Which do you prefer?
Not even a contest - DD wins every time. Standard Starbucks roast is too burnt for us.
I voted equally good. There is a corner here with a Starbucks on one side and the DD on the other. I am just as likely to visit one or the other. It usually depends on which direction I’m coming from.
silenus - When was the last time you had Starbucks? The house blend hasn’t tasted burnt for a couple years (and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks this), since the introduction of the Pike Place Roast. Before that, I would have emphatically agreed with you. Plus they have an even lighter roast, the Blonde, which is even more donut shop coffee like.
Then again, maybe you’re more sensitive to bitter notes than I am.
Never had Dunkin Donuts coffee (and haven’t even had one of their donuts in at least 30 years) I can’t speak to the quality of it. I would have guessed it’s not good, but based on the fact the question is being asked, perhaps it is. I have this image of a coffee maker that’s been brewing since 1965.
Dunkin’ Donuts is 100% Arabica beans, it has an incredibly rich, deep flavor and its not at all burnt-tasting. I have tried Starbucks on several occasions, it has always been harsh, bitter and generally crappy.
I’ll add that I’ll take McDonald’s coffee over both of these.
Dunk’s is better, and you usually don’t have to wait in line for some blankety-blank wanting half-caf half-soy blah blah blah at 140 degrees.
Half the reason I don’t drink coffee from shops anymore…grumble grumble and get off mah lawn.
Is Starbucks not 100% Arabica? I’ve seen some people claim that they use Robusta, but I can’t find any definitive source, and I can find sources that say it’s 100% Arabica.
Or, also, the Starbucks website:
The interesting thing is that is the Singapore website for Starbucks. I can’t find that on the US site. There is a 2004 report that says they use only Arabica beans.
I’m not sure if that means 100% Arabica, or whether it’s a bit of lying by omission. Regardless, I like their coffee fine.
I have no idea what kind of beans Starbucks uses, I only know that Dunkin’s is 100% arabica. If Starbucks IS using 100% arabica beans … they are not using them well, say my taste buds.
Drinking a cup of Dunkin’ coffee right now … mmmm.
The wife totally agrees with you.
Personally, about the only coffee I drink these days is Farmer Bros., which is the coffee used by our favorite breakfast place.
I am aware of the new light roast at Starbucks, but once burnt (as it were)… 
I drink my coffee black, no sugar. I am not a big purchaser of coffee while out of the house (I think I may have bought three cups ove the past two years, not including the occasional cup after a meal at a restaurant), so my opinion may not be worth much.
My impression of Starbucks is tha tthe place is not targeting coffeee drinkers, but that they are aiming for people who want to buy coffee-based flavoured drinks. Dunkin tastes more like coffee should taste. I have no idea how it is if used as a base for syrups and whipped cream.
I can’t really tell what is or is not good coffee, but I know bad coffee and neither of those are.
Caribou coffee, that’s crap.
Starbucks is better by virtue of being within walking distance of my workplace. 
However, there is a local cafe also within walking distance that serves Small World Coffee, which I like better than either. But they are not open on Mondays, so on Mondays I do Starbucks.
So I didn’t vote in the poll, but I do approve of the way the OP drew a sharp dividing line between “things that are good” and “things that are crap”. None of this wishy-washy “just OK” nonsense.
I used to drink Starbucks all the time, because it was on the way to work. Since I moved, DD is on the way to work, so now I drink it. This has the added benefits of bigger cups (DD 24oz “Great One” vs Starbucks 20oz “Venti”) and lower prices.
Equally good. Which is moot because I go to Tim Horton’s.
No, you just get stuck behind someone wanting three plain munchkins, five powdered, four jelly, seven chocolate… is that 25 yet? No? OK, uh, make that four plain…
The only thing I ever get at Caribou is a latte, and I would say it’s indistinguishable from Starbucks. I’ve never had their brewed coffee in store, but I’ve bought their beans and wouldn’t say they’re worse than most other “off the shelf” beans.
In my experience, pretty much all the major coffee-selling chains are…fine. None are what I’d consider great, but they’re all a far cry from what I consider bad.
I am literally mystified by DD coffee lovers. IMHO it’s is virtually the nastiest coffee available anywhere. It’s true that SB sometimes overroasts, but every cup of coffee I’ve ever had at DD has been weak, sour, and has traces of nasty mixed up flavors because they don’t seem to separate their machines into flavored and non-flavored.
Where’s Krispy Kreme in this poll? 
I drink “coffee flavored drinks” and I think starbucks is vile. I love DD. Their coffee is delicious and they make it for me instead of handing me the mug and expecting me to add my own cream and sugar.
BUT I am quite positive it’s regional. I live in upstate NY, in Albany. The DD’s here are all unfailingly good. But when I go to NYC every DD sucks ass…and the employees do too.
ETA: Krispy Kreme came here and made a big splash for a year or two and then failed. Their coffee bites the big one. The hot donuts were a novelty and then people stopped going.