As the old saying goes, โ€œone personโ€™s luxury is another personโ€™s super luxury.โ€ That’s the takeaway from this new study published by Value Penguin, which takesย a look at the cost of a Starbucks latte, exploring how extravagant the milky beverage is in 39 different countries. Itโ€™s the Big Mac Index for steamed milk and coffee roasted really pretty dark still, after all these years. To achieve this, the study adjusted the price of a latte in each country to match โ€œthe respective cost of a basket of goods, including food,โ€ in order to โ€œreflect the cost of other goods and services there compared with the U.S.โ€

The figure we show, then, essentially represents the sticker shock, from mild to major, that youโ€™d feel if you lived in the country, making a local salary, and perused the prices at one of the local Starbucks. Put another way, itโ€™s how pricey that drink would seem to a local latte drinker, in light of what most things cost in the country.

The study found that the relative price of a tall Starbucks latte is lowest in the United States–$2.75 on average–but the comparative cost varies pretty wildly in the other countries examined. Australia and the United Kingdom, for instance, have comparative costs only slightly above the American price, $2.86 and $2.88, respectively. Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, on the other hand, have prices breaking the eight-dollar mark.

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But the far and away most extravagant latte is in Russia, where its comparative cost is a staggering $12.32. Thatโ€™s the cost of four and a half American lattes, or put in other terms, one coffee run for the office.

A full list of comparative costs can be found here. The entire study is vastly interesting and gives a more global perspective to ideas of indulgence and extravagance. I can’t help but wonder how my own coffee habits would hold up were the relative costs two or three times what they currently are. I know my $1,500 a day Faberge Egg habit would certainly need some amending.

Zac Cadwaladerย is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

*top image via Value Penguin

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