December 30, 2025 Submitted by Joe Millburg for the Discovery Committee
The Hingham Center for Active Living Discovery Committee will present a “History of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks” event on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 1.30 pm. The program will be presented in person and also on Zoom.
Come join Bonnie Miller, food historian and professor of history at UMass Boston, for a talk about the history of the two most successful coffee brands in recent history — Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks!
Learn about the start ups, setbacks, and how the competition between them impacted the brands you know today. Prof. Miller’s research and teaching expertise is in U.S. Social and Cultural History, Visual Culture and Food History. She will join us via zoom. Attend the program in person at HCAL and enjoy a cup of you know what!
Registration is required by calling 781-741-1458. There is a $5 registration fee.
This looks like a great event.
In 2011, I wrote an article for the Hingham Journal.
How do you like your coffee – With a head or a heart?
I like a good cup of coffee. I like a nice hot cup with milk in the morning and a cappuccino in the late afternoon. Luckily, we have many choices for our daily coffee “fix”.
Yesterday, I stopped into Starbucks for my afternoon cappuccino. I like going to Starbucks. I appreciate its mission to “inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”. As I entered Starbucks, I was calmed by the muted colors tones of the décor and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The space was tastefully appointed with plush furniture and coffee-sipping music played in the background. As I approached the counter, a young man addressed me very professionally.
“How can I help you this afternoon, sir?” I responded, “I’ll have a small cappuccino.”
“Certainly sir. One tall cappuccino.”
“No”, I said, “I want a small cappuccino.”
“Yes, sir”, he responded. “Our smalls are called talls. Sir, would you like that with skim, soy or whole milk?”
“Whole milk, please,” I responded.
“Would you like that ‘wet’, sir?”
“Wet! What’s ‘wet’?” I asked.
“Wet is more steamed milk and less foam. You know the baristas measure the amount of foam to make it right consistently.”
“Wow, that’s precision”, I said to myself.
The entire Starbucks experience is tuned to excellence. Little is left to chance. I like Starbucks because I know I will be treated professionally and will consistently purchase a great cup of java.
Well, this morning I left home early and was in dire need for some additional caffeine. I passed several Dunkin’ Donuts looking for a Starbucks. Finally, I pulling into the local Dunkin’ and got in line. The store was awash in bright pink and orange colors the “yelled” at me to wake up. The smell of yummy donuts permeated the space. When I reached the front of the line, I was greeted by lovely, middle aged woman with a nice Boston accent. She was right out of central casting. She was everyone’s “Aunt Edna”.
“Good morning dear. What can I getcha?”
“I’ll have a just a regular small coffee.”
“Two or three shugas?” she asked. “No, sugars please. Just a regular coffee” I replied.
“Honey, regular coffee has cream and shuga”, she responded wondering if I was from a different planet.
“I’m sorry. Just the coffee with a little milk.”
“How ‘bout a nice jelly donut to go with that coffee, sweety?”
Dear, honey, sweety – I started wondering if I was related to this woman? “No, thank you. Just the coffee”, I said.
“Ok, buttercup. You have a nice day now.”
So, there you are. In Hingham we have a wonderful choice for our coffee. We can go to Starbucks and know that we will be treated professionally or we can go to Dunkin’ and be treated like a member of the family. Coffee from the head or with a heart – it’s your choice. Both are “wicked good”.
By the way some days when I need a jolt of positive energy to pick up my spirits, I go to the Dunkin’ drive-thru and order a small cup and tell them to hold the coffee.
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I actually heard from the Dunkin’ CEO who told me he sent my article to his leadership team.