Chocolate Croissants and Peppermint Mocha Frap

This week’s mission: frozen pastry with magic rising power, and seasonal Frappuccino in a bottle. (By James Norton)

Starbucks “retools” amidst a slowing economy. (By Tea Austen Weaver)

Your Computer Can't Roast a Chicken

Food-related desktop widgets, from egg timers to tail dictionaries. (By Eric Slatkin)

Crush Ice Without Burnout

Blenders that do the job. (By Louisa Chu)

Sweet, Sour, Salty, What?

Americans have historically hated bitter tastes, while other cultures loved them. Until now. Chefs are playing with bitter in new ways, and U.S. diners are finally appreciating it. (By Lessley Anderson)

A blended coffee drink I can stand by. (By Aida Mollenkamp)

If the Italian parliament has a say in the matter, you might just find out. (By Tea Austen Weaver)

It’s been a bad week for Starbucks: first a $114 million lawsuit, now a nutritional analysis that likens slurping down a venti mocha to sipping a 500-calorie burger through a straw. (By Stephanie Rosenbaum)

Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, and Fudge Brownie ice cream flavors now come in milkshake form, bottled a la Starbuck’s Frappuccino. Made with shelf-stable milk, they don’t require refrigeration... (By C. Thi Nguyen)

Green tea: universal cure-all or flavor of the month? (By Miriam Wolf)

Fudgie the Whale goes viral. (By Miriam Wolf)

The RiffTrax Blog presents a churros-related paradox in photo form. (By James Norton)

McDonald’s hires baristas, plans to eat Starbucks for breakfast and lunch. (By Nicholas Day)

The news from Wall Street: The coffee’s hot at McDonald’s and lukewarm at Starbucks. (By Nicholas Day)

Starbucks baristas and imbibers are getting into a healthy debate about the unhealthy drinks served up by the monster coffee chain. (By Josh Friedland)