There are several premium ground/whole bean coffees sold in most grocery stores. Yesterday, mixed in with those, I saw Dunkin Donuts ground coffee, at 8 dollars for a bag.
Dunkin Donuts? To me, that’s like seeing Denny’s or Waffle House coffee at 8 dollars a bag. Is this some sort of a joke? Or is this actually sold to East Coasters who have moved across the country?
Costco has it. I’ll probably get some for my brother-in-law the next time he comes to visit, if I can get pre-ground. He’s afraid to drink the coffee I make, because it’s not Dunkin’ Donuts and he thinks it will be too strong for him.
Some people really love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Takes all kinds to make a world.
I haven’t gone looking for it in my grocery store, but there have been loads of commercials for it.
I remember Dunkin Donuts whole coffee beans being sold in a grocery store in Iqaluit, Nunavut years ago. Must have been a thousand miles or more from the nearest Dunkin Donuts store.
Dunkin’ Donuts actually has a reputation for, if not incredible, at least better-than-bottom-rung coffee. And I’d say IMO it’s probably deserved: it’s not as good as the $6 espresso from your local JavaSnob coffeehouse, but it’s better than typical diner/snackbar/wafflehouse coffee. I don’t buy Dunkie’s beans (cause I get the hippie fair-trade stuff), but if it was a choice between Dunkie’s beans or A&P store brand, I’d probably go for the Dunkin’.
The nostalgia/brand affection might not hurt sales, but they really do have an acceptable product.
If I said it was kind of like Friendly’s ice cream, would that make any sense? I’m afraid I can’t think of a nationwide example right now.
I think it’s fine. In the mornings before class it’s either Dunkin Donuts or 7-11’s coffee. The former is far superior.
Really? I drink black coffee and every DD I’ve gotten coffee at has managed to make it taste like tea. Granted, I like my coffee to be a bit on the strong side. I think that fuzzy feeling some coffee leaves on your tongue is a good thing. 7-11, on the other hand, fairly consistently has decent coffee. The one in Radford, Virginia actually has surprisingly good coffee. It always seemed out of place at 7-11, but there you go.
As far as DD coffee in stores, I’ve seen their whole bean variety being sold commonly for at least a year or so. The price has always been comparable to other whole beans. Not liking DD coffee, I’ve never purchased it.
You know who has the consistantly best coffee I’ve ever gotten? White Castle. No kidding. True it’s probably not great if you get it at lunch and it’s the same pot from the morning, but man, I stopped once because it was the only thing nearby and open on my way to a very early morning fishing trip and it’s the gold standard now by which all other coffee is judged.
Dunkin is alright stuff, but only if you drink it black. Having others control your cream and sugar is weird, but then adding cream and sugar to coffee is weird to me too.
Former independent coffeeshop barista checking in (not like that gives me a lot of clout or anything), but I think DD’s coffee actually is pretty okay. I prefer it to 7-11s (which is some of the worst coffee I’ve ever had), and I definitely prefer it to the burnt dreck Starbuck’s serves. Starbuck’s is fine if I brew it myself, and their Americanos are okay, but their regular coffee all tastes way over-roasted to me, for people who associate “strong taste” with “good flavor.”
Have you tried the new Pikes Peak Roast at Starbucks?
Must be different for each branch - the DD across the street from my school brews their coffee pretty strong, while 7-11’s stuff, in addition to being weak, makes my tastebuds shrivel in disgust.
Not yet. I assume by your question that it’s not as burnt as their usual offerings?
It tastes a lot smoother to me, but I have never really had a problem with the taste of Starbucks coffee. I would rate it a little better than DD.
Now, Caribou Coffee, that is some disgusting shit. I am not even sure if it the coffee or if it is the water. The one thing you can say for Starbucks is they really filter their water well.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I know a couple of people (my wife feeling strongest about it) who consider DD to be the best coffee available <shrug>.
What little I’ve had of Caribou, I’ve preferred to Starbucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, I actually quite like Starbucks, but not their brewed coffee. Caribou’s brewed coffee, from what I remember (and I last had it two months ago), was actually quite smooth and palatable.
I’m a West Coaster, and had occasion to visit my in-laws in Connecticut, and commented on how there was a damn Dunkin’ Donuts on every damn corner, and that there are virtually no DD’s in California.
There response was: :eek: where do you get your coffee?
(So does anybody actually go to DD for the donuts?)
But just last month I bought myself a cup of DD coffee, while waiting for a plane in Florida. It brought to mind something Abraham Lincoln was supposed to have said…“if this is coffee, please bring me tea. If this is tea, please bring me coffee.”
It’s certainly no Cafe Intelligentsia coffee (the benchmark for great coffee here in Chicago), but it’s not meant to be. It’s middle-of-the-road American diner-style drip coffee. As far as that goes, I’d go so far as to say that it’s one of the best examples of this style.
My local Dunkin Donuts does insane business. The parking lot has 10 spaces or so crammed into a corner lot, and they are full from 6 AM to 11 AM every day, with a constant stream of people in and out. And the place is run with military precision. It’s amazing. And besides that one, there is one in the grocery store a mile away, and an outshoot in a gas station a half-mile away.
We have a Dunkin Donuts in our Home Depot.
Starbucks is just unable to get any traction. They can’t get the density up high enough to make it viable. If I have to drive 25 minutes in the morning to get coffee, that’s not happening. Interesting thing is that Tim Horton’s is trying to make a play from north of the border. They’re doing much better than Starbucks, presumably because they are a lot like DD.
Meant to mention that I don’t bother buying their ground coffee. It’s $8 a bag here. It’s not that good.
I performed an experiment a few weeks ago, I bought a small Dunkin’ coffee, black, and purchased a pound of whole beans
I ground up the beans coarsely in my burr grinder, and brewed them in my french press
Dunkin’s Drip coffee; 4 out of 10, weak, watery, and bitter, it needed sugar and creamer added to make it remotely palatable
Dunkin’s coffee, ground before brewing and brewed in a french press; 8 out of 10, good, smooth body, rich mouthfeel, not overly bitter, actually quite nice for cheap coffee, a heck of a lot better than that over-roasted (burnt) Starbucks crap
DD coffee isn’t bad when prepared right, sadly, DD doesn’t prepare it as well as they could, it’s a compromise between production speed and taste