Starbucks vs Dunkin Donuts

[stephenc]

The age-old showdown...

I say Dunkin Donuts for sure!

[Carolyn Tillie]

The age-old showdown...

I say Dunkin Donuts for sure!

For what? Coffee or pastries?

[Moopheus]

Dunkin Donuts for coffee over Charbucks any day. But then, DD is basically what I grew up with. I can't really say about the pastries--haven't really had Starbuck's, and I'm not sure a doughnut can really be compared to anything except another doughnut. Dunkin's muffins and "bagels" on the other hand...This is reminding me that I used to go for coffee with my dad sometimes to a Pewter Pot (a now-defunct chain with weird colonial theme) that I recall as having pretty good muffins. And the waitresses were trained to pour the coffee about three feet over the table (the pots had long spouts).

[agnolottigirl]

Nope, sorry. . . . Starbucks over Dunkin', though I have to admit it took me a couple years to make the switch when I moved to Seattle.

Besides, what IS that stuff they put there in if you ask for cream at DD? Corn syrup? Sweetened latex paint? Oogy.

[Fat Guy]

Starbucks makes what I consider to be a pretty good espresso (and, by extension, all espresso-derived beverages) but probably the worst product at Starbucks is the brewed coffee. Dunkin' Donuts actually makes a cup of brewed coffee that in my opinion compares favorably to what most fancy restaurants are serving. Not that it's great, but it's reliable and acceptable, whereas I simply don't like what Starbuck's serves in that category.

[Moopheus]

Whereas the reverse is true at Dunkin's--go for the straight coffee and stay away from the mixed drinks. Though I have not tried their espresso--just the idea of it is kind of scary. And they do use decent quality beans that are ground in the shop, and not burned to a crisp like that other place. Their web site says the cream is light cream, [Milk, Cream, Disodium Phosphate (Stabilizer), Sodium Citrate (Stabilizer)].

[Verjuice]

Saw a bumper sticker today: "Friends don't let friends go to Starbucks".

Count me in. Their straight coffee is the worst. I haven't had it in years, but I remember that it tasted like a combination of old laundry water, ashtray sediment and suet. Horrid.

Dunkin Donuts strikes a nostalgic chord with me, though I don't like their coffee anymore either. I have found that it's really hit-or-miss. The town I live in only has one DD, and it's neither convenient location-wise nor reliable quality-wise: the two things it had going for it when I lived near a half dozen of them in the Northeast. Has anyone else noticed that DD's coffee has a generic baked-goods aroma to it that permeates your every skin pore and hair follicle for about three hours after you've finished your coffee? Even if I don't actually enter a DD to get my coffee, it still smells like cake/doughnut/muffin to me .

[Jeffy Boy]

Can't comment on Dunkin Donuts coffee, but I'm a regular at Starbucks. Like their dark roasts (Gold Coast, Sulawesi, French and Italian Roasts). Their lighter roasts are crap - may as well drink instant coffee. My pet peeve is when they brew something as their "Dark" selection that's not really dark. Dishwater!

Starbucks is pretty consistent anywhere in North America, which I like. I can stop in one anywhere, find what I want and not be disappointed. That said, there are probably gems in every city that are better than Starbucks.

In Canada we've got Tim Horton's donuts, and some people rave about that coffee. I will drink it only in emergencies.

[MRX]

Pahhh weakling coffee addicts.

Edited January 22, 2004 by MRX (log)

[Msk]

I don't like my toast burnt. I don't like my coffee burnt either. I much prefer the brewed stuff at DD. I especially love it iced during the hot humid NYC summers.

I used to work at a company that had Starbucks on tap 24/7 in the pantry for free. Gotta love those ploys to increase productivity! I disliked it so much I would actually go outside to get my coffee.

Msk

[bergerka]

Dunkin Donuts, except for the Starbucks gingerbread latte, which is a new high in amazing tasting coffee-type drinks that are approximately as bad for you as an order of McDonald's fries (but they are SO GOOD).

Also, I much prefer Dunkin Donuts' donuts to other brands, including Krispy Kreme, which I find way the hell too sweet.

K

[laurenmilan]

Good lord, this same battle is raging on in my office!

D&D is winning by a mile...

[laurenmilan]

Dunkin Donuts, except for the Starbucks gingerbread latte, which is a new high in amazing tasting coffee-type drinks that are approximately as bad for you as an order of McDonald's fries (but they are SO GOOD).

Also, I much prefer Dunkin Donuts' donuts to other brands, including Krispy Kreme, which I find way the hell too sweet.

K

I got 2 large bottles of the Gingerbread syrup from an employee. You can also order Torani Ginger Spice syrup for $7/bottle.

Great stuff... and I pour it in my coffee quite often.

[birder53]

I prefer Starbucks because I can add my own milk - just the way I like it! DD always put too much creamer in for my taste. What I don't like about Starbucks is not knowing which coffee they will have each day. I like the Verona blend. I usually end up with something else. At least at Quik Check or Wa Wa I know they will have the blend that I want and I can prepare it exactly the way I like it.

[adoxograph]

There's a Dunkin Donuts within walking distance of my apartment, and let me tell you - that generic sweet pastry smell can actually cut through the car fumes and waft past the pizza place to sneak in our lobby.

I am all over the regular Dunkin - you know, with cream and sugar - over Starbucks. However, this is with the knowledge that Dunkin Donuts coffee, for whatever mysterious reason, is better in the Northeast than in the Midwest. If someone can give me a good explanation for this I would be grateful - is it the water? :)

[cakewalk]

I much prefer the brewed stuff at DD. I especially love it iced during the hot humid NYC summers.

Yes on both counts. But during the summer I ask them to take it easy with the ice, or you can barely taste the coffee!

[bergerka]

I got 2 large bottles of the Gingerbread syrup from an employee. You can also order Torani Ginger Spice syrup for $7/bottle.

Great stuff... and I pour it in my coffee quite often.

*perking up* you have two bottles of that stuff? What the heck is in it, anyway??? It's SO good!

The eggnog latte is good too, in a sick and wrong kind of way.

K

[melkor]

The Torani syrups are available at the cash & carry wholesale grocery places for something like $5/bottle.

[Jeffy Boy]

DD always put too much creamer in for my taste.

Same problem with Tim Horton's here in Canada. Ya gotta ask for "cream on the side", otherwise they put in WAY too much. They use 18% cream too, not 10%.

[Msk]

I much prefer the brewed stuff at DD.  I especially love it iced during the hot humid NYC summers.

Yes on both counts. But during the summer I ask them to take it easy with the ice, or you can barely taste the coffee!

True True

[herbacidal]

So DD now has lattes, according to the latest commercial.

Trying to think if this means the world is going to hell in 5 years, or 10.

[Moopheus]

Going to?

[herbacidal]

Going to?

I'm not that cynical.

You think it's already there?

[Andrew Fenton]

So DD now has lattes, according to the latest commercial.

Trying to think if this means the world is going to hell in 5 years, or 10.

I dunno; can those be any worse than the "cappuccino" machines they have at gas stations?

[alacarte]

Starbucks.

Starbucks.

Starbucks.

I like Starbucks on its own merits, but I've had an aversion to Dunkin Donuts ever since a colleague came to work, opened his D-D cuppa joe...and there was a cockroach floating inside.

EEEUUWWWW!!!!