As a current sophomore who has only recently had the privilege of having a car on campus, I never really was able to previously test out many of the more popular coffee shops around the Durham area. Plus, both this year and last the Dunkin’ in the Memorial Union Building on campus has been closed. Therefore, I have felt very restricted to only Aroma Joes over the past two school years. I can’t complain, but now that I have been able to try out a few other places around campus, I’m here to give you a full rundown and share my opinions. Before I start, I have to give the disclaimer that I am in no way a coffee snob, I only like very sweet coffee drinks and compare every iced coffee I drink to the Dunkin’ I’ve grown up on.
Aroma Joe’s
Nickname: “Aromas”
Aroma Joe’s is a chain of coffee shops around mostly the Maine and New Hampshire, except one was just opened right near Brown University’s campus on Thayer Street in Rhode Island. Aroma’s specializes in flavored coffee drinks and frequently switches up their flavors in accordance to the seasons. I have tried many of the iced coffee flavors from Aroma Joes and have been a fan of both the coffee and the different flavors. It is not watery, they don’t add too much cream or sugar, and their coffee is consistent. A lot of people complain that their coffee is “too sweet” but as a lover of sweet drinks this has never been a problem for me.
Aroma Joe’s also sells a drink called an AJs Rush. This drink is made with an Aroma Joe’s brand energy drink and basically whatever flavor add-ons you can imagine. They also come in a sugar-free version and offer many sugar-free flavors to choose from. These are some of my favorite drinks to get around campus and are head and shoulders above many of the flavor Red Bull drinks that other locations in the area offer.
Aroma Joe’s offers a couple of food items including bagels, donuts, muffins, hash browns and breakfast sandwiches. I have no complaints about any of these snack items I have ordered from here and would definitely recommend any of them as a quick breakfast.
Overall, Aroma Joe’s is one of my favorite coffee spots to visit during the school year and I would recommend them to anyone.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Nickname: “Dunkin'” or “Dunks”
Obviously, if you are from, or go to college in New England you have heard of Dunkin’ Donuts. I understand this may seem like a weird choice to include on this list since it is a very large train that almost every New Englander has tried. However, the iced coffees that I have ordered from the Dunkins’ around Durham are so much better than the ones I get in my hometown. Dunkin has a reputation of inconsistency, no matter how many times you order the same exact drink it is likely it will taste different than the last one you ordered. However, at the two local Dunkin’ Donuts, I have never received a burnt, watery, or just completely wrong coffee. This may be personal luck, but compared to the Dunkins’ at home where I basically am gambling my money to see if I will get a good coffee or something I will be pouring down the drain, this is pretty impressive.
If you are a Dunkin’ iced coffee fan, you will not be disappointed at the local Dunkins. P.S. When is the MUB Dunkin’ opening?
The Coffee Station
Nickname: “Shack”
The Coffee Station or “Shack” is exactly what its nickname describes it as. It is a little red shack in the middle of a parking lot with a window on either side. They serve many different flavors of coffee, flavored Red Bull drinks, and also serve donuts occasionally. Shack also sells a “chaider” which is a half-iced chai half apple cider drink. Before I go on, I’d like to remind everyone that this is purely my opinion, and many people enjoy Shack and go every morning. I however have never hated an iced coffee more. No matter what flavor I have ordered, I’ve never once actually thought that is what my drink tasted like. Shack iced coffee tastes like if you drank half a Dunkin iced coffee, then went back to it five hours later and drank the rest. It is so watery I don’t even know how it can be considered coffee. It should be half-priced since it is half water. However, although not as good as Aroma’s their Red Bull drinks have never disappointed, and their apple cider donuts are incredible.
Something I will give Shack is that the experience is sometimes worth it, it’s a couple of minutes away from campus, and you feel a tad bit classier holding an iced coffee from Shack than you would from Dunkin. I would, however, never recommend a coffee from here to anyone, although there have been times that the line from both windows is fully out of the parking lot, so not everyone agrees with me.
Coffee Craving
Nickname: “Craving”
Coffee Craving is a trailer/truck a couple of minutes from campus that sells basically all of the same items as Shack. However, something I noticed the other day was how many different gluten-free snack options they offered. Muffins, donuts, bagels and even cookies, if you are sensitive to gluten you will find something you can enjoy there. Craving’s iced coffee is somewhere between Aroma’s and Shack. It is a bit watery, much more than Dunkin’, but the flavors make up for it. They have so many flavors that are switched out frequently. They offer fun specialty drinks often like a “Lucky Charms Latte” and “Cotton Candy Iced Tea.” My favorite drink from them is their iced chai, which pairs so well with their sugar donuts.
Craving is an extremely popular coffee spot near campus and it is not hard to see why, with all of their different options it is not hard to find something you will enjoy! The only improvement would be to add a menu on the backside of the truck. This way, customers could figure out what they want to order ahead of time and wouldn’t have to scramble at the window while the line behind them is wrapped around the parking lot.
No matter what form you use to get your caffeine fix, the multiple options in the UNH area will offer something you are looking for!