In our fast-paced world, caffeine is a must-have. To be able to continue my busy student schedule and full-time job, I drink a lot of coffee. The closest chain option for me is Starbucks, but I choose to drive to Dunkin’ Donuts.
Dunkin’ vs. Starbucks is a long-debated discussion. Dunkin’ has been around since 1950 and Starbucks since 1971. Even though Dunkin’ has been around longer, Starbucks has more than double the number of locations, expanding its reach far beyond Dunkin’s.
This greater reach gives Starbucks a one-up on getting its products out to more people. The more people to try Starbucks, the more will enjoy it and look no further. However, Starbucks lacks in many departments, such as food.
The food options at Starbucks are more aimed at small bakery items, such as muffins and bagels, while Dunkin’ offers more filling foods such as eggs and meats. Dunkin’ has a large selection of doughnuts as well, which is something that Starbucks doesn’t carry.
One of the biggest pros in the food category is that you can order beyond breakfast sandwiches and make them completely vegan by removing the cheese and egg. The sandwich is still very tasty even without these two items.
Starbucks rolled out a vegetarian sandwich alternative this year, however it used its signature English muffins. I believe this was a swing-and-miss because its English muffins contain dairy.
This makes it impossible for vegans to enjoy their breakfast sandwiches. The vegan lifestyle market is growing everyday, and I predict Starbucks will soon have to alter its vegetarian sandwich to cater to vegans.
When it comes to the coffee itself, Starbucks coffee has a much more notorious bitter taste, while Dunkin’s iced coffees are much sweeter. The added sugar gives Dunkin’ coffee an extra boost and improved taste.
This improved taste with a sugared doughnut, hash brown, and breakfast sandwich makes for the perfect combination that Starbucks bitter coffee and reheated food can’t match.
Even though Starbucks may offer you an easy coffee fix because a store seems to reside on every corner, I encourage you to give Dunkin’ a try. You may be surprised by what you have been missing out on.
