About every gs station and grocery store in the metro sells Krispy Kreme (which are delivered each morning), but there is nothing like one "hot off the conveyor belt"

I love watching them being made -- sometimes if there were no one else in line I would ask for if i could pick my do-nut out from the beginning. I would watch the "belt" and when they got to the end I would point out the ones I wanted. You ever watch the process?

Nope, not here. Dunkin Donuts seems to have cornered the market in my neck of the woods. There is one Mobil station that has them, but they run out so darned fast that by the time I get there, there's usually only one or two lone (and squashed) left.

I love to watch them being made, and getting the free hot donut "sample"

The BEST donuts ever made. Unfortunatley they OVER franchised their stores and saturated the market with too many stores and they hurt themselves and the franchisees. That's why so many closed almost as fast as they opened. A shame because they make a really great donut. I love their donuts.

Dunkin Donuts don't even come close. It's too bad that Krispy Kreme had such poor marketing becuase I think that if they had marketed their products and their stores the right way, similar to the way that Dunkin Donuts once did, they would have given Dunkin Donuts a run for their money.

While I enjoy Dunkin Donuts coffee, their service has declined quite a bit. And I blame it on the fact that they've become to diversified in what they sell, now adding pizza and sandwiches to their menu. In my opinion the addition of these items to their menu has detracted from the fast, quality service that they once were known for.

What used to be an in and out experience buying a cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts has now turned into waiting 10 minutes for that same cup of coffee because they're caught up making sandwiches and pizzas! Dunkin Donuts Pizza? Nah, I'll pass. Stick to what made you what you are is my motto. Coffee, donuts and quick service.

As for this topic, Starbucks, I've NEVER been impressed with their OVER PRICED COFFEE which by the way is nothing more than OVER ROASTED/COOKED coffee blends. In my opinion their coffee is not that good.

Dunkin Donuts just aren't good. Usually I'll go to a local place called Chuck's Bakery for donuts. The nearest Krispy Kreme is about 20 minutes away, I've never been to that one. I've only been to the one in Lafayette, IN.

The Dunkin Donuts around here don't do the sandwiches and stuff and they are all owned by Indians from India. The Dunkin Delis in Chicago have what you're talking about, DC.

I had my usual starbucks drink tonight, with 5 espresso shots...and here I am at 2:20 AM!!

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, so I don't buy coffee out, either at Starbucks or any other place. I make two cups of cappucino each morning via my own pump espresso machine. It's not an expensive machine, but it serves. I do experiment with whole bean coffee. Starbucks is pretty good, but expensive. Trader Joe's French Roast is very good at less than half the price. The organic French Roast at Basha's (Arizona supermarket chain) also is pretty decent.

Try the Trader Joe's Burundi, TB. It's very good.

We bought a coffee maker that has the grinder built in, and there's no comparison between ground and whole bean.

Yes, it's excellent, SB

TB, sometimes I'll buy the Starbucks if it's on sale. I like their "Breakfast Blend." It's not too strong.

I was in Trader Joe's in Henderson, NV, last week. Bought small cans of two new coffees: TJ's Fair Trade Organic French Roast, and TJ's Ultra Dark Roast Blends Dark French Roast. Any experiences with those, SB?

I've tried the Burundi and I want to say the Sumatra, but I may just be making that last one up.

Tim Horton's > Starbucks

XL 4 cream 4 sugar

Oh, you mean the Kama Sutra, dont'cha Babe?

That'll perk you up!

OK...so starbucks closed their doors for 3 hours yesterday and it was the biggest thing on all the late night tv shows..i dont get it.

Can you spell "PUBLICITY"?? They got a whole crapload of it out of this stunt.

Welcome to the boards, dm.

They had to retrain their employees on how to make espresso because, despite the fact that they have automatic espresso machines, "it's not as simple as pushing a button".

Riiiiight.

Maaaaan, you get sarcastic when you have caffeine.

Only when I have caffeine?

I was trying to keep my response "on topic".

Clever man. If only the baristas at Starbucks were as smart as you.

(see, I can stay on topic, too)

As far as I'm concerned, they should have closed their doors for 3 weeks! Overpriced overroasted burnt coffee, that's what they sell.

But you have to give credit where credit is due, a fantastic way to get free advertising! Brilliant marketing strategy! It probably cost them 1/10, to shut down for the three hours, than what it would have actually cost them to pay for the publicity that they got out of this.

I can't stand Starbucks coffee. Dunkin Donuts is good, but over-rated. I've found that convenience stores like Wawa and Quick-Chek have much better coffee. I even like BK and McDonalds coffee better. At home, I usually make "Eight O'Clock" brand coffee.

I don't really have anything against Starbucks per se, but seriously Tim Horton's coffee is just flat out better. This whole idea of corporate coffee is perfectly fine in our capitalist free market society but another rule of such a society is that the best product(s) win. It doesn't always work out this way due to marketing/marketability and various other factors but really, let's say that the best product(s) should win. I've had both Starbucks and Tim Horton's coffee and Timmie's is much, much better. I don't recall having had Dunkin Donuts but I'd assume that it's better (than Starbucks) as well.

I didn't care for McDonald's coffee at first but now I'm warming up to it.

I have my off/on/off love affair with coffee, even espresso, Dunkin definitely has had the best coffee for at least 20 years, my father once said it and I believe it to be true also, its just a smoother blend for some reason. Starbucks? I agree, overpriced, burned, way too strong... and, not consistent from what real coffee experts tell me. There is ONLY one thing I like off their "menu" and thats the caramel macchiato. There was a place in Spring Lake NJ that had a "milky way moccha" and since that place is now closed, starbux has the only thing that comes close at triple the price. I spent $300 on an espresso machine, not as good as you might find in any little italy neighborhood who use 'real' machines, but far better than $tarbucks.

I never really got into starbucks....they double brew their beans which makes it bitter....so many better places...

Conan O'Brien talking about Starbucks closing to retrain their employees.

"They had to teach the employees not to laugh when charging $5 for a cup of coffee"

Good one LN!

You just have to learn how to order coffee from Starbucks...one that Annie taught me was this:

Mocha Coffee: $3.45 for a small
Regular Coffee with Mocha: $1.85

It gets expensive after going everyday but if you are a real coffee drinker its worth the price.