Tucker told me this weekend that Starbucks was going to start serving instant coffee, and there's a 'roll-out' article about it in today's NYT.
According to the article, only 7% of Americans drink instant coffee on a daily basis, whereas 81% of coffee sold in the UK is instant (I have good (random?) memories of sitting my apartment in London during the summer of 2003 and drinking instant coffee, reading the British papers).
Howard Schultz claimed in 1997 that Starbucks would never go the fast-food route, but this new strategy appears to be a capitulation.
77. How many of the crumbs/particles will you be able to see when you make a cup of Starbucks's instant?
To me, one of the fun things about instant coffee is those crumbs.
78. The article claims that Starbucks's instant is an idea that has been in-the-works for 16 years and just happens -- fortuitously -- to be ready for introduction to the public right now, during the recession. Is this true or just solid P.R. spin by the company?
79. From a health perspective, what is the ideal amount of coffee to drink per day?
80. In which country do people drink the most coffee? Is it the US? I know that in Europe -- at least southern Europe -- they drink those tiny shots of espresso, so it must not be there, but are there other countries where people drink multiple large cups per day?
81. Which company owns the Folgers' brand? I've been drinking it recently and am quite pleased with it (and it's almost half-price all the other bagged brands at the store).
82. How many cups of coffee does Obama drink per day? Biden?
