Brewing Battle: Starbucks vs. McDonald's - TIME

"Over my morning coffee (a grande nonfat latte), I read the news this week that a battle is brewing between Starbucks and McDonald's. According to the story, McDonald's is planning to capitalize on the public's willingness to pay $4 for a cup of coffee by hiring baristas and dropping espresso machines in 14,000 of their fast-food outlets. Meanwhile, Starbucks, with business lagging, is fighting back with an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy, by offering heated breakfast sandwiches and adding drive-thru windows to some of their locations."

The Time article is really missing the point here. McDonald's is putting coffee shops in their restaurants so it can directly compete with the fascination of a country trying to get it's caffeine fix. If you can drop by a McDonald's and grab 2 Double Cheeseburgers and a latte so be it. The key here is that McDonald's is serving their drinks at a lower price point per oz cup that what you can get a Starbucks. (it at least appears that away, I don't have any concrete prices at this time to verify) It might not be the same quality of coffee is as Starbucks, but it is pretty damn close. With Starbucks switching over to the auto espresso machine, and McDonald's using some auto espresso/latte/cappuccino machine you may get similar results. Plus McDonald's concoction is a lot sweeter, and we know American's like sweet liquids in any form.

I just think McDonald's is trying run with what Starbucks essentially misses out on.
Plus can you go to Starbucks on Mondays and get a free drink?

Food for Thought: Measuring Soft Drinks' Jolt, Science News Online, Aug. 25, 2007

My last "Food for Thought" column noted that elderly women may keep their wits longer by drinking lots of caffeine. In that study, the women derived their caffeine from coffee and tea. A new study offers some guidance for Golden Girls who eschew the standard caffeinated brews but still want to reap some benefit from the stimulant. Many soft drinks contain caffeine, but how much of a jolt they deliver is seldom printed on the label.

Link to a chart that shows caffeine content of diffrent pops. Good to know.
I find it odd that Jolt Cola is not on the list.
Maybe I should start drinking Diet RC, since it is cheaper and has more caffeine than Diet Coke. Also no mention of the new Diet Pepsi Max.