As my friends and I were on the way to the mall, we stopped at a redlight and were captivated by a light, airy smell of freshly made donuts and fresh brewed coffee. We were all a little hungry but couldn’t decide between these two equally wonderful stores.

My choice would have to be Starbucks, so I would go there. I love their drinks, and they always have a great selection of sandwiches and other foods. I have a go-to order: a venti strawberry and creme frappe with a turkey bacon and egg white sandwich. Their drinks never disappoint and neither does the food. 

Before I tried Starbucks, I thought it was overrated. Everyone was constantly talking about the newest Starbucks drink: the pink drink, creme brulee latte and chestnut praline latte. It all sounded like gibberish. I chose to stay away because I doubted it could be that good, and it was just another overhyped place. Meanwhile, I was still a loyal Dunkin Donuts drinker at this time. 

I was on the way to get my Dunkin for the day, but I decided at the last minute I wanted to try something new so I pulled into Starbucks. I walked in, and I loved the atmosphere. The workers were nice. It was spacious and homely. I was looking at the menu, and I got lost. They had so many options, and they all sounded so good. I ended up getting a tall vanilla oat milk shaken espresso. It was amazing. I almost went back to get another one after I finished. After this I was tempted to start drinking Starbucks, but I just couldn’t stop drinking Dunkin, so I didn’t go back for a while. 

The next time I went back was with a friend, it was a nice, hot summer day. I got the mango dragon fruit refresher with lemonade, and they got a pink drink. I was a little nervous to try this drink because it did have pieces of dragon fruit in it. Sometimes my sensory issues prevent me from drinking or eating things with chunks of things in it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with this drink, I was in love with this drink. It had the perfect balance of mango and dragon fruit. The lemonade didn’t make it too sweet or too strong, instead, it balanced the drink. When I left that day, I was extremely satisfied with my drink and the service. 

I would still get my Dunkin coffee, but over a couple weeks, I slowly started to switch to Starbucks. I found myself at Starbucks more as time went on. Soon enough, I regularly started going there. Now, as a regular customer, I have plenty of drinks I want to branch out to try. This can be kind of nerve racking considering I find comfort in familiar things, such as my order. 

When I do go back for my next Starbucks run, I want to try some new things. Some of these things consist of: iced sugar cookie almond milk latte, iced peppermint mocha, strawberry acai lemonade refresher, mocha cookie crumble frappuccino, ham and swiss on a baguette, ham and swiss croissant, and the pumpkin and cream cheese muffin.  

With seven things on the list, it is pretty manageable to try all of them. Even as a person who is picky with their coffee, I think Starbucks has a very diverse menu to fit everyone’s preferences. This is something every coffee place or restaurant should have. A diverse and inclusive menu will bring more customers in; therefore, the coffee shop or restaurant will prosper more.