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Feeling adventurous, I ordered a fancy-pants coffee at Starbucks. A "lite" caramel macchiato, tall, extra foam. I could taste the artificial sweeteners in the sugar-free, vanilla syrup, but otherwise, it was pretty tasty.

Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz came to New York City on Tuesday to officially kick off a new feature in his company’s stores that has little to do with coffee and a lot to do with trying to fix the economy.

When it comes to my afternoon decaf soy cappuccino habit, I'm a creature of habit. I go to the Starbucks on Spring Street that is one block down the street from WNYC's studios on Varick Street. But it closed several days ago for renovations, and now I'm forced to go to the one that is on Hudson Street.

Your morning cup of coffee could start costing a bit more as prices for green-coffee, or unroasted beans, are now more than 50 percent higher than they were a year ago. The increase has already led to price hikes for many coffee brands and even higher prices are expected in the months ahead.

• CONGRESS TAKEOUT:  We speak with our Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich about how Congressional Democrats are regrouping on health care reform in the wake of losing the Massachussetts Senate race.
  
• MONEY TAKEOUT: Starbucks was hit hard by the economic crisis, closing hundreds of stores across the country. New York Times reporter Louise Story explains why things are looking up for the coffee company.
• RESPONSES: Listeners weigh in on why Democrats lost their Senate seat in Massachussetts.

Dana sent this post to Your Uncommon Economic Indicators. We can only hope she feels better getting the news off her chest, but we have to wonder: is it really helping anyone through this recession to save on sweetener?

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