Coffee chain rankings
 

The new McD coffee got me thinking about what the coffee rankings are (in quantity and quality).

For quantity (number of outlets) the top 10 coffee chains in US:
Starbucks - 8,000
Caribou Coffee - 322
Tim Horton's - 292
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - 213
Coffee Beanery - 200
Seattle's Best - 160 (which happens to be a subsidiary of Starbucks!)
Peet's Coffee - 112
Tully's - 100
Dunn Bros. Coffee - 85
Port City Java - 55

Which gives some idea of how big Starbucks is!!!!

For quality, of the ones that I have tried for brewed coffee (non-espresso or Americano):
Peet's
Tim Horton
Caribou
McD
Seattle's Best
Starbucks
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

For espresso, no contest out of these choices (Peet's by a mile). Also good was Torrefazione but it only had 17 cafes and is now owned by Starbucks (!!!).

Outside of the US, the product Starbucks sells is completely different -- they sell living room space rather than coffee. And this makes them very successful. People want the comfortable furniture and elbow room that Starbucks offers; I've seen many Starbucks in coffee loving countries where they are jammed and the much better coffee-serving cafe next door is empty (but with tiny tables and chairs jammed together).

Your list of favorites shows how subjective it is to choose the "best" of any food product. I have never tried Tim Horton's, but there is no way I would rate Caribou, McDonald's and Seattle's Best ahead of Starbucks. Of the ones I have tried, I'd have to go:

Peet's
Starbucks
Dunn Bros.
Seattle's Best
Tully's
McD's
Caribou

By the way, if you want coffee (including espresso) that blows away even Peet's, try Intelligentsia in Chicago. There are only a handful of stores (and I believe now one in LA), so I didn't include it on the list of chains above. Seems like it would've been kind of unfair....

I need to stop at a Tim Horton's sometime soon... Not just coffee, which Wegman's carries, but donuts too. :)

Not only is it subjective, but some of the chains vary considerably by store! Of course the "best" single-store cafe will be considerably better than any chain. I would pick a dozen cafes as having better coffee (starting with the beans, some roast their own). I knock Starbucks down for lack of consistency, some of their outlets have had major quality control problems (not surprising with 8000 outlets).

Tim Horton's coffee is interesting. I think they treat the beans to reduce the acid level. In any case there is a distinct Tim Horton's taste which many people like. Mild, mellow and smooth (and very consistent). Easy to tell apart from most other coffee sources. It isn't my favourite but I have to give them credit for this clever product strategy.

Panera Bread wins for me here in the Mile High city.

Starbucks tastes terrible at altitude.
I've had coffee from them at sea level and it was great, but over 5,000 feet it seems to become bitter and burnt.

I think Panera makes a fine cup of coffee as well. Tim Hortons and Dunkin Donuts rank very high for me.

Tully's out in Seattle is pretty good too.

I think part of my enjoyment is that I so rarely get to a Tim Horton's, that it makes it all the more enjoyable for me. :)

There were 345 Tim Hortons outlets in the US in July 2007, so there's gotta be more now.

At the same time, there was 2733 outlets in Canada, in comparison to 400 Starbucks

Unfortunately, none of the Tim Horton's are near me. :( The closest is 4 or 5 hours away.

And for those that like it hot, there is always McDonalds. Not a bad cup of coffee actually.

Saw OP and one other mentioned it. Not sure if it has as many airport outlets as some of the others, but on the road I don't see too many of the others and McD's usually has clean restrooms. You know the old saying "Coffee in, Coffee out" so clean restroom are a must.

My wife thinks Starbucks is too strong, even its decaf.

Again going to the subjectivity thing...I think the worst coffee on earth is at Panera. I've tried them two or three times, and could never even finish the first cup. To my palate, it always seems to taste like it's been on the burner for a couple of hours, and so bad that I don't even think it belongs in a list of coffee places. Fascinating that several people have mentioned it on this list. Not saying that it's wrong, just interesting.

I also find it interesting that someone mentioned that they don't like Starbucks due to "inconsistency." Part of the reason I like Starbucks is that I find it more consistent than any other major chain, except perhaps McDonald's. I went to one in Singapore just to check it out and asked for a House Blend, and found it virtually identical to that served at my local Starbucks. One caveat though: I don't include in this comment those places (like Barnes & Noble Bookstores) that "proudly serve Starbucks coffee." Their level of quality and consistency is all over the map (and generally not so good). Perhaps that was what the above poster was referring to....

One of the best perks of working in SF's FiDi was having a Peet's, a Torrefazione and a Tully's within 2-3 blocks of each other.

All three made fantastic coffee ^

Whoa! Subjective, indeed.

I'll take Starbucks espresso any day over Peet's.

Peet's espresso to my unsophisticated palate seems like they first burned the beans with kerosene, then ground in some dirt and brewed it with pee of Satan after a helping of asparagus. ;)

I do agree with Torrefazione Italia, they were great!

come on people, its all generally the same - aren't there more important things to talk about?

Not comparable in size to the large chains, but I'd like to introduce a smart Italian style concept coffeeshop mini chain to FT. No ties whatsoever to the owners or management.

Galestro is surprisingly the brainchild of a German entrepreneur in Cologne. I've visited their coffeeshop at Cologne Central Station fairly often when in town and as the staff is all Italian thought that it's a family run shop. In the best sense of the word.

You get Italian coffee specialities, snacks and pastries, Italian and local press and some alcoholic drinks from Bella Italia. Interiors are modern, stone and metal mostly. Very pleasant and civilized feel. :)

I do think they'd be open to franchises elsewhere.

http://galestro.com/contenido-4.4.5/...nt_content.php