In a business relationship, even if it's a totally impromptu coffee break, the man should have offered to buy him one. Anything else is either cheap or inconsiderate or at least unschooled in the way of proper manners.
We have a rather excellent coffee shop on the first floor of our building, and so coffee shops are the setting for almost all of my meetings with candidates and business associates.
I'm thinking back trying to remember a time I invited someone over and didn't buy. Nothing comes to mind, but I couldn't 100% promise you that I managed to buy every time.
I'm not doubting JGC learned something about that CEO from the fact that the guy didn't buy him coffee, but in America, sometimes not buying coffee just means forgetting to buy coffee.
I've always liked the waiter test for salespeople, though: tip a waiter $50 to handle the candidate poorly, and see whether the candidate remains respectful. I know I've never snapped at a server before.
