Love the title…

Found myself in a Starbucks over the weekend (dragged by a friend desperate for something hot to drink) and was jumped by a woman just inside the door, WalMart greeter-style, holding a tray of 2oz cups of coffee. “Would you like to try Via®, our new instant coffee?”

“No,” I said, “absolutely not.”

And now I regret not trying it, feeling a tad close-minded. In any case, it sells for a dollar a dose (with discounts for packet bundles). Take that, McDonalds.

Woohoo! Starbucks is going national this month with their instant coffee!

Again citing the $17-billion world market for instant coffee, our hero Howard Schultz said, “We were overwhelmed and humbled by the positive response from our customers and partners after tasting [it].”

So take that, Mickey D’s: Starbucks now has food that’s even faster than yours.