When you stay at a mid-tier property, and you hear the restaurant server explain that the coffee is “a little better, a little stronger, more like Starbucks,” you know what to expect.  Actually, it’s a matter of what the hotel company has heard: Stop pouring the weak stuff. I can water it down if it’s too strong, but it can’t work the other way. Whether changes were made due to consumer response or survey responses or just plain common sense, the reason remains less important than the reality. Starting the day, or in my case at any point of the day, with a decent cup of coffee makes a difference.

Maybe this is all part of the renewed and improved market for business travelers. Now that they are back on the road, it seems each of the hotel brands is ready to do some upscaling to grab that important market segment. With smart work from a hotel’s sales staff, leisure travel, likewise, has all the appearances of getting a bounce. If there are few other signs of economic improvement, these are noteworthy.

Not just the coffee service but the whole breakfast scene is being revitalized. The days of a sweet roll and a cup of coffee are moving further into the annals of hotel hopping. Hyatt just announced they are reworking their Summerfield Suites and rebranding them as Hyatt House, a brand that will offer a variety of comforting selections including made-to-order breakfasts. That feature is a big drawing card for almost any guest. From a hotel perspective, it’s a newly vital component of the brand message. Look at how well the Bistro concept works for the Courtyard franchise.

If you are paying over $500 a night for a room, your concerns include a good quality restaurant with a menu that addresses a wide-range of tastes and allows for substitutions. Yet if your stay is more moderate as in the under $200 a night category, a made-to-order breakfast becomes a positive plus in overall decision-making. The word “complimentary” has a smart marketing ring to it!

A decent cup of coffee and a hot breakfast are two important trends making their way through the moderate, mid-priced hotel industry. All segments of the traveling public seem responsive to this type of positive change. Now just stop charging for wi-fi and you’ve got a friend!

The products will be widely available and not limited to a single retail outlet. Remember the coffee deal with Kraft expired so their reach with this partnership has expanded almost infinitesimally. Not just coffee, but the units will work well with their Tazo tea lineup.

Let’s think about the home use advantages: All those times when you don’t want to brew a whole pot could grab the top slot. How about one person favoring a decaf and another an espresso, that works. All of this brew technology rests with the success of the single-pod machines. For travelers, there could be an across-the-board in-room revolution: Hotels could throw out the in-room coffee pots and go for the more sanitary single-use approach. OK, how about the office where no one wants to clean the pot; so no one does! My personal travel and in-home list could continue, but most importantly the news comes at the same time everyone is reporting an insane spike in the cost of Arabica beans.

One issue to ponder: The environmental impact of these little containers. Last fall this was at the top of the radar pile; let’s see what news comes out on this fractious issue.

As coffee prices rise, a single cup solution may win over a whole new legion of followers. We’ll watch and taste.

From March 10-12 in the afternoons (from 3-5P) when you order a drink, they will give you a taste of their new lineup: the Petites. Yes, small bites are in and these little guys come in at just 200 calories so they pack a perfect pairing with the afternoon visit. Personally, I’m all over the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie. Hear me shout. OK, the Salted Caramel Sweet Square comes in a close second: Sweet and Salty continues to thrive in the food world.

Starbucks continues to expand its food lineup as they have successfully learned that customers want a little bit with that cuppa. The biggest issue they currently face is coffee pricing as futures continue to climb. It looks as if they are holding steady, at least for the moment.

As part of Tribute week, the term they created to thank customers for their patronage, (or as is evident, they’d be nowhere without our overcaffeinated lifestyles), they have a new coffee, the Tribute Blend. It’s a combination of their most successful coffees: Aged Sumatra and sun-dried Ethiopian with Colombian and Papua New Guinea added to round out the flavor profile. This is a salute to their most popular coffees working together. Or, a parallel to their solid customer base.

So when you sit and daydream about starting a new business, think about this little coffee company that started in Seattle and has spread its wings worldwide. It truly is the Little Engine That Could. Any company that survived the last two difficult economic years when so many analysts wrote off the concept as being too expensive for many, deserves attention. Sure they made changes. Everyone did, but here they are today.

Coffee and…please.

Today’s announcement by Starbucks is one such good reward. In their continual push to get more customers familiar with VIA, their instant Ready-Brew package line, they now say if it’s not to your liking, they will (with proof of purchase from now until the end of August) replace your investment with a sure-fire pleaser: A pound of ground coffee.

This can easily be called a win-win situation. If you try the handy packets and like them, perfect. If you were afraid to try them because of uncertainty, that fear has been eliminated. Perfect. If you flat-out don’t like the taste, you will be able to replace the VIA investment with a Starbucks guarantee: A free 12 oz bag of Starbucks ground house blend. Winnah!

The VIA numbers have been impressive for the company, and the line has expanded from its original Colombia and Italian launch to include an iced brew packet and multiple flavors. Their biggest launch was the holiday VIA Christmas Blend. The VIA rollout was named one of the most memorable product launches of 2010!

With all of this success, why do it? Why not? If more people try it and like, then the VIA numbers continue to impress. If the new users are unhappy, they get rewarded with coffee they are already familiar with.

Now it’s time to do the taste test.  A promise is a promise.

Everyone’s a winner.

This blog is after all named All Before Coffee, and I have explained that thoughts occur along that caffeinated highway at any time, day or night. Yes, I like my coffee strong, frequent, and made fresh. Seasonally, I love a triple over ice, no water, but when the temperature falls into single digits, coffee cures: Hot.

This has been the year of the ultimate fights among the giants. As Starbucks was down and many called it a vulnerable player of an earlier, sound economic era, the company responded with its own belt-tightening strategy and a remaking of its image. VIA came along and did so well that it spawned flavored single paks. Who woulda thunk it?

McDonalds refused to sit still and watch people return to Starbucks. They created a coffee strategy of possibilities and convinced their customers that a latte could be enjoyed at a McD’s. The consumer was the coffee winner. Possibilities abounded and other fast food chains responded with their own coffee selections. Coffee was hot and selling. Dunkin’, Caribou, and other big name players rolled out a laundry list of selections.

Then the sensibility quotient: This was the year that the coffee cup came into play as the enviro cups made a more lasting impression on customers. More people were purchasing their own carry around reusable mugs. Just don’t try to take your holiday thermos to an airport!

Yet, the biggest news was probably that the consumer had become educated and wanted more for his money. “Don’t just hand me a cup and expect me to go to the pump machine: Make it. And make it they did with an impressive list of new equipment vying for customer attention and loyalty. The list goes on (walk down a Manhattan or Brooklyn neighborhood and see the little coffee guy’s new piece of high-end equipment) as we move into the new year as the home consumer wants to duplicate the coffee shop experience and several manufacturers are ready to accommodate. No, you do not need the $1,000 machine, but it’s great if you can have it. There are plenty of new approaches that promise to give the home user a coffee shop experience, a hand-brewed special of the house!

Whether before the first cup or from the smell of the in-home fresh-brewed awakens your sensibilities, one fact remains: Coffee’s vitality kicks it up a notch. The story goes on.

Let us hope that 2011 gives us numerous coffee pleasures.

The news of their apparent breakup means Starbucks products would not be distributed by Kraft to grocery stores, nor would Seattle’s Best, a brand of the Starbucks family. This has been a back-and-forth discussion about who would make certain the shelves were properly stocked with the coffees. The plan was for Starbucks to exit the grocery aisles by March 1. Yet, yesterday, the conversation escalated into a loud crush of responsibility when Kraft announced its coffee prices for its mainstay products, Maxwell House and Yuban Coffee, would  increase again. Starbucks countered with the comment that the new prices would exceed what had been previously agreed upon for the coffee company’s strong presence in the grocery aisles.

Confused? No need. The issue is quite simple: Where can a consumer purchase Starbucks coffee? Kraft says no problem–it plans to continue to offer the products in grocers’ coffee aisles. Starbucks says its stores can easily handle the requests.

What is a consumer to do? Wait it out and hope this escalates into a price war that sees coffee price reductions rather than the current upward trend. That type of lowered pricing may be part of a coffee drinker’s dream chest!

This week produced a bevy of such announcements starting with the current Campbell soup brouhaha. The launch occurred in the summer, see few noticed, but the rhetoric spewed out this week. I’m talking about the Halal-branded soups. Although the soups are currently only available in Canada, the outcry is about the certifying agency, a group a blogger identified as one whose support has helped fund terrorist activities. Under the radar; maybe not.

At the other end of the spectrum are the other news of the week which by Wednesday we can safely categorize as, A Starbucks Week. They are making announcements all over the place and nothing secretive about them. So far the response has been quite positive and look we are just at hump day. Wonder what tomorrow will bring? In the meantime, here are the morsels to digest:

–The Seattle small format cafe concept with beer and wine appears to be a success. The major change is the company wants its name on the logo; no more clever names that has people digging around wondering if this is a Starbucks concept. It is. Drink up in multiple cups. Isn’t this what a coffee house should offer? The new Olive Way store is an example of environmental leadership with its locally sourced materials making it the company’s 21st LEED-certified store! Coffee, beer, wine, and the environment–quite a combination.

–The company attacked waste this week on the other coast with its participation in New York’s recycling program. This effort to see how the cups fare in the recycling bin will greatly improve the company’s green commitment and may help accelerate its recycling goals. After all there are plenty of enviro cups, but their current hot coffee cup makes few inroads in avoiding the landfill. This test, which continues into November, has its limitations as the onus rests with the user inside a Starbucks store as that’s currently the only collection point. Small steps can make a big impact. Let’s study the results after the effort!

–How about your own Starbucks channel? OK, 6 channels to keep you focused. That’s the idea behind signing in to the company’s free Wi-Fi and today’s rollout of Starbucks Digital News, SDN. News, lifestyle, and business pieces should entertain you as you can scan the site while waiting for your drink; you’ll be less impatient. This news is so good you may never leave.

The power of a brand!

In the coffee universe, prices have stayed relatively even, but that is about to change. Starbucks just announced that it can no longer sustain its price structure and needs to raise certain prices as the price of coffee beans has increased significantly. You know the annoying people who want multi-levels of specialized coffee making, the ones who complicate the ordering process and wonder why their drink may take a little longer, well, they are about to absorb the cost of specialization.

Starbucks plans to maintain the current pricing on the basic beverages even though the add-ons such as dairy, sugar, and cocoa have also increased significantly. The green arabica prices which are almost at a 13-year high are the impetus for the revised pricing structure as the company believes it can no longer absorb the increases. This works well for me: Remember I’m the espresso, OK, make that the double espresso, patron. Prices may actually decrease for my category!

It’ll be interesting to watch how the complicated drink buyers respond. Will they settle for an Americano and add lots of milk or will the half-caf, skinny, extra foam Caramel Macchiato folks just go for the daily drip? Time will tell.

Starbucks has literally been built around specialization, instead of the Belushi Pepsi-Pepsi SNL routine, and has prided itself on making it “your way,” but now it will come with a side of additional coins.

One hotel brand is not sitting by and waiting for guests to fill their dining room. That would be Marriott’s Courtyard brand. Not one to do commercials for a property or a restaurant, I still need to applaud the new bistro concept. The re-energized approach has solved a number of problems, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

As an aside it should be noted that I have eaten in a broad-range of hotel restaurants run by famous chefs and those that exist merely to service guests. Not all are destination restaurants and many hotel chains have gone out of their way to dismiss the dining experience at hotels.

What used to be pro forma for a Courtyard has changed. All new properties are designed with an open feel and dining is no longer the boring breakfast buffet, but a bistro-type experience that extends its offerings into all meal parts. Staffing needs are minimal depending on the time of day, and guest requests are easily served.

The breakfast restaurant/buffet concept has been replaced by a much more user-friendly approach that incorporates a grab-n-go philosophy with a limited hot order menu. Another plus is that service is available through the three meal parts, and tables are ready with free coffee urns ready to make any wait a more pleasant experience.

How about several computer stations adjacent to the table space and a more casual adjacent living room! All pluses and major improvements over the older format.

Why does this work? First off, the food options are manageable in terms of execution and price. If you want a cup of fruit or yogurt, that’s an option just as a scrambler breakfast choice. For those who have special coffee needs, ahem, me, they can make a Starbucks espresso or cappuccino, or your favorite combination. No need to take your money out of house!

Concepts are only as good as the times. The times have changed. More travelers are on limited travel budgets with greater receipt scrutiny. The Courtyard’s open environment makes such an adjustment a pleasant one.

Now if they would only change all of their older properties into this new, more welcoming approach with its accessible food option, then the words hotel and restaurant would not be approached with a scowl.

This proves it can work, and the traveling public has an affordable food-friendly option.

It’s not just organic coffee that does the trick; it’s the way it gets into the cup. Not every machine can turn a great bean into a magic cup. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of mediocre cups from supposedly great coffee beans.

No doubt that there is a relationship between the bean, the brewing process, and the end result.  You can buy all the great beans, spend some serious money, help the growers, and go home and use bad-tasting water and a sub-par machine and wonder how you wasted $20. The coffee was great at the store, you mutter, but here…not so much.

What is one to do. A few simple facts to follow and you’ll be smiling. First, the beans are important. When and how they got to the store and how they were taken care of are all integral components of that dream cup. The water always plays a role. Ask the Brita or Pur folks to share their research that demonstrates how people turn ordinary tap water into a much better tasting water, one without the requisite taste-hider slice of lemon or lime! Then watch the coffee sommelier, the coffee bar person, or as some would affectionately say, the barista, use the machinery to take the bean from its container into your cup.

No, I am not saying we all need to get in line and buy a Jura, a Saeco, or a Clover machine or even extol the virtues of single-cup brewing where we ask questions about the strength of the brew and how much space we need to leave in the cup for milk and sugar. BTW, fill the cup with the espresso, no additives necessary. I am saying a great bean may need some help.

Yet, serious coffee drinkers need something more than the $10 filter machine. Count your number of cups, your gas mileage to the local spot, add in the cost of your multiple espressos, and you can easily justify a machine of some substance. I’m always fascinated how excited basic coffee drinkers become when they taste a cup from a home version of the best of push technology. They have had their first cup of great, home-cured coffee.

It can be done. Simple mathematics: A good bean, great water, and a machine to match.

Sip and enjoy.

Did they really have to change their formula on the light syrup and add gluten? Nowhere on their website do they address this issue. There have been casual references that if you are gluten intolerant, you should pay attention anyway since so many drinks are made on the same equipment. These are poor excuses to addressing the issue. In this day and age when we recognize how gluten allergies are often misdiagnosed and celebrate the new range of gluten-free choices and the impressive marketing roll-outs, it is surprising that this formulation needed to occur. Why did Starbucks need to make a U-Turn? It is a meager explanation to say it’s only on those with light syrup. Why at all?

Better yet, why not make a formal announcement so there is no confusion? We are left with more rumor and inquiries of individual baristas. Read their blog and you’ll see how people really feel.

C’mon, Starbucks, you have a responsibility.

It’s unofficial but McDonald’s seems to be moving toward a summer $1 beverage promotion. Some locations may consider opting in sooner, but that’s an on-the-go price that’s hard to ignore. Stay tuned.

You want some good news sooner than Summertime, how about next Tuesday? Score a double win: Starbucks will be offering free pastries (up until 10:30 A) on the 23rd with a beverage (a handcrafted one) purchase. You need the coupon, so print away. Before you panic about the bad news in the pastries, remember these are free of high fructose corn syrup and are without artificial trans fats. Sounds like you can treat yourself.

Dunkin’ Donut Mondays continue until the end of the month.

As a further incentive, there’s the health news that validates our love affair with coffee and tea:

–A European study further supports the power of multiple cups of coffee daily in reducing cholesterol numbers and lowering the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

–A new study out of Japan lends support to the health benefits in green tea. This time the beneficiary is improved dental health. The health benefits of green tea seem to inhibit a rise in periodontal problems.

So your choice. Hot or cold, these beverages line up with good deals.

I’m ready. They’ve got a good lineup.

Did I mention that this promotion has a great price point: $1.50. Hard to beat and certainly not one that should cause any pricing complaints. If this is the new Starbucks, then this is another example of a company that has spent time listening to consumers and responding to purchasing patterns. Until March 14, you can get a passport and each week when you purchase the featured beverage, you get a sticker stamp. A completed passport, 8 stamps, gets you a free pound of your favorite blend. This is my kind of brew.

For a complete list of the featured weekly coffees, visit the website. Before you worry that they’ve eliminated Pike’s Place Roast, allay your anxiety. That pour will be available during the promotion.

In the meantime, shake off the winter blues and get ready to lose the jackets and enjoy your bold blend in the outside shine of a warm spring. I’m hoping.

What do you call a 31-ounce drink if its not a Venti Plus? OK, a Trenta. First, we had to learn Starbucks lingo as in short, tall, grande, and venti instead of the tiny, small, medium, and large standards. Now we need to add another word to our vocabulary: Trenta. Super Size Me is accurate. The iced tea and iced coffee size is being tested in just a few markets, one on each coast, Tampa and Phoenix. That’s almost 8-oz larger than their venti!

This is all part of a trend toward bigger sizes in the belief that bigger is better, cheaper, and a deal. Price wars are already in place for the ginormous drink market.

The unsweetened route is the way to go, as it’s reported at less than 5 calories; the sweetened version just under 200.

If this becomes a national rollout, the competitive, super-sized drink market will create one cool summer beverage war.

Iced coffee drinks rock.

Back to coffee. Consumer Reports just came out with another coffee study and has disappointing news for many home brews: They tested 37 caffeinated and decaffeinated blended varieties and no bag scored higher than a good rating. Starbucks should have some degree of a smile as it at least scored a good caffeine rating for its House Blend. Green Mountain‘s Signature Nantucket Blend Medium Roast matched it on the top of the Good Rating pile.

Small consolation for home coffee drinkers who want that perfect morning cup. I learned a long time ago that coffee comparisons are a little like restaurant reviews. Everyone has an opinion. Some you can even agree with! I have real trouble with the flavored coffee folks as I believe hazelnut or whatever is added to a mediocre bean in an attempt to improve the taste! Hey, that’s just my opinion after 1,000s of cups of coffee!

The Decaf column had a few brighter stars with Allegro, Peet’s, Caribou, and Buck’s County each having a product in the top scoring good column.

If you are only looking at price, you might benefit from knowing that Maxwell House and Folgers resided near the bottom of the list. If it’s a combination of finding a good cup of coffee and not breaking the bank, then Melitta Classic Blend Roast (11 cents a cup), and Seattle’s Best Breakfast Blend (15 cents) are good products to consider. In the decaf universe Seattle’s Best Blend Decaf Light Roast (15 cents) and Sam’s Choice Organic Blend Decaffeinated Medium Roast (18 cents) are the ones to purchase.

Note that this study is quite different from one they conducted two years ago as the focus this time was on blended coffees (beans from multiple regions or countries). Last time it was on 100% pure Arabica beans, the more expensive bean. This is by no means a conclusive study as there are so many coffee choices out there, and there is so much consolidation of companies, as in Seattle’s Best is really a Starbucks company.

So many other factors contribute to a good cup of coffee: Water plays a major role in its outcome. The machine that brews the coffee, the freshness of the beans, and the specific grind are additional factors. What does this study say about the coffee at restaurants or coffee shops that serve the various brands? If it’s a cup from your favorite coffee shop, concentrate on consistency. Does it come out the same every time? That’s critical.

I know; it’s about the balance, the delicate interconnectedness of what goes into the machine or the scooper. I know. It’s personal.

They don’t call me “all about coffee” for nothing!

We’ve gone from being super flush to barely scraping by. Restaurants that once announced no reservations with the egregious term “fully committed” are now more than eager to assist with alternate dates and suggested times. Wine lists got a big workout in the middle of the decade as many top labels, aka big prices, were happily consumed. Consumers were making money; restaurants were thriving, and then BOOM. Life as we know it changed.

This was also the decade that:

–The farmer became a major player in dining out and shopping at markets. We threw the words “locavore,” food miles,” “farm fresh,” and “CSA” around as important, everyday expressions. They became part of the food vocabulary; they became used and overused.

–The term “foodie” became the preferred nomenclature for someone who was interested in all food talk all the time. It became as overused and redundant as locavore.

–The chef became a rock star. We became familiar with them and knew them by their 1st names like Tom, Mario, and Bobby. Sure Bravo’s ”Top Chef “and the proliferation of shows on The Food Network did not hurt the trend, but chefs started to spread their wings and strut the full peacock walk of master authoritarian. Guests liked dining at chef’s tables, taking cooking lessons from chefs, and just chatting away with the guy, or occasional gal, walking the room and beaming with the guests.

–Restaurant rents forced many old standbys to give it up and new restaurants opened out of food carts and food trucks. What was once a phenomena limited in its universality spawned concepts throughout the country for food on the go.

–As for foods, this was the cupcake, frozen yogurt, and burger decade.

–We devoured cookbooks and brought Julia Child back into our homes about the same time as we started stockpiling old issues of Gourmet Magazine which didn’t finish the decade as a magazine but added a hefty weight to the cookbook aisles with its latest 1,000 recipe tome.

-Grocers were no longer hiding behind a few private labels but rushing to show us they could compete with well-known national brands and wow us with better pricing from their much-improved house brands.

–Grocers were fighting over terms to indicate how low their prices had gone. We had deals and super deals, coupons that were doubled and eventually tripled, and benefited from a much improved, warmer, hospitable shopping environment.

–Wine merchants took consumers from Pauillac to Mendoza. We started drinking our cellars and started paying attention to the many good buys under $10 and under $20. The fancy wine world shifted continents and diners and shoppers were paying attention to smart buys from countries that seldom made wine magazine discussion groups years ago. Wine bars became commonplace.

–Coffee became an even bigger buzz than that from its mere caffeine potential. Neighborhood shops faced stiff competition from national players that proliferated multiple corners in major cities. We learned terms like grande and venti and started to request our own specialty lattes. Price was no object; it was a treat, and then…boom. We started to favor a tall fresh-brewed.

It was a decade that stamped its mark in the food world as food became elevated into more than just a meal.

Now we are older and wiser and ready to return to the basics that many say will signify the year ahead.

Time to reflect and watch.

The ads show an upbeat flair matching the belief that there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the intro. Besides seeing it already in full display at Costco, it’s receiving attention from end-of-season campers who feel they have solved one of their biggest fears–no hot coffee. Of course, they could just follow Billy Crystal (“City Slickers”), and grind their own tentside.

There’s also news that the early clock cleaning reports from both McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts may now be a piece of past history. The only negative news lately is that some songs have not been promoted as heavily as artists would like. Not everybody’s complaining.

As Starbucks sales continue to improve, we might be able to use that piece of news as an economic barometer: Is the economy back on track to support our caffeine habit?

Love it, as the ads say,”A product you can get through TSA.”

As long as airlines still offer hot water, we’ve got a match.

I think the irony is that today, this revered bean day for those looking for a single-day celebration, coincides with Starbucks National Roll-out of Instant Coffee. Almost everywhere, but the market reach is growing. Great name: VIA, but only time will tell if this is a winner. So many months ago, the concept was introduced. It felt odd then and still has that flavor: Instant. Don’t we want just-brewed–what happened to that mantra?

Ok, how funny: A day to honor the Great Bean and an Instant footnote!

Comical, I’d say!

Listen, New York City, I know you want us all to be healthier and live better, more fruitful lives, but aren’t we capable of figuring some of this out for ourselves? I know the statistics on obesity and diabetes say we aren’t so smart, but when do you as a Health Department, a government, cross the line and move into personal space? You were clearly right about the cigarettes and have made a wonderful difference in restaurants and bars. We can enjoy the food and not the overriding smoke, except at a BBQ spot.

It’s impossible to turn away from the new posters which are plastered everywhere telling us to think twice about grabbing a can of soda or a sweetened beverage. It’s haunting. The ad campaign asks: “Are You Pouring on the Pounds? Their answer: Don’t Drink Yourself Fat. Cut back on soda and other sugary beverages. Go with water, seltzer or low-fat milk instead.” That’s a fairly convincing argument.

They’ve been right about smoking, trans-fat, and the logic here seems just as valid.

What do we have to lose? A few pounds?

This may be the most cost-effective campaign yet!

It sounds easy: You grab a product off the shelf and continue your grocery shopping. No, not really. You have to build time, significant time into the outing, to read, digest the food labels. Who would suspect that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in so many products? Why is it there in the first place? Do we need it or is its presence just interfering with what we consider healthy grocery purchasing?

I doubt we need it. Taste can be adjusted with the simplest of spices: Salt and pepper. Artificial sweeteners can be replaced with good old-fashioned sugar. Flavor can be enhanced with fresh herbs or a sprinkle of a dry product. What does adding HFCS do except increase our chances for diabetes, heart disease, or obesity? The corn lobby would say otherwise; health experts remain divided and many continue to advocate moderation in all purchases rather than blaming a single ingredient.

We are an overweight society with a quick hand at grabbing simple solutions to meal preparation. We need help and manufacturers have to side with us, the consumer, on this one. Processed foods are quick solutions to dinnertime blues, but are most likely to contain unnecessary extra ingredients.

Kraft Foods announced a further commitment to eliminating HFCS from more of its products. Many of their salad dressings and sauces are already being made without the fructose additive. When you read the article you are struck with the fact that the popular Wheat Thins has the unnecessary ingredient (in the 7th line of ingredients), but not for long. The question is what happened to wheat, to the concept of the crunchy easy to snack on cracker without needing HFCS? It probably always had the ingredient, but we had no idea what was killing us. Studying labels was a rare consequence of shopping. Now we are more critical purchasers and attempting to be in greater control of our lives. We question ingredients and try to stay with the fewest.

Seeing HFCS in a label should motivate us to return the product to the shelf. This summer in the good news for Starbucks column, they eliminated HFCS from their pastries. We are seeing more elimination strategy with soft drinks and natural flavors grabbing headlines. The ball is in our court: Time to strike back and show manufacturers they can lighten the load.

We can take charge and manufacturers can continue to show they get it. Do not be confused by a barrage of television commercials and print ads from the corn refiner folks saying that HFCS is not the enemy. Be practical.

Limit your ingredients to words you recognize. Keep it Simple.