There's a entry on /. about AT&T Labs' Brain Drain. I'm posting it here because it mentions the "[for some the last straw was the] loss of free espresso and bottled water." Hmm... seems familiar...

Why can't people who run research labs understand that research cannot exist in the absense of caffeine? The two are inseparable -- most of those researchers spent all of college working on caffeine-powered all nighters. For them, the psychological association between caffeine and determined, scholarly work is inseparable. Is it really worth the several hundred dollars a month to turn your researchers into bitter, decaffeinated zombies?

BTW - I'm very happy that the research lab I work at now provides free Dana Street Coffee. Not only do they understand our caffeine needs, but they give us high quality crack.