"starbucks" news and stories

Here's a pretty irresistible Earth Day offer from Starbucks: Bring in a reusable travel mug, get a free brewed coffee.

Last year the company ran the same offer and claims to have saved a million paper cups. Which is no small change.

And just in case you're wondering, you can get a 10-cent discount on your coffee every day at Starbucks when you bring in your own mug.

It looks like America's favorite place for burgers may be on its way to becoming America's favorite place for cappuccinos.

Master strategists overseeing the nation's coffee wars will likely be pouring over the results of a recent independent study that finds those who get their (ever fancier) morning cup of joe from McDonald's are more loyal to the Golden Arches than coffee drinkers who visit rivals Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, an independent market research firm surveyed 15,000 customers. Of those that frequent either Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts most often for their daily brew, 53 percent said that they also sneak off to other competing chains during the course of a month, while only 29 percent of respondents who identified McDonald's as their primary source of hot java said the same.

We already reported on Starbucks' new coffee, cappuccino and cakes, part of the company's 40-year anniversary celebration that kicks off today, but I've now actually tasted them-yesterday, at its store in Manhattan's Soho. And I can report that the brand-new Tribute blend had subtle berry notes, perhaps hinting of currant. One sip and it was obvious that the brew was low in acidity. But what really surprised me was the realization that Tribute, which is only being offered in a limited quantity, obviously had beans from all three of the world's major coffee-growing regions-Asia (Sumatra and, if I was correct, Papau New Guinea), Africa (Ethiopia) and South America (Colombia). That seemed unusual, and I sensed that this must be the first time Starbucks had ever done such a globe-spanning blend.

Okay, all of the above is true, but the only reason I know is because the guy who manages the New York stores told us, teaching us how to taste coffee at the same time-sniff, to catch the aroma, followed by a quick gulp, to check the acidity. (Be careful the coffee isn't too hot before you gulp.) On my own, though, I can honestly report that Tribute was really good. Really good coffee, man. I also liked the new Cocoa Cappuccino, with only 150 calories, which surprised me, because I'm no chocolate fan. (My idea of a sweet treat is a pretzel.) Even more amazing, I loved the Petites, pretty little confections that give dessert a good name, and with only 200 calories each themselves.

Starbucks -- which today celebrates 40 years in the coffee biz -- may be solidly middle aged but, with a few new products launching, they'd prefer to think of it as the prime of life.

Going global for Starbucks means it's debuting its revamped Siren logo, in four stores: the Solana store in Beijing, Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris, Brompton Road in London, and Times Square in New York City (plus a special launch in Seattle).

But enough of the Siren. What about the coffee? See the new brews and Starbucks giveaway after the jump.

Starbucks may be about to take on the single-cup coffee market. The ever-expanding giant of joe is rumored to be in talks to partner with Green Mountain Coffee, the company behind the trademarked K-Cups, those cute, convenient little single-serve portions that are used in Keurig coffeemakers, reports the New York Post. Green Mountain already reps Newman's Own, Folgers, Caribou Coffee, and Donut House K-Cups, and adding Starbucks one-cup brews would be a very showy feather in its cap. And for Starbucks? We can only guess that world domination of the caffeineated set is not far behind, one cup at a time.