In a taste test that, for once, is not accompanied by a press release from Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks Pike Place Blend coffee was unanimously deemed the best hot coffee -- better than McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and 7-Eleven.

The blind taste test, conducted by the St. Petersburg Times and five "java junkies," also rated iced mochas; Starbucks came in second in that contest, after McDonald's. McDonald's iced mochas were perfect, said the panel: "fairly intense coffee flavor, we felt this one had the best balance of chocolate and coffee, refreshing and not too sweet. A blob of whipped cream gave it a rich texture, and it had a satisfying, lingering aftertaste."
Thank goodness, as the regular coffee came in last: "with a strange bitterness like it had cooked on a burner for a while, this was our least favorite."

I have to say that I'm relieved to see a taste test confirm my own biases; many of you Walletpoppers continue to insist that Dunkin' Donuts (or Tim Horton's, in the northeast) is far better than Starbucks. I would only drink coffee from McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts or 7-Eleven at the very extreme end of caffeine desperation. And it has me wondering: are those taste tests Dunkin' Donuts continues to promote truly unbiased? Or is this sample size just too small? What do you think?