When Rachael Ray signed on to promote Dunkin' Donuts, it always seemed like the pairing was a curious one. Whatever you may think of her shows or her recipes, almost everything she endorsed up until that time was of reasonable quality. Don't get me wrong, I like DD's coffee -- if I make it at home. But whenever I get it at a store, it tastes like crap most of the time. I don't know if they skimp on grounds, use too much water, or don't clean their coffee machines, but the result is almost always the same weak, bitter brew no matter which store I go to (at least the ones here in New Jersey).So it didn't surprise me to read this piece on New York magazine's website that speculates that Ray Ray doesn't think much of DD's coffee, either.
In the secondhand account, Ray is described as blowing onto the set of her latest DD commercial in a foul mood (something I've always attributed to her overextending herself, rather than an overall bitchy personality... but I don't know her, so who knows?). The friend-of-a-friend then goes on to say: "I am also told she took one sip of her Dunkin' Donuts coffee, yelled 'What is this shit? Get me MY coffee,' and would not continue until she was given 'her' coffee - i.e., Starbucks."
Now, of course, we have no idea whether this is true or not. But, if it was, it would explain a lot. Look, there's nothing wrong with Ray Ray grabbing the money while she has the opportunity. But usually people will trust a pitchman more if they, you know, actually stand behind the product that's being pitched.
(Not for nothing, but I don't like Starbucks coffee, either; I think the beans are so over-roasted that the brew ends up tasting like dirt. Give me Seattle's Best Coffee, Peet's, or smaller roasters any day of the week and I'll be a happy guy.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-17-2008 @ 2:32PM
Karen said...
I think Dunkin Donuts beats Starbucks in almost every poll I've seen.
I have always had good coffee from DD. Hmm...
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1-17-2008 @ 3:15PM
ac said...
I have to agree, when I went to a DD in NY it tasted fine. But in NJ the DD coffee tastes like crap. The milkyway hot chocolate is good though. Starbucks is overpriced but its good when I have them put caramel flavoring in it. This is NJ so for coffee its either DD, Starbucks, Quickcheck, or 7-11. The little guys seem to have been run out of state. Unless thats just Monmouth County.
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1-17-2008 @ 2:56PM
Niraj Sanghvi said...
This is quite a non-story...is the writer's strike making it that hard to find news?
I'm always amused when people assume that just because someone publicly endorses a product, they must use themselves in their everyday lives. It's a paycheck, people...I'd endorse Crisco as my healthy breakfast of choice if they paid me enough to do so.
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1-17-2008 @ 3:33PM
ORKMommy said...
So why did you waste your time reading it or commenting. If it was so bad, one would think you would move onto something else...
1-17-2008 @ 4:03PM
Niraj said...
Because I had an opinion after seeing it on the frontpage and decided to say something...who knows, if others feel the same way maybe we wouldn't see non-stories like this. And if not, I'm no worse off. But it's better than not saying anything and expecting it to stop.
I'm guessing the TVSquad staff isn't telepathic, and I'm also interested to see if anyone agrees with me. Readers and comments can help to define a blog, so I don't see why I shouldn't post as I did. Not to mention it was more constructive and respectful than "Yawn" or "this story sucks."
1-17-2008 @ 3:20PM
Ry said...
Uh, this is fraud.
As a working actor you can be in a commercial for anything.
As a celeb, or media personality you do actually have to like the thing your pitching. Oddly enough it is in the law in this country.
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1-17-2008 @ 4:10PM
Stella said...
I was going to say that too. She has to drink the coffee and like it if, on TV, she says she drinks it and likes it.
1-17-2008 @ 5:39PM
Karen said...
This is absolutely true. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline. If Ray does not, in fact, drink DD coffee in her real life, she is liable.
Me, I don't drink coffee at all, and never have, and I find Ray irritating beyond belief, so if they ditched all of her commercials that would be fine with me.
1-17-2008 @ 10:06PM
Wayne said...
I bet she and her mother don't share a pumpkin muffin, either. (I think they each get 36 Munchkins.)
1-17-2008 @ 3:22PM
L'Emmerdeur said...
Yup, because when I think of good coffee, I think Starbucks... Idiot.
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1-17-2008 @ 3:24PM
Brian said...
Seattle's Best is owned by Starbucks. Not sure how you believe you can tell a difference. Those beans are coming from the same place as the Starbucks.......
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1-17-2008 @ 3:29PM
Joel Keller said...
Brian, I know that Seattle's Best is owned by Starbucks (SB bought Seattle's Best a few years ago). Even if they use the same beans, the two places roast them differently; I can definitely taste the difference between the two places. I tend to snag a Seattle's Best at the airport or train station. At home, I tend to go with smaller roasters.
1-17-2008 @ 3:27PM
mrbooze said...
Having travelled around a bit, I'm convinced that a big factor in the quality of coffee is the quality of the water. I suspect that's why quality can vary so much even from the same establishment from place to place. (It's also I suspect why despite having some of the best food in the world, New Orleans has some of the worst coffee, with a few notable exceptions.)
And with some places, there's likely to also be issues of procedure, how well do they maintain the equipment, how strictly do they follow the recipes? Is some bored minimum wage slave at a particular dunkin donuts just dumping coffee grounds into the machine and letting that pot sit all day? Whereas at another DD the staff is paying attention, tossing out old coffee, etc?
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1-17-2008 @ 3:47PM
Han said...
As a NYer transplanted to Boston, careful what you say about the might DnD. People would give their right nipple I think around these parts for a cup of joe from Dunks.
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1-17-2008 @ 3:54PM
javamama said...
The new DD coffee that you can now get at the super market is sooooo much better than the donut store version. There is no comparison in the taste. It's like, why don't they use the same stuff at the donut shop that they sell at the super market? RR may not have had such a fit if they had.
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1-17-2008 @ 3:58PM
LC said...
I never had a problem with the brew at any of the DD here on Long Island, provided that I put a sweetener in myself.
For some reason, the people behind the counter think that "milk and a little sugar" means "milk and make me a diabetic amount of sugar".
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1-17-2008 @ 4:01PM
Insidetrack said...
You do know that different companies make the brand in the grocery vs the one in the DD stores, right? This could explain your taste issues. Ask when you are in the DD store and compare next time.
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1-17-2008 @ 4:09PM
Ed said...
I've always found DnD's coffee to taste great here in NY. Maybe Racheal thought it was this good everywhere when she signed up for the gig.
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1-17-2008 @ 4:23PM
Frank said...
One thing that I feel is not noted is the difference between iced and hot coffees.
I almost always get Iced coffee, and DD wins HANDS DOWN in that category. Starbucks' Iced Coffee is terrible unless you get them to pour the hot stuff over ice (which waters it down too much, but is better than nothing).
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1-17-2008 @ 5:21PM
mel said...
I am in NJ and the coffee I get at bunch of DnD is AWESOME - in fact better than the DnD coffee in other states!
that's a shame you've had bad luck Joel!
you better specifiy what part of Jeresy you're in... lol
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