On my way to work there is a Dunkin' Donuts coffee place where the line of cars is so long, they make a big traffic jam at the light where I turn. Every morning for a year I wondered why people were willing to sit in a line of 25 cars to order coffee. Then, one morning, when school was out, the line was only 3 cars, so I stopped in. I was amazed to find out that their coffee is better than any other Dunkin' Donuts coffee I had had at any other place. Who knew?
In Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is huge. It is a phenomenon, and I swear there are Dunkin' Donuts every half mile or so and sometimes even across the street from each other. They proliferate on all main commute routes into Boston. When you ask for directions in Boston, they usually say something like "go down to the next Dunkin' Donuts and turn right", or, "Go around the rotary, take the third exit and when you see the Dunkin' Donuts take a left." Without Dunkin' Donuts, no one would ever find their way here. Driving in this city is unbelievably complex. The roads are never straight, never retain the same highway number or street name for long, and they curve around like old donkey cart trails, which is what they were 300 years ago. My advice to visitors is never ever rent a car in Boston. Asking for directions becomes a way of life. Downtown is a maze of one way streets and if you make the wrong turn, forget it, you'll end up on the Cape. Everyone is changing lanes, turning, signaling, honking, changing their minds,...all at once. I digress.
Boston and Dunkin' Donuts go together like horse and carriage. When I go to Oklahoma, there are no Dunkins. I wonder what they do when they want a cup of coffee? Here in Boston, people don't go anywhere without a a cup of coffee. Out of seven people at a meeting in my office last week, four had brought their Dunkins with them. There are thousands of Dunkin' franchises and every one of them is crowded most of the day. They are gold mines.
Yes, the coffee is good. But it's not THAT good. Starbucks coffee is stronger, brewed better and slower and...more expensive. I bought a double espresso on a whim one day, and it was $3.45 for an inch of very dark liquid in the bottom of the smallest to-go cup I had ever seen. It is a treat that I will not repeat often. My brother buys his coffee online from Hawaii, and gets only pure Kona beans, which he roasts himself and brews carefully and lovingly. Good coffee is very very high on his list of priorities. I enjoy Kona too, but it is almost too expensive. His coffee, however, is at the top of the scale, Starbucks is in the middle of the scale, and Dunkin' Donuts coffee is well -- fine, comfortable, and like a favorite comfort food, dependable.
Boston coffee addicts do not care if they have to wait in a long line every morning. They are patient when it comes to their coffee. And if there is a huge traffic tie up to boot, that is nothing new in Boston.
Time for my coffee break. See ya.
