In the last week-and-a-half, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, KFC and Wendy's launched new products - some in anticipation of the Super Bowl, others in the effort to help cut calories to reach those New Year's resolutions. Find out which ones had us wanting more.
Starbucks is now ready on demand. The coffee giant expanded its empire Tuesday with VIA, its version of "Ready Brew" instant coffee. Available in Colombian roast or bolder Italian roast, the packets of powdered coffee are sold in packages of three for $2.95.
After two decades of development, Starbucks is so certain consumers will like it that it's pitting VIA up against its whole-bean coffee, asking consumers if they can taste the difference.
"I think it takes great courage for us to take our brand name -- which we value more than anything in the world -- and put it on an instant coffee," CEO Howard Schultz said at a Starbucks VIA Ready Brew launch event Tuesday. "That's not a move of desperation, that's a move of confidence and the fact that we know this coffee will pass the test of time."
Back in March, Slashfood did a taste test and we were "pleasantly surprised" by the flavor. More recently, we did a side-by-side comparison and found the results to be similar. There's no doubt that a freshly brewed cup of coffee takes the cake, but after a recent instant coffee taste test (that we're still recovering from), we would be more than happy to sip VIA.
Find out where VIA is available and how you can get a free sample after the jump.
Of course, I'm not talking about the four-leaf kind, though that type's pretty rare, too. No, I mean the Clover coffee maker, a high-tech gadget that dropped jaws all over bean circles a few years ago, with its deeply sophisticated, digital one-cup-at-a-time brewing (not to mention the $11K price tag).
At first, the machines were the pride of the serious coffee lover, with independent cafés snapping them up as a way of showcasing artisanal coffees one by one, instead of losing them to the murky depths of an insulated thermos. But when Starbucks bought the Clover technology last year, the funky-looking little metal boxes were suddenly less and less available to your average café owner, becoming proprietary to the green mermaid.
So why is this lucky? Because it started a revolution. Or, more accurately, a renaissance. Read more about getting lucky with cup-at-a-time coffee after the jump.
It is the stuff of fast-food chain legend: a secret menu known only to those insiders brave enough to order outside the listed menu. Tales of "animal-style fries" and Starbucks' secret "short" size abound, but which of these are real and which will merely earn you a quizzical stare from the cashier?
Ditch the risk of disappointment and become a fast-food insider with Slashfood's list of some top-secret menu items at well-known restaurants near you.
February is National Pancake Month! Celebrate with one of these tantalizing recipes -- from blueberry to gingerbread -- we've got a recipe for the entire family.
Rachel Been, AOL
