Caffeine is one thing many students turn to to keep up with the stress of a heavy workload. It seems like every day, we see students bringing coffee to class, which poses a question: Which coffee near GDS is the best? Two of the most popular coffee shops within a one-mile radius of GDS are Coffee Nature and Dunkin’ Donuts. We ordered an iced vanilla latte at both stores and rated them based on travel time, service, price, taste and comfort.
Coffee Nature
4224 Fessenden St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016
Travel time: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Taste: 9/10
Comfort: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
The first coffee shop we went to was Coffee Nature, a staple among GDS students. The music, seating and calming environment make the cafe a great place to get work done during free periods. Coffee Nature is 0.3 miles away from GDS and it took us about six minutes to walk there. We went after school, which affected the service. During lunch and community time, Coffee Nature is often more crowded than it is before and after school, and the food and drinks take longer to make. When we went at about 3:35 p.m. there was only one person in line before us, and it took about three minutes to make our drink. We got a 16 oz drink that cost $5.05, and each ounce of the drink cost $0.32, not including tax or tip. The drink cost more than an iced vanilla latte of the same size at Dunkin’ Donuts but was not the most expensive latte we’ve had. The taste of the coffee was great—it had the right amount of sweetness and it wasn’t too milky, and there was a perfect amount of ice. There’s seating inside and outside the shop, and with the decorations, cleanliness and warmth, Coffee Nature had a perfect comfort level.
Dunkin’ Donuts
4530 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016
Travel time: 7/10
Service: 10/10
Price: 8/10
Taste: 6/10
Comfort: 5/10
Overall: 7.2/10
Our second stop was Dunkin’ Donuts, a popular spot to grab a quick bite to eat or drink. Dunkin’ Donuts is also 0.3 miles away from GDS, but it took us about eight minutes to walk there because of the long hill and traffic lights. Our drink was served quickly, and there wasn’t a long line when we went after school, but it is often more crowded at lunch. We bought a small latte, and it cost us $4.38, not including tax or tip. The drink was 16 oz, so each ounce cost $0.27, making the latte only five cents per ounce cheaper than the latte at Coffee Nature. To us, the drink was too sweet and too milky, and it had a lot of ice, meaning we were able to finish it in only a few sips. Compared to Coffee Nature, Dunkin’ Donuts has a more industrial feeling. The seating was closed off, the door was propped open in January, so the store was cold, and the inside was a little bit dirty.
While Dunkin’ Donuts offers a cheaper latte, Coffee Nature had better ambiance, flavor and a preferable trip. We recommend Coffee Nature to anybody looking for a good latte!