Starbucks is giving away 8 oz cups of its new "everyday" coffee at all its locations at 11 a.m. CDT today. This freebie only lasts 30 minutes, so don't be late or you'll turn into a pumpkin latte.

There has apparently been a constant drumbeat of requests for a consistent, everyday brew rather than Sumatra one day and Gold Coast another and so on. Me, I like the variety. I always get a tall cup of their "bold" coffee of the day with room for cream and then I'm well into one of my "I don't require much to be happy" moods. But, if it's free, I'm willing to try the everyday stuff.

More details:

New brew will be called Pike Place

bold, robust flavor with smooth, buttery finish

freshly roasted, freshly ground

baristas will throw out any that has not been used after 30 minutes

$9.95/lb

This caught my attention:

The company has also promised to start grinding all its brewed coffee in stores, which will bring back the pungent aroma many customers have missed since the company started using flavor-locked bags of pre-ground coffee years ago.

Love that. I wanna walk into Starbucks and smell that smell.

There's lots in the article about Starbuck's business model, but who really cares. The world stops for me at 11 a.m. today when I'll be at Starbucks getting my free cuppa Pike Place.