‘Tis the season for quarter zips and matcha drinks. Due to this performative male trend that has been circulating on the internet, matcha has become everyone’s number one drink. My sister and I have taken it upon ourselves to go to different coffee shops and rank which ones are worth spending your money on. To make this a fair fight, we ordered a plain iced matcha latte with no additional sweeteners, like cold foam, from Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Wawa.

“I think Starbucks is going to be the best, no doubt,” my sister Estrella Orellana said before we started.

Starbucks

Seeing as Starbucks is the number one place I go to when I want matcha, I had the expectation that Starbucks would settle this dispute. Once I had the drink in my hands, I noticed that there was a good amount of ice: not too much where you could only take two sips from it until it was finished, but not too little to where the ice melted quickly and became watered down.

After I took a few sips, I noticed it didn’t have much of a flavor apart from the slightly bitter taste. It tasted dull, like I was drinking someone’s leftovers. 

I realized how much the cold foam I usually get on my matcha accentuated the drink. After having the drink for a while, the last couple of gulps were very milky; it was like I ordered milk with a splash of matcha. Overall, not good, leaving me wondering why I would always order matcha from Starbucks.

Dunkin’ 

I didn’t know what to expect from Dunkin’. Their drinks are very inconsistent, in my opinion. They’re either really good and tasty, or really bad. One thing is for sure: they put way too much ice in their drinks. Not even three sips in, and I was almost finished. There was definitely more product in my 16 fl oz Starbucks cup than there was in my 24 fl oz Dunkin’ cup.

Dunkin’s matcha was very milky and a lot sweeter. It tasted like the ratio of matcha and milk was off; a little too much milk was added. Most of what I could savor was milk and honey, but it wasn’t as bad as Starbucks’ milky matcha. The drink almost had a powdery taste to it that neither took away nor added to the experience. Compared to Starbucks, I have enjoyed Dunkin’ far more.

Wawa

Now, I know that Wawa isn’t considered a coffee house, but I’ve seen numerous Wawa cups in people’s hands, full of matcha, so I thought, why not try it?

I am a Wawa lover. I think it is so convenient, but I wouldn’t be truthful if I said I had high expectations, because I didn’t. I thought it was going to be the worst of the three, but I was proved wrong. It was sweet, but not too sweet, with a hint of bitterness from the matcha. It had a deliciously perfect ratio of milk and matcha powder. To top it all off, it had just the right amount of ice.

Final rankings 

As someone who has a matcha addiction and probably needs to give it up for Lent this year, I feel qualified to say that out of the three, Wawa wins first place, Dunkin’ comes in second, and Starbucks comes in last.

So, if you ever find yourself craving matcha, be sure to go to Wawa for the optimal experience.