Starbucks planning big annoucement on February 17, the suggestions box is open

A curious invite dropped into my inbox, to come meet Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at an event in New York on February 17 for "a special announcement regarding innovation, competition and value." The invitation is not transferrable, so I'm going to hop on down there myself to find out what the big secret is all about, because the PR spokesperson would not elaborate when I asked for more details.

So what is coming next from Starbucks? They already have announced the value menu deals for breakfast sandwiches, souped up new coffee creations, given away goodies for election day and other special events and done everything possible to try to get customers in the door.

UPDATE: Could the new innovation be a soluble coffee product called "Via"? That's what AdAge is reporting. What exactly is a "soluble coffee product"? Think instant coffee granules.