Starbucks

Forget what you've seen on "Smash. " Writing an effective theater song doesn't always require blood, sweat and tears. Sometimes all you need is a triple latte, a sexy barista and … many things. So it was on the day 20 years ago when Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich strolled into a Starbucks on Lexington Avenue and 78th Street in New York and crushed on a guy named Taylor behind the counter. As the songwriting team left, they came up with the idea for a lyric - and a song: " Taylor, the latte boy Bring me java, bring me joy" Days later, they were still trying to turn the two lines into a song.

Some people climb mountains. Others explore uncharted wilderness. Beau Chevassus aimed to order the most expensive drink Starbucks could concoct. The Washington state man brought his own 52-ounce coffee mug to the coffee chain. There, he proceeded to order 48 shots of espresso, some protein powder, two bananas, a few caramel drizzle Frappuccino chips, some vanilla bean and a little soy. He called it the "Quadriginoctuple Frap. " Price tag: $47.30. This blew away the previous record holder, a $23.60 drink boasting one Java Chip Frappuccino in a Trenta cup, 16 shots of espresso, a shot of soy milk, caramel flavoring, banana puree, strawberry puree, vanilla beans, matcha powder, protein powder, and some caramel and mocha.

The sixth Cafecito Organico opened today in Burbank, and the latest cafe from the local roaster -- which until fairly recently was roasting coffee in a converted garage in East Los Angeles -- is located in what was formerly a Starbucks . Angel Orozco started the company in 2004, working out of Mama's Hot Tamales Café in MacArthur Park, a nonprofit business incubator collaborating with street vendors. Guatemala-born Orozco built relationships with producers and at first focused on the supply side of the business, then started roasting and selling his coffee at farmers markets, and opened the first retail location of Cafecito on Hoover Avenue a couple of years ago, focusing on single-origin Central American coffees.

The U.S. Postal Service, in its latest bid to save a few billion bucks, plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays. It's not enough. The ugly truth is that the Postal Service's commitment to universal mail service is no longer financially viable in the age of email, text messages, Facebook and Twitter. As currently configured, it will never again be able to meet its legal obligation to pay its own way. To survive, the Postal Service will need to reinvent itself for the digital age. I have a few ideas on how to do that, which I'll get back to in a moment.

Following a week of uncertainty, a federal bankruptcy judge in Seattle confirmed that actor Patrick Dempsey beat out bidders such as Starbucks to win control of Tully's Coffee. The stud known as McDreamy emerged triumphant after a court hearing Friday in which Judge Karen Overstreet decided that the “Grey's Anatomy” actor could take over bankrupt Tully's for $9.15 million. “I'm thrilled that we prevailed,” Dempsey said in a statement. “From Day One, we have been focused on saving jobs, keeping Tully's independent and infusing new life and enthusiasm into the company.” Dempsey's company Global Baristas - which pitched its interest in Tully's as a way to save the company's 500 jobs - had gone up in an auction earlier this month against six other suitors, many with larger offers.

Patrick Dempsey may enjoy the return Thursday of the "Grey's Anatomy" TV series, but the would-be owner of the Tully's Coffee chain will be in a more somber mood Friday as a U.S. bankruptcy judge decides whether the actor's bid for the Seattle firm wins out. Last week, Dempsey, nicknamed McDreamy by his adoring fans, triumphantly announced that the company had chosen his $9.15-million bid. Dempsey's group, Global Baristas, said it would keep Tully's...

It's not just the “Grey's Anatomy” mid-season premiere Thursday night weighing on Patrick Dempsey's mind - the would-be coffee company owner is facing several objections to his pending purchase of Seattle's Tully's chain. Last week, the actor known as McDreamy triumphantly announced that his group Global Baristas' $9.15-million bid for Tully's was deemed the winner by the bankrupt company. Several of the six other bidders, however, now say they won't go away without a tussle.

Starbucks Corp. is heading into the scrum over Tully's Coffee, tussling with actor Patrick Dempsey and “breastaurant” style Baristas Coffee Co. to win control of the bankrupt chain. It's a true Seattle battle: Starbucks, Tully's and Baristas are all based in the Washington city. Dempsey's McDreamy character on the television show “Grey's Anatomy” is based there. Starbucks confirmed Thursday that it is participating in an auction for Tully's but declined to say more, saying it was “respecting the Seattle Bankruptcy Court's request for confidentiality.” Tully's parent company, TC Global Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, citing struggles with profitability.

Starting Thursday, Starbucks addicts can get their grande lattes in a $1 reusable plastic cup, sold by the chain across North America in an effort to get customers to cut back on waste. All company-owned stores and some licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada will offer the cups, which bear the Seattle coffee giant's logo and resemble the white paper cups normally used by the cafes. The recyclable cups are marked to measure grande or tall servings - Starbucks lingo for 16-ounce and 12-ounce sizes, respectively.

PU'ER, China - This remote southwestern city near the borders of Laos and Myanmar is named after one of China's most famous teas, grown on mountain terraces painstakingly carved out of the region's rich red soil. But in recent years, pu'er tea has surrendered prime real estate for a more lucrative brew: coffee. Chinese farmers have taken to the new crop, which thrives in high-altitude areas of Yunnan province and commands up to three times as much money as tea. "My sole income depends on coffee now," said Ma Jiaying, a farmer from a dab-sized hamlet in Pu'er called Tea Tree Village.