Coffee is an essential part to some people's days. Heck, once I came to college, it became much more than a beverage to drink here and there; I drink coffee almost every day. Sometimes, I don't have the time or energy to brew up my own cup, though.
Where I'm from, if you're in a hustle, or just in the mood for a different style of coffee than your at-home machine makes, most people will swing by to a chain, either Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks, since there are not a whole lot of quaint coffeeshops around.
Which place should you go to? Depending on your region in the country, most of the time, these chains will be within minutes of each other. The drive to these coffee places are not the issue though, the hardest thing is choosing which place to go to! I'm here to weigh in the pros and cons of both places and try to come to a conclusion of which place I prefer. I'll even throw in a few hacks I personally know about from each restaurant.
Dunkin' Donuts Pros:
Personally, I think Dunkin' has the perfect amount of variety in their drinks: not too many combinations, not too little. Whether you want hot coffee, iced coffee, coolattas, iced tea, or specialty drinks like macchiatos and espressos, they have all of those with a few different flavors to choose from for add-ins. In high school, some mornings I would grab breakfast food too, along with my go-to drink, which is a medium, caramel iced coffee, with cream and sugar. I'm not sure how some of their food is prepared but you can never go wrong with hash browns, wake up wraps, and bagels. Let's not forget to mention, they have doughnuts! Personally, I prefer bagels and muffins over "donuts" any day, but people do go crazy for these, especially around certain holidays when they have specials. What's also great is that the prices for mostly everything on the menu is on the cheaper side, which helps when you're scrambling for loose change in your car. Even if you don't want to pay with cash though, there is a Dunkin' Donuts app where you can add money too, store gift cards, stack up points, and get free or discounted items!
Starbucks Pros:
Let's face it: coffee lovers always want to go into a Starbucks when they pass by it. Starbucks has a generally good reputation for all of the drinks they have; in fact, they have about 80,000 combinations of drinks to get! One thing I like about Starbucks' food is how it has options that aren't just breakfast-y or sweet. Starbucks is a place you can hangout with a friend and chat, have business meetings, or do work in general because of their free wi-fi. I like how the baristas are willing to make your drink perfect, adding any ingredients you could possibly have in a coffee. My go-to at Starbucks always changes, because I learn more about what's on the menu every time I go; generally though, I will get a tall, iced caramel macchiato, strawberry acai refresher, or some kind of frappuccino.
Dunkin' Donuts Cons:
Probably the biggest con of all from this chain is how sloppy the food can be sometimes. I know there aren't many workers behind the counter, but a messy bagel with cream cheese oozing out the sides, or an egg sandwich with the egg barely on the english muffin is not very pleasant. Also, once a certain number of bagels, muffins, or doughnuts out, they're gone; there's no way you'll get your favorite. Something in Dunkin's food and drinks also make me feel bloated most of the time, but I still consume it all anyways.
Starbucks Cons:
The price is definitely the biggest turn off about the company. The reason I usually get a tall, which is the smallest size, is because I don't want to spend more than $5 on an iced coffee that's mostly ice anyways. Some drinks are also not what you'd expect at first sip, because the baristas don't put cream and sugar in it behind the counter. Don't get me wrong, the taste is good, but sometimes I can't tell if I actually like what I'm drinking. There have also been claims that drinks look better advertised than they do in person. Usually when I'm in line ordering, I am rushing and just picking something with some sort of caramel flavor squirt in it, because it is always so crowded and I don't want to make the line feel even longer than it is. One last thing that isn't very efficient is their app. It seems as if you have to spend $75 in coffee to get something for free - again, that's something that really doesn't motivate me.
Best hacks of each chain:
DD is notorious, at least in my area, to giving away free leftovers near closing time. If you're ever craving something sugary after dinner time, swing by Dunkin'... they might be able to hook you up. Also, at this time of year, DD sells a refillable cup that allows you go get discounted iced coffees! All you have to do is ask them to use your reusable cup that you buy at any participating Dunkin' Donuts! Lastly, there are usually Snapchat geo-filters at each Dunkin' Donuts around. If there's not though, have no fear, I had 2 filters yesterday and I wasn't even by a chain.
Starbucks has some hacks that I think are great for the consumers, as well as the company. Currently on my phone, I have 3 apps that show different Starbucks "secret menu" items. Whenever I want to try something different at Starbucks, I'll look in the apps and find a drink that looks delicious. Then, at the counter, I'll ask for the specific ingredients from the app and bam, I have a personalized drink! Speaking of personalization, the company is known for writing names on people's cups. This could be a marketing strategy though, especially for the names that are spelled wrong, because it makes people take pictures of their drinks and post it to social media. And just for kicks, for anyone who still plays Pokemon Go, Starbucks are Pokestops, so you can always stock up your items in the game at one of these chains.
The settled debate:
And my winner is... Dunkin' Donuts! I think that despite their messiness at times, my go-to coffee never disappoints. The sizing is perfect, the price is great, and I actually enjoy all of the drinks I've ever gotten from there. No surprises in what it's supposed to taste like.
As for Starbucks, I will obviously continue to still go there. Honestly, Starbucks seems more about making their drinks expensive because of their infamous brand name. Though the drinks can be good, I think there's too much hype. Nonetheless, I still get drinks from there. I actually went to Starbucks yesterday, and Dunkin' Donuts earlier in the week.
The bottom line... if both chains were next to each other, I would be tempted to go in Starbucks to put the drink on my snapchat story, but my heart would lead me into Dunkin' Donuts.
America Runs on Dunkin'!
