Patrons at a St. Petersburg, Florida, Starbucks were feeling especially generous Wednesday morning, perpetuating the random act of kindness of a free coffee. Beginning at 7 a.m. a woman bought her own iced coffee and asked to pay for the next person in the drive-thru line's caramel macchiato.

After the woman paid and drove away, the next customer was surprised to find that their drink had already been taken care of. That person offered to pay for the following coffee drinker's order. The pattern continued for more than 300 people who ordered Starbucks from the store on Tyrone Boulevard.

The employees of the Starbucks began a tally on a green paper near the drive-thru. By 1:30 p.m. there were 260 patrons who decided to pay it forward. An on-staff barista, Vu Nguyen, 29, told customers when they drove up to the window that their drink had been paid for and asked if they would like to return the favor.

"It makes your day better, I think," customer Lexie Kane, 17, said after she was told someone had paid for her iced coffee.

Another patron, 19-year-old Tim Burnside, had already paid for his drink and another person's and later returned to check if the kind acts were still happening. When he saw that it was, he ordered an additional chai tea.

"It's nice just to do a random act of kindness for someone you don't know," Burnside said.

Some in line said they felt connected to the others in line by continuing the generosity, while others said they felt pressure not to be the one to end the cycle.

After baristas tallied 378 people paying it forward around 6 p.m., when a woman in a white Jeep Commander ordered a regular coffee. When Nguyen told her about what had been going on that day, and asked if she wanted to take part, she declined.

The woman paid for her own drink but did not pay for anyone else's. According to Nguyen, the woman did not seem to understand what it meant to pay it forward.