Starbucks Turns 40 With Sugary 'Petite' Treats

The slogan, "it's our birthday, but YOU get the surprises!" may be so tired it's beneath us to repeat it, but Starbucks is making such a big, sweet splash with its 40th anniversary, we couldn't help ourselves. This month, the company is celebrating, rolling out its new logo in a store in Times Square, offering a limited-time-never-again "Tribute Blend" (in stores today), and a new line of sugary treats called "Petites." Fans of the mini donuts and petite vanilla bean scones -- like my little boys -- will recognize the Starbucks concept right away. They'll be free with the purchase of a drink in the afternoons this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

As birthday treats, they're lovely -- everyone likes a nice sweet, frosted cake pop every now and again. As the newest product line on a company menu that can't seem to get along with itself (are we healthy? are we decadent? are we sustainable?), it's confusing. Howard Schultz has long expressed his unwavering commitment to healthy food because of his own personal healthy-heart diet, insisting on so many occasions that the oatmeal was the company's most successful menu item that one begins to wonder, doth he protest too much? In an interview with the USA Today published Monday, he said it again.