I spent $10 on breakfast at Dunkin', Starbucks, and Tim Hortons. One chain provided the best value by a long shot.

I compared $10 meals at popular coffee chains like Dunkin', Starbucks, and Tim Hortons to find the best value. M. ; ; I went to Dunkin', Starbucks, and Tim Hortons with a $10 budget to order breakfast. Dunkin' and Tim Hortons both had $6 meal deals, but Starbucks didn't have a similar offering. Overall, I thought the meal from Tim Hortons offered the best value and flavor. As a New Yorker, there's nothing I love more than picking up an egg sandwich and some coffee from my local deli. But sometimes, a quick, convenient breakfast from a coffee chain hits the spot. So, I decided to visit Dunkin', Starbucks, and Tim Hortons — to see where my money would go the furthest. Setting a budget of $10 per breakfast, and using each chain's app to make sure I didn't miss out on any deals, I ordered similar meals to see which provided the highest return on my investment — and the tastiest offerings. Here's how it went. I started out at my local Dunkin'. Ted Berg I started the comparison at a Dunkin' in Manhattan. I ordered via the app, choosing the $6 meal deal, which included a medium hot or iced coffee and two Wake-Up wraps. I also ordered a coffee roll for $2.99. This left me with an extra dollar to play with in my $10 budget, and no option to spend it, as everything on the menu cost more than that. I thought the two wraps were a decent breakfast portion. Ted Berg For my Wake-Up wraps, I was looking for variety and heft, so I chose a sausage, egg, and cheese wrap and another one loaded with hash browns and bacon. They were small enough that two of them seemed like the appropriate serving size for fast-food breakfast sandwiches. In terms of taste, they were OK. The tortillas were soft and fresh, and both wraps were piping hot at pickup. However, the eggs were on the dry side, as was the sausage version of the wrap in general — though I enjoyed the peppery flavor. The hash browns were a nice addition for adding some bulk, but I thought they mostly tasted like salt, the bacon wasn't crispy enough for my preference, and the barbecue sauce was a bit too sweet for me. Unfortunately, I received the wrong doughnut with my order. Ted Berg Halfway through what I thought was the coffee roll, I came to a dollop of apple jelly and realized I'd been served an apple fritter instead. It was fine, but a bit too sweet for my tastes. In terms of the drink, I've never loved Dunkin's coffee, which is a bit too acidic for my tastes. However, I did appreciate that an iced coffee was an available option for the $6 meal deal. Next, I visited Starbucks. Ted Berg A few days later, I visited a Starbucks on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Unlike Dunkin', Starbucks did not offer any sort of breakfast combo. So, I ordered small, hot blonde-roast coffee ($3.25) and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich ($6.75). Before tax, I spent a total of $10 — the maximum my budget for this taste test allowed. So, I couldn't add a sweet treat to my order like I did at Dunkin'. I liked the bread this sandwich came on. Ted Berg The sandwich came on a round croissant, which had a nice, flaky texture and was pleasantly buttery. The cheddar was nicely melted, with a subtle earthy flavor that elevated it. However, the egg didn't taste like much at all, and the bacon was disappointing in its lack of crunch and absence of strong flavor. The coffee from Starbucks was fine. Ted Berg I rarely order hot coffee at Starbucks, but when I do, I typically go with the blonde roast. It was fine — I knew what to expect, and it certainly tasted fresh — but it felt like a very small amount of coffee for $3.25. Plus, in the middle of the summer, especially, I'd have much preferred something on ice. However, an iced coffee or cold brew would've put me over budget. My last stop was to Tim Hortons. Ted Berg Finally, I went to Tim Hortons, which has consistently impressed me in similar taste tests. Since the Midtown Manhattan location recently closed, I headed to a location in Jamaica, Queens, which was attached to the local gas station/convenience store Bolla Market. Using the "offers" section of the Tim Hortons app, I ordered one of the $6 breakfast meals, which included a medium iced coffee, a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit, and a doughnut of my choice. However, I had enough in my budget to tack on an everything bagel with cream cheese for $3.49. The sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit was delicious. Ted Berg This egg sandwich was my favorite of the three, largely because of the fresh-tasting, crumbly biscuit it came on. Though I made a mess eating it in my car, I appreciated that the biscuit wasn't too greasy, the egg was fluffy and flavorful, and the sausage had a rich meatiness, if not as much spice as I'd like. Overall, I was impressed by the meal I got at Tim Hortons. Ted Berg The glazed doughnut was sweet, soft, and airy, and the coffee was also my favorite of the three — icy and smooth, without any hint of sourness. I'm snobbish about bagels, and this one was no substitute for an everything bagel from my local bagel shop, but it was better than I expected. It lacked the chewiness I seek in bagels, and "everything" appeared to mostly mean it had poppy and sesame seeds, but it was nonetheless soft and fresh. Overall, I got the most for my money at Tim Hortons. M. ; ; In total, I spent $6 at Dunkin' for two wraps, a medium iced coffee, and a doughnut. This wasn't a bad deal by any means, but the meal didn't quite meet my personal taste preferences. At Starbucks, I got a breakfast sandwich and a small hot coffee for $10. Although I enjoyed the sandwich, I didn't think I got a lot for my money here. However, $10 bought more than I wanted to eat in one sitting at Tim Hortons, making it the best value of the three chains I visited. Plus, I really loved the delicious sandwich, doughnut, and coffee, and the everything bagel was a nice addition to the already robust meal. Business Insider reached out to Dunkin', Starbucks, and Tim Hortons for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider

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