As an avid chai latte drinker, I’m a regular customer at most of these Starbucks locations. Based on a couple of different factors, I’ve ranked all the different locations at BU. If anyone who works at one of these coffee shops sees this, it’s a joke! Shoutout to all the different baristas and employees!
- The Questrom Starbucks
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The Questrom Starbucks is also known as Fancy Starbucks in my mind. When I walk through the main lobby of Questrom and up the stairs (just to get a chai tea latte and leave again), I feel incredibly important. This place also gave me so much caffeine first semester when I had a 9 a.m. class in the big Questrom lecture hall; having coffee for that was a necessity. The lines are almost always a very nice average length. You don’t feel like you’re waiting for your coffee for too long, and your order almost always comes out absolutely immaculate.
Bonus points: getting called “hunny” by one of the baristas that works there is very nice :)
- The Warren Starbucks
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Deciding between the Warren Starbucks and the GSU Starbucks for the runner-up spot was extremely difficult. I’m going to let the Warren Starbucks take second place out of sheer convenience. I lived in Warren Towers freshman year, and being able to simply walk out of the building and have Starbucks at the end of the street was magnificent. The vibes the place gives off are also incredible. The fireplace (I still have yet to find out if it’s actually real or not) gives it a nice cozy feeling, although the leather or ‘pleather’ chairs are quite difficult to do work on and the bar seats are almost always taken. One of the main reasons this store didn’t clinch first was the fact that the line is horrendous. The convenience of the store is a high risk, high reward scenario (at peak hours, the line is out the door).
- The GSU Starbucks
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As previously stated, this place nearly took second place. The main reason it got bumped down to third is the fact that I am almost never in the GSU. The building itself is located in a kind of weird area of campus: it’s a little too close to West Campus for me to think about going there after class in CAS. I am living in West next year though, so maybe I’ll consider getting a chai latte before class. One of the greatest positive factors of this store is the selection of mugs, tumblers, and french presses. I’ve never wanted a French press so badly as when I’m waiting in line here.
Bonus points: The workers are always incredibly nice and look like they’re having a great time, so I don’t feel like I’m allowed to be too mean about this place.
- The Starbucks Next to Chipotle
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I literally think the only reason I need to give for ranking this one fourth is that it doesn’t accept dining points. I know no store on that side of the street accepts points, but it just feels sad. I don’t like walking in and having to pay with real money, but if I’m really desperate, I will. This Starbucks ultimately has the best feeling to it though. The vibes are unmatchable. If I’m ever there, I like to just sit at the window and space out while watching all the cars drive by. Another huge positive is the prevalence of outlets. There are outlets everywhere…unlike any other Starbucks on campus.
Bonus points: the store has a nice sign about recycling and using paper products right above the bins.
- Honorary Mention: The Kenmore Dunkin’
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Dunkin’ has never really given me the same serotonin as Starbucks has until this year. I’ll pretty much only order one drink from there, and it’s the iced matcha latte. It has to be the iced matcha latte or it’s just not worth going to Dunkin’. When this drink got introduced on the menu, it was a game changer. I think we can all agree that the vibes of Dunkin’ are nothing comparable to Starbucks. The store really just doesn’t have the same cozy feel to it, but I will make the trip there for iced matcha lattes.
Bonus points: I’ve never seen a coffee shop make drinks so fast yet keep the quality so high (easily the most impressive thing about the place).
Again, all opinions in this article are my own! I’m sure a lot of people would rank the stores differently (and that’s not even getting into the Starbucks versus Dunkin’ fight), but these are my own choices! Every store is good at their own different thing :)
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