Are you looking to get your caffeine fix, but not willing to spend $6 on a cortado from a small coffee shop? This week I am going to go over the best things to order from your more chain style coffee shops to affordably stay awake in class.
Of course, going to school in Boston, we are all supposed to love Dunks, Dunkies, Dunkin’s, Dunkin’ Donuts. Sometimes, the coffee flavored water just doesn’t cut it. If I go to Dunks, I usually just deal with the coffee and order a medium iced caramel swirl with coconut shot and just milk. I have heard, though, that the turbo shots are definitely helpful to increase the coffee flavor. Although Dunks doesn’t always give me the same boost as a cold brew from a specialty shop, since I am from Boston, I have to appreciate it.
Starbucks, although somewhat pricier than Dunkin’s, is still not always top notch quality coffee. My favorite thing to get is the caramel macchiato with a double shot of espresso. It ups the caffeine and lessens the amount of milk you have in your drink, too. Some of the newer Starbucks also have nitro cold brew on tap, which sounds like it could be great.
Fast food restaurants usually sweeten your coffee so much that if you don’t wake up from the caffeine, you will from the sugar! McDonald’s is known to have $1 medium iced coffees, and I have heard great things about Chic-Fil-A’s breakfast options, including their coffee.
Peet’s Coffee is a great chain. They are somewhat in between Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, where they have fancier drinks, but in the end are still a somewhat low-quality coffee place. I used to enjoy getting a caramel macchiato from the Atrium Café in the Campus Center when we had Peet’s served there, but now, there is hope for a Dunks…eventually.
My favorite chain shop has to be Marylou’s coffee. It is more of a dessert tied into a coffee, but nonetheless, a great tasting non-traditional drink. My favorite order is a minty-lou. This is iced coffee, with a shot of mint flavor, cream sugar, and whipped cream. The whipped cream shaken into their coffee is a signature move that adds to the sweet creamy flavor of their “coffee.”
Lastly, PS Gourmet has also been at the top of my non-coffee coffee shops. They have a huge variety of crazy fun flavors to try, and they, like Marylou’s, taste like a delicious dessert. My favorite flavor is the Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor. It tastes exactly like the cereal! The shop I go to is in Southie, and has the Southie-vibe; they sell lotto tickets and are cash only, unless you spend a minimum of $10.
I would definitely suggest trying some of these more dessert-like coffees if you’re looking for something sweet or just want to try something new. These are my go-to places to go to in the afternoon, especially when I have a sweet tooth.