Alternatives to Starbucks?
 

Getting fed up with many aspects of Starbucks just to try to get a cup of black coffee that doesn't taste like dark water.

Anyone know of a reliable place to pop in and get a good to-go cup of strong black coffee without all the hassle? Someone at work mentioned Dunkin Donuts.

I'm in the DFW area, so any ubiquitous chain will work.

Feel like I've turned into that crotchety old fart, .....ing about the customized-orderers, the lazy drive-thru patrons blocking the parking lots, etc.

I love the SBUX app - preorder coffee and fetch it easily.
Peet's coffee is good.
But I only get this when on holiday. When at home, I just use my coffee machine. I'm surprised that your work doesn't have coffee machine.

Will have to try the pre-order on the app. Catch is trying to fight through the congestion to get into one of the many open parking spaces the drive-thru folks are blocking.

Don't know of a Peet's nearby but will check.

I always have at least one cup at home while getting ready, but stopping for coffee is a habit to break up the day a bit after the whirlwind of trying to get two small children ready and out the door to school.

That crap at work is the colored water I'm trying to avoid. :)

The Metroplex is a big area, there are quite a few independent places. I am not a Starbucks fan so I look for theses places too.

Saxbys - Allen
Astoria Cafe - Addison
Nerdvana -Frisco
Pearl Cup - Richardson
Cultivar - 3 locations
Biggbys- Allen

And a mighty fine list here.

https://www.yelp.com/list/21-good-in...e-shops-dallas

7Eleven coffee is surprisingly good.

It sure is reasonably good and if you have their mobile app then it works as a punchcard where and you can add it to your Apple Wallet if you have an iPhone.

Buy any six beverage that come in a cup and get the 7th free.

I'd say if you're tired of SBUX, then I'd say to look for a local non-chain coffee shop if it's close to you and/or worth the trip.

Color me another closet 7E coffee fan. Thanks for the tip on the app. ^

I'm a huge DD fan, their regular coffee is very consistent and I love their flavored coffees too (I know flavored coffee is not everyone's thing).

You're welcome.:)

Get off my lawn!!! LOL just kidding

I feel that way too

like another poster said, I use my coffee maker and at the office we have free coffee in the pantry so I seldom use SBUX. I used to go a couple of times a day until they priced me out of the market as $2.06 for a tall just isn't worth what I'm getting in return.

I do have the app loaded with some cash for when I am traveling though and their coffee is the same as all the other chains. DD is ok but the difference to me is minimal. Actually DD coffee is too hot for me; I can never drink their coffee until I'm 10 minutes down the road

I'm not sure what chains are around DFW but around here its SBUX, DD, or Peets

Around LAX I'll add Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

So maybe some DFW area FT'ers can direct you to something more local but all in all, get a good coffee maker for home and or work and you should be happy.

Yeah. It's called your kitchen. The folks there always know how you like your coffee, and it can be made so that it's available to you at EXACTLY the same time every day. No lines. If there's a custom order, it's only because you placed it. And it's amazingly cheaper than Starbucks.

You're welcome.

I forgot about 7-11

I like the coffee, the price is reasonable

It's just going into 7-11's that I hate

After reading OP response, I wondered if it was possible to return home Inbetween school drop off and work. Otherwise why not bring a thermos of coffee and have other relaxation moment before work?

I'm very happy with my home coffeemaker - mind you I only got one this year after 2 decades of buying coffee at local cafes etc. I'm very late. But I'm thrilled to do it. I'll still buy coffee on holiday.

There is a cost and environmental savings. I own SBUX stock as stock and part of DIA etf. Better financial return.

But let's also remember OP and that the request is for coffee shop alternatives, not a lifestyle alternative :-)

Yum yum

When SBux fiddled with their rewards program, I felt marginalized and switched to DD. And I was pretty happy until they up-charged me sixty cents for the almond milk in my free beverage. I have decided that half the time I am buying coffee just to earn points (sound familiar FTers?) and not because I want/need one. I have about $15 combined on both cards and haven't been to either in a month. Like Horse, I'll keep a balance on each for travel but no longer make a special trip at lunch or stop in on the weekends unless I simply must have a coffee. I love DD iced coffee and don't think there is a better chain version. But my loyalty was answered with disdain so I have a Keurig in my office and the company stocks k-cups in the break room and that's where most of what I drink comes from.

And don't get me started on drive-throughs. I won't go through one unless a passenger insists. My knees are shot but they still work well enough to get me from the car to the counter and back.

Oh yeah, I have no idea what independents exist in the DFW area but look for one. Almost always better than the chains until I moved here. We have a couple. One refuses to sell dark roast so I won't patronize, The other is excellent but usually crammed with diners and more of a sit-down breakfast place even though "Coffee Shop" is part of the name. Great coffee though. I wish you better luck.

A friend of mine who is a 'no fuss black coffee' drinker says that McDonalds do a decent cup.

I think it improved when they reformulated but McDonald's coffee still tastes like a cigarette to me.

Message received: do it your damn self! :)

FYI...I tried the mobile app this morning with good results; got lucky on the parking lot situation, so the experience was better than the day before.

@dchristiva...you're even more crotchety than I am. I suppose if I asked for a really good place to get a perfectly cooked stead you would direct me to the grill in my backyard. :p

If you're in New York, you have many choices of smaller chains and independent ones too. I like Financier.

Another 7-11 fan, I like the blueberry they typically brew in the morning. Not much blueberry taste but I love the aroma of it.

This won't help you in DFW, however if you are ever in the Philly/South Jersey area, Wawa has excellent coffee at a very reasonable price.

QT/QuikTrip is usually pretty good too.

Are they still around?? There were a bunch of them in Chelsea and the Village but they all closed.

I liked their pastries but not their coffee.

I love Wawa ^

We just started getting them in the past year or so (that I know of)

The closest one that I know of is down by the air and space museum just south of IAD. But I go by there every so often and stop in

I didn't know the Biggby's expansion had reached as far as Texas. I still prefer Starbucks, but Biggby is pretty good too.

I patronize Starbucks less for its coffee and more for its SJW lean.

Let's see if that will get us into Bad OMNI. :D

I love SBUX app - it's helpful even if they aren't busy. Sometimes I've used it when I'm there because of lines but in general if I plan to get SBUX then I'll use app before driving over. I mostly only use it when on vacation :-)

I've gotten a decent cup @ Einstein's Bagels...might try Hardee's/Carl's Jr.

Dunkin Donuts does have good coffee. McDonald's has good coffee as well.

SBUX mobile app is what I use 90% of the time when I go there. This removes people that know what they want from the ordering queue and makes the occasional unplanned trip not as bad with regards to line length.

Although I am the type of customer that SBUX wants (person that buys some of their high margin food items as well as the convoluted concoctions that tend to be expensive), I rarely go there anymore. This is, in part, due to parking concerns at many of their well-visited stores. I have learned to avoid the double-star days as many of their food items are wiped out and they are busier than normal so drink orders take longer to fill.

Last year, I spent about $600 at SBUX and obtained 7 rewards. This year, I have spent $500 with a little over $41 left on the card currently. I have redeemed 3 rewards and have 637 stars currently so the new system has been beneficial to me numbers-wise. Although absent the star dashes that would not be true.

Peets and Dunkin are OK but they have their limitations just like SBUX. It's more of a personal preference. it depends on location, obviously, but SBUX usually wins in store location volume so that convenience is part of what drives me when I get the urge.

The biggest problem is that Starbucks are everywhere and in some places other nearby options are limited. I haven't tried 7-11 lately, but their stores all seem to have that "7-11 smell" that I'm not fond of. I do like Wawa (Racetrack's not bad either), and I love the 79 cent any size that they do occasionally.

As far as non-convenience store options, I think DD is about the only place that has decent coverage, but even then nowhere near as prevalent as sb.

As others have said, I'll always give a local place or small chain a try if there's one nearby but in some places sb has just saturated the market.

Everyone knows you get DOUBLE POINTS using the SBUX app, Right?

I like to go to independent coffee shops. Unfortunately they are hard to find where I live. So I end up once or twice a week at SBX
Enjoyed Pacific Coffee in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Pricewise the same as SBX but coffee tasted better.^

I like The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

As others have said, McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts have good coffee for way less.
But if you want coffee while at home try instant coffee; it's OK:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27529617-post26.html

I am surprised that so many posters like the McDonalds coffee. Not at all impressed with it.
How do you guys think about the Panera Bread coffee. I find it appealing to my tastebutts.

I'm okay with Panera coffee despite it always being too darn hot to drink immediately. I am usually finished with the bagel/muffin before I can take a sip without burning a lip.

Be careful.
That coffee may well be as hot as 190 degrees F (over 87 degrees C).
At 162 degrees F human tissue is destroyed on contact.

Peet's Coffee is my favorite. But I've only seen them in CA and MA. Then again I don't travel to many different places in the US.

In America: Peet>>CBTL>Starbucks>>>>>McD>Dunkin (actually, McD is no better than Dunkin, but Dunkin is also overpriced).

Doutor Coffee in Jpn is my favorite coffee chain. Starbucks in Jpn are not that much different than in US, but their drinks are made more consistently well, they offer free self-serve syrups and the maccha latte is infinitely better.

Dunkin: so overrated. I used to live in BOS where everyone's got this inexplicable loyalty to Dunkin. Dunkin is overhyped and overpriced.

McDonald: also not good. Their coffee is often very bitter.

Starbucks: At least they're good sometimes, and they also provide you with a decent venue to unwind if you decide to drink in. However, sometimes their latte just tastes like hot milk.

Coffee Bean (only been to ones in AZ and at SEA): Coffee slightly better than Starbucks, although the latte at Starbucks can be better than the one at CBTL depending on who's making it at Starbucks. They definitely have better selection of tea than Starbucks.

Caribou: Only had them a few times... I didn't think they were that good.

Every time I venture out to some other chain, always end up coming back to Starbucks. It's very hard to beat the rewards, convenience, app, ambiance (for the price), and refills (a huge deal for anyone accustomed to doing work in a café for any length of time!)

What I really don't get is how people have coffee in donut places. Horrible watered down slop at Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, etc. with a fast food vibe