By Katie O’Brien
Whether it’s a 10 minute drive to a school/work or a 26 hour to another state, coffee makes the drive a little more bearable. When you live in a small town like me, there isn’t a Starbucks or Caribou right down the road from your destination, you have to rely on whatever the closest gas station provides. And if you’re like me, you have a father who loves to race Google Maps and isn’t a fan of “fancy” coffee. Long car rides don’t involve a pit stop anywhere where you can’t get gas. So trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Here’s my amateur critics stance on different gas station’s choice in coffee options.
Holiday
First of all, they have a month during the year where every Tuesday is “Free Coffee Tuesday” for a WHOLE MONTH. That in itself is fantastic. Holiday has regular coffee, as well as cappuccino options for those who aren’t a huge fan of the taste of coffee. They have creamers galore and pretty much anything you can ask for. In the winter they have cute little snowflake cups. Holiday, in my opinion, has the best coffee when it comes to gas stations.
Kwik Trip
Every trip to Kwik Trip is a pleasant experience. It has its own special corner for every coffee option you could dream of, and it’s even nice to look at. They have your basic pot coffee and your cappuccino options, but here’s what brings it to a new level: an iced coffee machine. All you do is tell it what you want and it gives you the properly measured amount of ice and coffee. It’s pretty fantastic. Their hot coffee is definitely above average, but not quite as good as Holiday, but it’s hard to beat Kwik Trip iced coffee.
Super America
Personally, I’m not a fan of Super America. They have what you need for coffee, but their coffee is average at best. That opinion is verified by multiple people I’ve had a conversation with about coffee. One friend described their coffee like this: “You know when you go to the doctor and they put those tongue depressors in your mouth? Yeah that’s what their coffee tastes like.” Even their “fancy” coffee isn’t all that great. So… if you like the taste of tongue depressors, maybe Super America is the place for you.
Casey’s General Store
Casey’s is always a pleasant place to go, mostly for their fantastic pizza. Unfortunately their coffee isn’t as good as their pizza. It does the job and doesn’t taste like tongue depressor, but it doesn’t quite compare to Kwik Trip or Holiday. If it’s on the way, might as well get coffee here. It’ll be what you need.
Shell
I’ve had my fair share of coffee at Shell’s gas stations, but a lot of times the store itself isn’t Shell’s, but some local convenience store. Which is awesome, I love local businesses! The only issue is that it isn’t consistent across all stations I’ve been to. I’ve had good coffee and I’ve had mediocre coffee. It really depends, but overall it’s been a decent experience.