Starbucks vs. Dunkin — which coffee is better?
Let’s just go ahead and address the elephant in the room. People are as dedicated to their coffee shops as they are to their NFL teams.
You probably already have an opinion about it, but I wanted to share my opinion on an important question:
Is Starbucks or Dunkin better coffee?
I live in North Texas, and Starbucks holds the market share of chain coffee shops. I had to drive 25 minutes from my house to find a Dunkin coffee shop. In my city, there are 3 standalone Starbucks plus one in each of the 3 big grocery stores. The closest Dunkin is 3 towns over. I was surprised, but as a Starbucks fan, I never thought of it.
Also, neither Dunkin nor Starbucks compares with Nespresso, but that’s another post. Be sure to check out Randy’s new post about the best coffee on a budget, too.
I’ve had Dunkin, but not in many years. I used to attend a tradeshow in Boston, MA (Dunkin home turf), and have had their drip coffee.
But I didn’t think twice about it.
And it’s been 10+ years.
Also, I know Dunkin has a cult following on the East Coast. That’s where their fan base is.
For this post, I ordered side-by-side to-go coffee drinks from both Starbucks ad Dunkin. I wanted to level the playing field of the most common to-go coffee drinks for the comparison. I ordered a vanilla latte, a drip coffee (no creamer or sugar), and a cold brew (no creamer or sugar) from each brand.
And, I also did a blind taste test of an at-home drip-brew of Dunkin’s classic roast and Starbucks’ veranda roast. They’re the most comparable roasts.
Here’s what I found comparing the quality and price of Starbucks vs Dunkin:
Starbucks and Dunkin – A Tale of 2 Coffee Giants
The coffee war between Starbucks and Dunkin has really ramped up over the last few years. Starbucks has been a convenience coffee giant since I was in college (the late 90s, early 2000s).
But here in Texas, you didn’t even think of Dunkin as a gourmet coffee spot.
As of October 2020, Starbucks holds the larger market share. They have $26 billion in annual sales and 30,000 stores worldwide.
Dunkin is a distant second, with $1.5 billion in annual sales and only 11,300 stores.
Bigger doesn’t always mean better, though.
Starbucks has pushed Dunkin into the upscale to-go coffee arena. In recent years Dunkin has dropped the “donuts” from their name, added cold brew, and even rebranded their stores as coffee shops instead of a donut shops.
Both brands have a fleshed-out homebrew line of most of their flavors, including premade cold coffee drinks. If you want Starbucks espresso one day and Dunkin classic roast the next, just add it to your grocery list. Both brands have a huge take-home presence in national and local grocery store chains’ shelf inventory.
Both Starbucks and Dunking brands have die-hard fans. Dunkin even sponsors creators on TikTok. Both brands have a strong presence among millennials, the largest consumer power in America. Millennials are projected to spend close to $14.1 trillion on consumer goods in 2020.
The social media presence of these two coffee giants makes sense too. Social media is millennials’ main form of information and entertainment.
On with the Starbucks vs. Dunkin taste tests.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin – Drip Coffee
If a brand can consistently brew a solid cup of drip coffee they’ve got the basics of coffee down. It’s easy to cover up a bitter bean or an old pot with sugary sweet add-ins.
That’s why drip coffee is the baseline.
Dunkin Drip Coffee
I ordered a medium Dunkin drip medium roast. The cup holds 24 oz. of 100% Arabica coffee. Dunkin doesn’t go into the origin of their classic brew nor do they disclose their blends. Medium drip coffee costs around $1.89 (plus tax if applicable in your town/ state).
The coffee was hot and smelled like a fresh-brewed, plain old cup of coffee. The colorful cup was a nice touch. Coffee packaging marketing can be somber. I’ll write about that in another post. I ordered no add-ins like creamer and sugar/ syrup, even though I do usually add both to my coffee. Then I removed the lid…
My first sip was piping hot, but I could tell the grind or temperature had made the coffee bitter from the smell.
My first reaction was meh.
Dunkin drip coffee is okay.
It’ like the “gourmet” coffee pods you might find in a mid-level hotel room. It isn’t hospital coffee, or even gas station coffee, but it’s not in the same ballpark as Starbucks drip coffee.
I didn’t get a lot of flavors other than really hot mediocre drip coffee that was either over roasted or had been hot for too long.
I would order Dunkin drip coffee again in a pinch, but it’s never going to be my go-to drip coffee.
Do with this what you will, but I didn’t even finish this cup of coffee.
Here’s my rating of Dunkin’s medium roast drip coffee: 3/10.
Starbucks Drip Coffee
I ordered a grande (medium) Starbucks Pike Place roast. The Starbucks cup holds only 16 oz, compared to Dunkin’s 24 oz. The Pike Place (PP) blend is made of 100% Arabica beans just like the Dunkin medium roast drip coffee. A grande PP drip coffee is $2,45 plus tax.
Dunkin wins on price and size.
My drip coffee came in the iconic green and white cup with the brown cup cozy. If I had a penny for every one of those I’ve thrown away, I could be writing this blog on a full-time basis.
The smell before I removed the lid was familiar but acidic. I wonder if this is the norm for mass-brewed drip coffee. I removed the lid and picked up warm notes of cocoa and roasted nuts. But I was unable to find any clear notes in the Dunkin medium roast.
The Starbucks drip coffee was hotter than I would’ve liked. This might contribute to the acidic smell I picked up on earlier. Once it cooled down, I enjoyed the warm flavors.
If I could get drip coffee from a Starbucks at stadiums or other institutional settings, I would gladly order again.
My negative notes on this cup are Starbucks can do better. They get wrapped up in their specialty drinks — I’m looking at you Pumpkin Spice Latte — and don’t apply the same care to their drip coffee offerings. It seems like an afterthought.
Clean drip coffee is Starbucks’ core product, and they’ve forgotten their roots.
Here’s my rating of Starbucks Pike Place medium roast drip coffee: 7/10.
The Winner of the Starbucks vs Dunkin Drip Coffee Comparison
The Dunkin vs. Starbucks drip coffee comparison was clear. I won’t order Dunkin drip coffee again.
Starbucks PP is the clear winner on taste and delivery. Both were over-brewed or used too coarse of a grind or it was held at too high of a temperature for too long.
Starbucks drip coffee takes the win.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin – Cold Brew
Cold brew is a new trend in the gourmet coffee scene. I take my cold brew seriously, especially here in Texas when it’s often too hot to drink anything except cold brew. Cold brew coffee exploded onto the market this summer, with both Starbucks and Dunkin rolling out large marketing campaigns targeted at the millennial coffee audience.
Cold brew is here to stay.
Dunkin Cold Brew
I ordered a medium cold brew at Dunkin with no add-ins. Their cold brew is slightly sweetened, much like Starbucks’s offering. The color was rich and dark. Cold brew coffee can be murky if processed incorrectly. This was a good sign. Also, I can’t get enough of the pretty Dunkin cups. A., my daughter, was delighted by the neon-bright colors of the Dunkin logo across the cup.
A medium cold brew at Dunkin is 24 oz — the same as their drip coffee. This coffee has a strong presence among 20 to 40 year-old cold brew fans. It costs around $3.00. Dunkin claims to brew their cold brew in filtered water for 12 hours. It tastes like it, too, which is a good thing.
I did my normal swirl of the cup to hear the ice moving around.
The Dunkin medium cold brew is excellent.
I was surprised after my Dunkin drip coffee experience. It’s slightly sweet to take the bite off the famous power full cold brew.
The strength was weaker than the Starbucks cold brew coffee, but it was still delightful. Dunkin is a good cold brew coffee option for someone who is new to cold brew or finds traditional cold brews too strong.
This coffee drink was bitter, but it was much less bitter than Dunkin’s drip coffee.
This is most like due to the cold brew process’s goal of a less bitter, stronger brew. The biggest drawback of the Dunkin cold brew coffee is the ice to coffee ratio.
It had too much ice.
The ice tends to melt down and mellow out the intensity of the cold brew. I’ll request less ice next time.
Here’s my rating for Dunkin cold brew: 6/10.
I will order it again.
Starbucks Cold Brew
This review was hard for me to write because of my adoration for Starbucks cold bew. I didn’t order my cold brew from Starbucks like I usually do, though, with coconut milk and 3 scoops of vanilla bean powder.
Starbucks is the leader in heavily- marketed, mass-produced cold brew coffee. Here in North Texas, when it’s hot, Starbucks cold brew sells out before they have more ready.
I ordered a grande cold brew from my neighborhood Starbucks. It had a deep chocolaty color that I found satisfying. The ice to liquid ratio was spot on. A grande cold brew with no add-ins is 16 oz and costs $3.65. That’s a big price difference for less product.
The Starbucks cold brew was smooth, not bitter, and was not presweetened. If you’re a sweet coffee person, you’ll want to add some sweetener of your choice. The crispness of this cold brew will be more along the lines of what coffee traditionalists expect from this coffee style.
Let’s talk about the cold brew to ice ratio. I did my swirl test and it was spot on. I like the ice to make up about 40% of the volume.
Starbucks claims they “cold” brew their grounds for 20 hours to ensure the iconic strong but smooth cold brew they have brought to the masses. You can tell that coffee is their first priority.
Here’s my rating for Starbucks cold brew: 9/10.
I’ll be ordering this again for sure, since I already drink it on a regular basis.
Starbucks takes the win for best cold brew.
Winner – Starbucks vs Dunkin Cold Brew
The winner of the best cold brew is Starbucks.
When you look at Starbucks vs Dunkin when it comes to an intricate coffee beverage like cold brew, you can see that Starbucks is the champion and has a more refined taste and overall product.
But, Dunkin stepped up their coffee game quite a bit when it came to their cold brew option. If I ever have to make the choice between Denkin and Starbucks, for cold brew it’ll be Starbucks.
Dunkin is a close second this time, though.
If you’re looking for a good cold brew but don’t want to drop the cash on a Starbucks offering, go to Dunkin. You get more liquid for less for less cash.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin – Vanilla Latte
The vanilla latte might be the most famous coffee drink of my generation. I’m a young Gen-X/Millennial. Lattes are just what you order if you’re from that generation and consider yourself a real coffee drinker. I cut my fancy coffee drinking teeth on the vanilla latte. I’m an expert.
I did this comparison differently than the first 2. Lactose creamers don’t sit well with my stomach, so I usually get coconut milk.
But Dunkin only offers oat milk and almond milk. Almond milk was added as the creamer, and I got an extra shot.
I love a good vanilla latte. They aren’t necessarily from just Starbucks. I was excited to jump in and taste the 2 side by side.
Here’s how it went.
Dunkin Vanilla Latte
I was skeptical when I ordered this expresso drink. I didn’t trust that a donut place could make my coveted latte as well as my old standby, Starbucks.
So, I ordered a medium vanilla latte with a turbo shot (extra shot), and almond milk. What surprised me, and I had read about previously, was that Dunkin has invested a lot of capital in high-end espresso machines and training of their staff on making said drinks.
I needed guidance on my order. I was confused about the difference between a flavor shot and a flavor swirl. Here’s what I learned:
A flavor shot is just flavoring without any added sugar.
A flavor swirl is the same as the syrup added to Starbucks coffee drinks.
And a turbo shot is Dunkin’s verbiage for an extra shot.
I got my drink in the colorful cup and a cup cozy. I was excited to try this version of my all-time (predictable if you ask anyone who knows me) espresso drink. My latte was smaller than the rest of the Dunkin medium drinks (24 oz. vs.14 oz) and cost $5.38 plus tax if applicable. Also, the Dunkin almond milk is unsweetened just like the Starbucks counterpart.
My drink was on the hot side, but the first whiffs of the Dunkin vanilla latte were spot on. I removed the lid and was happy to see a foamy lip and where the espresso was poured into my latte. I picked up more sweetness than the Starbucks version.
The Dunkin vanilla latte was SO good. I drank the whole thing. I didn’t feel more or less caffeinated than my regular Starbucks latte. The swirl was sweeter than I’m used to. The espresso was rich and creamy. I was satisfied with this latte and would order it again. It’s cheaper too.
Here’s my rating for the Dunkin vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot: 9/10.
I’ll be ordering again if I find myself near a Dunkin.
Starbucks Vanilla Latte
I’ve already shared that I’m a Starbucks fan and that this is my go-to hot coffee drink. The tables might be weighted in Starbucks’ favor.
So, keep that in mind as you read my review of the Starbucks vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot.
I don’t have much feedback other than I love this coffee drink. I ordered a grande (medium) vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot. Thi cup of caffeine cost me $6.55. One thing I do prefer at Starbucks is the ability to control the temp, foam, and amount of vanilla syrup in my drink.
Does one pay for that customization options via the overall drink price?
Yes, one does.
My drink was hot, and I had to let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes before I could drink it without swallowing the depths of hell first. Once it had cooled, my mind was immediately comforted by this latte because it’s “my drink”.
But let’s talk about Starbucks’ almond milk. I’m not impressed.
The almond milk was new to me and tasted greener than the Dunkin almond milk. This was a big disappointment because I was sure that the Starbucks vanilla latte was going to win by a landslide.
I don’t need a shot of wheatgrass in my coffee, thank you.
If there’s one thing Starbucks knows and does well, it’s their lattes. They have a finely-honed skill for producing the same drink (with everyone’s quirky tweaks) on a mass scale. This is their bread and butter. No one else has managed the same success for as long as Starbucks has on the national coffee chain scale.
That being said, I genuinely enjoyed the latte, but I wouldn’t ever get it with almond milk. It was almost a non-starter for me. Dunkin, never change your almond milk.
Maybe the teacher has become a master in the almond milk category?
Here’s my rating of the Starbucks vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot: 6 /10.
It’s all about the almond milk for me.
Winner of the Starbucks vs Dunkin Vanilla Latte
Dunkin won this side-by-side comparison of their vanilla lattes with almond milk and an extra shot.
You keep doing you, Dunkin.
Starbucks, you let me down, but I’m loyal. So I won’t be switching any time to a Dunkin loyalist.
Dunkin also won because the upcharges were less and the overall price was almost $1.30 less for the better version of the drink.
Color me surprised. I like a good challenge, and Dunkin, you stepped up to the plate. I give the latte win to Dunkin on almond milk quality and price.
This one hurt, but Dunkin has the better vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot.
Conclusion
I was surprised at my results, and I was convinced that Starbucks was going to win by a landslide. I was wrong — so wrong. On average, it was a close tie.
Here are the official results of my Dunkin vs. Starbucks taste test:
Dunkin Overall Score: 6/10
Starbucks Overall Score: 7/10
That’s close. Maybe not as close at the Biden versus Trump election, but close.
I ordered side by side coffee drinks from both coffee giants. Dunkin was the clear winner when it came to price, and their almond milk. Starbucks was the winner when it came to the overall coffee flavor and the smoothness of their cold brew.
I was sure I was going to adore Starbuck’s vanilla latte with an extra shot and almond milk, but I was wrong.
The almond milk at Starbucks is just too off and grassy for me. I was taken aback. You’ve got some work to do, Starbucks.
Dunkin, your cold brew is just too tinny and bitter for me. You have some work to do in that department. Keep up the good efforts though.
SO my final conclusion is without a winner. If your to-go coffee budget is smaller these days, Dunkin is for you. And, if almond milk is your non-dairy creamer choice, Dunkin is for you.
If you love cold brew coffee, like I do, Starbucks is for you. If you like a classic crip coffee, Starbucks is for you.
How does Starbucks and Dunkin stack up with you?
I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments.