Coffee Debate: Dunkin Donuts vs. Cumberland Farms

by: Vinny Zammiello

When it comes to coffee, what is more important, quality or quantity? Also how much money do you think is a reasonable amount to pay for a coffee? Do you need a large selection of flavors? Or do you just like cream and sugar? Do you prefer to have your coffee made for you or make it yourself?

Depending on what you answered for those questions, you would prefer either Dunkin Donuts coffee or Cumberland Farms coffee. Here, I will list off the pros and cons one would experience when getting an iced coffee from one of these fine establishments.

Cumberland Farms:

If you are pressed for time before school but need a coffee to get you through the day and are someone who enjoys making your coffee yourself, Cumberland Farms is a great option to consider. Many people overlook Cumberland Farms coffee, which results in very short and quick lines within the store.

Once arriving at the coffee station, you can pick from a 20 or 32 ounce cup. Amazingly, the two sizes are the same price. Also, you can choose the amount of ice in your coffee to ensure that you are getting enough coffee to satisfy your caffeine craving. Customers can pick between regular, decaffeinated, or the “bold” coffee for a stronger coffee flavor. You can then select whatever coffee syrup they have in season (pumpkin, peppermint etc.) or a flavor shot of caramel, french vanilla, caramel apple, hazelnut, blueberry, or mocha. There tends to be two cash registers open, and paying is light on the wallet as any sized coffee is an extremely affordable $1.06 including tax.

“Cumby’s coffee not only makes me feel better than coffee from Dunks, it also saves my bank account by spending $4.24 on large coffees over five days rather than $13.60 on mediums filled three-quarters of the way up with ice at Dunks. It’s a no-brainer on where to go for me,” said Zach McGowan.

Dunkin Donuts:

If you plan on going to Dunkin Donuts be prepared to wait at least ten minutes for your coffee as the well-known chain is a more popular choice to get people through the day. Along with their delicious donuts, Dunkin has several coffee combinations. Most notably, DD carries caramel swirl, french vanilla, and mocha flavor shots. They also have three sizes to choose from (small, medium, and large). A huge advantage for Dunks is being able to have a hot cup for medium and small sized coffees  

Also, in the opinion of most, the overall taste of the coffee is far superior to that of Cumberland Farms.

The downside to Dunkin Donuts is that for a med
ium iced coffee (which is mostly filled with ice) costs an absurd $2.76. “For the price you should get more coffee,” said David James.

Someone who is a fan of Dunkin Donuts, even with its price, is Jack Dakin. “I really enjoy Dunkin Donuts coffee. I go every day,” said Jack Dakin. “The price is definitely worth it.”

Whatever your preference for coffee is, Cumberland Farms is clearly the more economical choice, and hopefully this article will make people more aware of that.