macchiato (only tourists drink cappuccino after 11 am), but the price is the same. And basically you have a line at the bar and a line to pay. The bar can usually make up to 8 espresso at a time and people cram in front of it by the dozen and drink it in under a minute. You can pay before or after according to where the queue is shorter.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBNOB7FkSSM

01:34 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoOeU1aya0o :)

I've got an Illy cafe machine at home :)

> 4. no endless variants of latte, mocha and what have you

That sounds awesome. I can't even count the number of times I've waited for some goofball's complex six-word drink to be made so I can give the cashier $2 and get a cup in return. (Most places around here sell you the cup and you pour your own coffee from a vacuum pot.)

I like being in line behind those folks. Listening to someone order a "double skinny mocha latte without the espresso"* is one of life's purest joys.

* I shit you not. It happened at a Starbucks in Wisconsin.

It's always amusing asking for "Extra hot" and a slight look of panic as the milk is about to jump out the jug

So basically, a cup of hot chocolate made with skim milk?

That makes me curious - what is the maximum number of modifiers I can apply to one drink to arrive to a second drink on the same menu?

Bonus points if it's cheaper.

That's what the barista suggested, while kindly pointing out that would cost about half as much.

The customer insisted on the order as originally stated, and happily paid the extra two bucks for it.

Here in Portugal (and also in Spain, IIRC) it's much the same, almost everyone drinks a normal espresso or a simple mix of espresso and milk (semi-skimmed, I think you'd call it).

Yep, in Spain it's usually cafe, cafe cortado, or cafe con leche. Espresso, espresso with a tiny bit of milk, espresso and milk.

Coffeehouses here in the States make things way too complicated but I guess they only continue to sell what the customers buy so it's our own fault.

The one big differences that I can think of is that basically everybody orders the same thing (an espresso) so there is no need to take and manage orders in the same way. This also makes it a lot quicker to prepare the coffee. Also payment is a lot quicker when there is basically one order at one prices.