Fall Drinks Compared

Starbucks wins against Dunkin’ Donuts

by Addison Gollnick & Yasmine Anakkar

On August 30 Starbucks’ seasonal fall drinks were released, following Dunkin’s release on August 17. Starbucks released six items including the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte, Owl Cake Pop, Apple Crisp Macchiato, the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, and finally the Pumpkin Scone. While Dunkin’ also released six items this fall season including the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Nutty Pumpkin Coffee, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, the Blood Orange Dunkin’ Refresher, Maple Bacon Sandwich, and finally, the Pumpkin Spice Donut.

Starbucks’ service is always an all-around positive experience, and while their most popular drinks are sometimes unavailable, they always try to accommodate your needs. Starbucks first launched its famous Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, and it’s become a fall staple ever since. The latte is a great fall choice–the highly praised combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and of course, pumpkin spice is all present, hot or iced. The price for a Grande is $5.75, but it’s worth every penny. Overall there was nothing wrong with the drink, from the taste to the quality of the drink, and it’s 5/5 star experience. The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew was a smoother and better-tasting version of iced coffee, and the pumpkin cream, which is made with vanilla sweet cream cold foam and Starbucks brand pumpkin spice syrup is topped with pumpkin spice powder. It’s a fantastic addition with a great balance between the taste of coffee and pumpkin sweetness. For $5.25 you can buy a Grande, and it’s a safe 5/5 star pick for those wanting to try something new and seasonal. Starbucks’ fall pastries did not disappoint this year. The Pumpkin Loaf

Starbucks may be a bit ” is a familiar fan favorite, and it’s clear why. The loaf is perfectly moist and has overpriced sometimes, but great flavor, and the addition it is 100% worth it for of nuts on the side added great texture. We give it a the quality. 4.5/5; the slight deduction was due to it being a bit too

“moist. The Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin was a surprising item to see on the Starbucks menu. The combination of cream cheese and the sweet muffin was unexpected for a lot of customers, but it turned out to be pleasantly surprising. The cream cheese and muffin mix give it the slight taste of pumpkin cheesecake. Although together they taste great, the muffin alone is perfect. It’s a great single-serving size, and for only $3.45 it’s a great snack for the fall, which lands it at 3.5/5 stars. The final item we sampled was the Pumpkin Scone. For $3.45 you can get one scone, which is massive. It was more than one person could eat in a single sitting. The scone texture was fantastic and the icing on top was a great addition. The only issue with the scone was the very high-calorie count. One scone was 500 calories, but then again, it should

not be eaten in a single sitting. Overall it was delicious and earned its 4/5 star rating.

The experience at Dunkin’ Donuts is one you would expect from a fast food chain; it was quick. At the time of order, there was no one in the drive-thru line and the employees were in a hurry. This season, Dunkins Hot Pumpkin Spice Latte makes a return. For only $3 you can get a Dunkin’ medium Pumpkin Spice Latte, but the latte wasn’t the best quality, to say the least. It wasn’t made with the best ingredients, and it tasted like the pumpkin spice wasn’t present at all. Dunkin’s will do, but overall, the drink was disappointing, and the 2/5 star rating reflects that. The next drink was the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, and while visually appealing, the cold brew itself was disappointing and low quality, making it difficult to drink. The pumpkin cream was smooth and tasted more like a pumpkin than the pumpkin spice latte, but it still had a very light flavor. The drink was overall just disappointing, resulting in its 2.75/5 star rating.

While the drinks were underwhelming, Dunkin’s fall pastries made a name for themselves this year. The Pumpkin Donut was the perfect quick and easy donut for the fall. For only $1 the donut is worth it–the taste of the pumpkin and the glaze was perfect. Overall, there was nothing wrong with the donut, giving it a 5/5 star rating. The Pumpkin Muffin was also great, the top part was the best, and the crunchy streusel added great sweetness and texture. For only $1.79 it’s a good deal, earning its 5/5 star rating.

Starbucks is better than Dunkin’ in quality, service, cleanliness, and taste. Starbucks is the blueprint, releasing their products earlier than Dunkin’s lattes and coffees. Historically this has been the case: the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte was released earlier in 2003 than the Dunkin 2007 release of their own version. Starbucks invented the pumpkin spice latte and was successful with it gaining wide popularity during the autumn season. Starbucks has never disappointed when it comes to creating drinks while Dunkin’ copies Starbucks word for word. For example, the famous Starbucks “Pink Drink” was released in 2016, and Dunkin’ followed in 2022 with the nearly identical “Pink Strawberry Coconut Refresher”. Starbucks may be a bit overpriced sometimes, but it is 100% worth it for the quality. Dunkin has low-quality products such as Almond Breeze, while Starbucks uses their own brand of almond milk which tastes smoother and better with the espresso shots. Dunkin’ has only two types of espresso decaf and regular arabica espresso. However, Starbucks has many variations of espresso such as decaf, blonde espresso, regular espresso, and half-decaf espresso, and you can ask for a ristretto or long shots. While Dunkin’ has options for pastries, Starbucks has more variety. Dunkin’ may be the best place to get donuts and munchkins, resulting in its overall 3/5 star rating. Starbucks is the place to go for coffee, frappuccinos, lattes, and seasonal drinks, giving it the win with an overall 4/5 star rating.

A wide variety of are drinks featured on the Starbucks and Dunkin menu’s.