Via Ready Brew: packs a punch and it's a good value

It’s official. Starbucks is getting more expensive. I was in the Casa Linda location yesterday morning, when a smiling barista told me, “Yep, prices went up!” He seemed so happy about it. “The new prices were implemented today,” he explained. Ah … but I had him outsmarted. I was purchasing 12-pack of Via Ready Brew, SBUX instant coffee to which I am hopelessly addicted. Did this go up? No, he says. Ha! It’s $9.95 for 12 cups. I’m bad at math, but that’s a relatively sweet deal these days.

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The hardest hit by the price increases, blamed on rising coffee and dairy prices, will be those who order super complicated concoctions (they kind-a deserve it, no?). So if you order the grande extra hot soy with extra foam, extra espresso shot with a squirt of sugar-free vanilla and a squirt of sugar-free cinnamon, a half packet of Splenda, oh and put that in a venti cup and fill up the extra room whipped cream with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top, not only will you have the most artificially sweet drink known to man, you will also pay about 30 percent more for soy, syrups, extra espresso, and sauces than you did last week. (Though it might be a fun way to wipe the smirk off the barista’s face.)

We’ll be looking at about 30 cents extra for most specialty drinks. A small tall regular cup of joe will still run you $1.50, which still makes my Via Extra Bold a good deal.