New Yorkers needing a java fix have a new hangout. Internationally acclaimed The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is nearly 50 years old, opens its first East Coast location today on 1412 Broadway at 39th Street in New York City. This is just the first of the Los Angeles-based coffee shop’s upcoming New York City locations, where coffee and tea lovers can sip on The Bean’s (as it’s affectionately known) famous Arabica coffee, which is  custom roasted in small batches in California, enjoy its hand-plucked whole leaf teas, and munch on its freshly baked goods.

For more information, go to facebook.com/CoffeeBeanNY.

A cup of coffee with the new Starbucks logo

Twin-tailed mermaid? Tall mocha latte. It’s pretty much a knee-jerk reaction, at least in the world of Starbucks’ marketing department.

On Jan. 5, the company began the soft launch of its re-branding, unveiling the new highly stylized yet simplistic logo that will be making its way onto coffee cups, packaging and retail signs this spring. The most obvious change is the loss of text: Starbucks’ logo now lacks any mention of coffee, their main product, or of Starbucks itself. Obvious textual messages abandoned, we are left with the mermaid looking quite modern and all done up in the familiar green and white.

In a blog post on the company’s website, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz described the change as a “small but meaningful update.” Based on the 812 comments left in response to Schultz’s post, Starbucks customers don’t see the change as small. Moreover, they aren’t sure they like what it means.

One customer notes, “I never really looked at the mermaid. I love the name and word ‘Starbucks.’ It makes me wonder what are they planning on doing if they no longer want the name Starbucks or ‘coffee’ on their logo?”

This, of course, is the point. The ambiguity of the new logo leaves Starbucks with the opportunity to actively pursue avenues other than coffee — and the company already is. Last October, Starbucks began selling beer, wine and cheese at one of its Seattle locations.

Starbucks sees the merit in its mermaid, but will others? The acceptance and success of the new logo hinges upon the masses understanding a few key points, the first being that the mermaid is not a mermaid, she’s “the siren” according to company jargon. The second is that in being a siren, she’s meant to tempt you and draw you in. Unless Schultz can find a way to communicate this to his customers, he risks his darling pushing more people away than she lures in.

Lucky for Starbucks, their products are addicting. Alluring logo or not, the caffeine deprived will still flock to the green and white awnings, though some may do so while scratching work-weary eyes thinking, “Fine, but what the hell does this mermaid really have to do with my macchiato?”

Ladies and Gentlemen of Boston: we have officially arrived at the future. How do we know? This is how:

Yes, that is indeed a Dunkin’ Donuts iPhone app (iTunes). We know, we know, it’s almost too good to be true. But wait, it gets better. You don’t even need an iPhone to take advantage of it. Here’s how it works.

You’ve been elected by the office to make the run to DD”"you are the runner. You send out an invite. Everyone submits their order to you via iPhone or the web interface at www.DunkinRun.com. Everyone’s order shows up on your phone. You place the order at DD. You deliver the goods. Everyone loves you.

The online menu and app are both very slick and really easy to use. The app will even use those newfangled push notifications to remind you that you signed up to go on the run (heaven forbid that it’s your fault no one has their morning coffee) or to notify everyone else when you return from the run”"maybe not what the execs at Apple had in mind when they developed push notifications, but a creative use nonetheless.

We can’t wait to try this one out in the office this week. If we weren’t the Alpha Geek of the office before, we certainly will be now.

Picture yourself walking down the street on your way to work. As you are walking, you suddenly see an empty Starbucks cup in the gutter. The site of a dirty cup may not be pleasant, but the thought of hot, rich Starbucks coffee to jump start your morning is suddenly inviting.

The next thing you know, you’re rounding the block, zeroing in on a neon sign containing an aquatic maiden surrounded by a distinctive green loop. Starbucks is beckoning you to over a Venti nonfat half-caff soy latte with extra whip.

So what inspired you to make the purchase? It was not the store location or the advertising that Starbucks pays for. This morning, it was that empty coffee cup you saw in the gutter.

The image of the Starbucks logo triggered your memory to think about your last cup of coffee — how it tasted when the hot liquid met your mouth and when your upper lip touched the frothy whipped topping. And on your way to work, all you can think about is that cup of coffee. You may normally walk past Starbucks, but today you went inside.

Brand logos have an incredibly high value because of their ability to make you, the consumer, instantaneously think about the bigger picture.

If a woman sees a CVS bag blowing down the street, it might remind her that she needs more Q-Tips and shampoo. And when she goes to make that purchase later, she is probably more likely to shop at CVS.

Think about an empty Cinnabon box you see at the mall. Not only are you going to be stopping at American Eagle and Express, but you will be finding your way to the food court to grab a bite of that cinnamony deliciousness. You know in the back of your head that every mall has a Cinnabon, but it is not until you see the empty container that you now want to go there.

What do the Starbucks cup, the CVS bag, and the Cinnabon box all have in common? They are trash!

Trash is driving sales all across America. It’s the company’s logo on the trash that is really driving the sales, but the fact is, it is free advertising for companies. When somebody litters or reuses a bag with a retailer’s name and logo on it, then that person is indirectly driving sales for the company.

There are so many advertisements which bombard us everyday that many times, we simply ignore the message. It seems that incremental sales growth is mostly likely to happen when consumers least expect it-when looking at trash.

Whether it is resting in a waste can or lying in the street, the logos on the trash remind us of things we may want. And once we get thinking, especially about food, many consumers make a purchase. During a difficult time for economic growth, litter-bugs may just be the secret step to growing sales.