With early classes and late nights, without a doubt, the one place students turn to the most is coffee shops. But with Better Buzz and Starbucks around the corner, which should you choose? Some say, “Life is better buzzed” but I say life is better with convenience, simplicity and familiarity. And that’s why Starbucks is the way to go.  

With over 23,000 stores worldwide, you can find Starbucks on nearly every street corner, while you can only find Better Buzz coffee in 7 San Diego locations, one of them being found on W. San Marcos Boulevard. The fact that CSUSM has a location on campus and not a Better Buzz, says a lot. Everyone knows the look of the green siren logo but if you go anywhere outside of San Diego, no one would recognize the words “Better Buzz”. According to second-year undergraduate Monica Salcedo, “[Starbucks] has a great, friendly environment and it’s global. You can find Starbucks anywhere. As for Better Buzz, I only found it in California.”

You know what to expect when you walk into Starbuck’s coffee shop. There are simple options, ranging from hot brewed coffee to iced teas, iced coffees and blended frappuccino beverages. Unlike Better Buzz, there is absolutely no anxiety with deciding what to order.

When talking about his first Better Buzz experience, second-year undergraduate student Christian Demos said, “I felt out of place because I wasn’t a hipster and I had no clue what anything on the menu was or what it meant. And then my mocha drink tasted like melted chocolate.”

Whoever said “patience is a virtue,” clearly wasn’t a college student with classes at seven in the morning. No one likes to wait in a line.

Luckily, Starbucks’ mobile app acts as a fast pass when it comes to ordering. You can place orders ahead of time on your phone. Unfortunately, with Better Buzz, there is no mobile rewards app. So there’s no way to skip the line out the door.

The next time you wake up and crave a cup of coffee, look for the green siren. Odds are, it is right around the corner.