Whether you’re a student or a staff member in the building, chances are you or someone you know here drinks coffee, whether it be in the morning before school or while cramming in homework after school. With 3 competing coffee shops in town–two chains and one local–it can be difficult to figure out which one to go to in the morning; which will be the quickest? Which will taste the best? 

Sophomores Alyssa Huffmaster and Kenzie Sullivan went with me to every coffee location in Gardner to evaluate each and determine which one would be the quickest and which overall tasted the best. We each ordered a different drink for variety; Alyssa ordered an iced vanilla latte, I ordered a vanilla cold brew, and Kenzie ordered an iced pumpkin spice latte (pumpkin pie latte at Groundhouse).

BEST TASTING: VANILLA LATTE

1. Starbucks
2. Groundhouse
3. Scooter’s

BEST TASTING: VANILLA COLD BREW

1. Starbucks
2. Scooter’s
3. Groundhouse

BEST TASTING: PUMPKIN SPICE (PIE) LATTE

1. Groundhouse
2. Starbucks
3. Scooter’s

We timed our orders from the second we paid to when we got our drinks. (Something to take into consideration: there will be varying amounts of people working! Example: we went at around 4 PM on a Sunday, where only one barista was making coffee, whereas, on a Monday morning at 7 AM, four baristas might be working).

1. Scooters – 2:17 total, and assuming each drink took the same amount of time, each took about 45 seconds.
2. Starbucks – 4:10 total; assuming each drink took the same amount of time, each drink took near a minute and a half
3. Groundhouse – 5:18 total; assuming each drink took the same amount of time, each drink took a little bit over a minute and a half 

“The time that we’re supposed to spend on a drink when a customer gets to the window is around 15-30 seconds,” senior Cayla Peacher said, a barista at Scooter’s Coffee. With Scooters being the quickest of the three places ranked, and only a little bit longer than what their goal is, I’d say they are 100% the quickest in the morning if you are looking to sleep in before getting coffee. 

Although most people would probably prefer to just go through a drive-thru for coffee, others might be morning people and would rather like to sit down with a coffee and work on homework before school. Groundhouse’s Main Street location is definitely perfect for this, as they have a nice sit-down environment. They play music and you can watch the sunrise if you get there early enough. Groundhouse opens at 6 AM. every day except for Sunday, where they open at 7 AM They also have a drive-thru option on Center Street, which has the same opening times as the Main Street location.

Starbucks has only a sit-down option, except their seating area is in the corner of Price Chopper. It’s not a traditional coffeehouse setting, but it can work. Starbucks opens at 6 AM every day. Scooter’s has only a drive-thru option, and they open at 5:30 AM.

Overall, 2 out of the 3 of us found Starbucks to be the best tasting, and Scooter’s to be our least favorite. Groundhouse was a happy medium, and overall based on ambiance, Groundhouse is a great place to get in homework after school or going for breakfast with friends on the weekend.