I don't think you will find many people who have had Dominican coffee who prefer Starbucks. Almost all coffee shops make espresso to order for under US$1 and you can get it for cheaper once you get out of the tourist zones.
Starbucks does have shops in Puerto Rico, Brazil and Mexico, but I think they are still a few years away from getting into the DR.
Dominican coffee makes a great gift to bring back to the US. You can get single pot bags for 5 pesos each or a pound for 80 pesos. The most popular brand by far is Cafe Molido Santo Domingo. To make it at home, you need an a stovetop coffee maker like this:
Here they call those 'grecas'. I have a 12 cup and it gets a workout. A 12 cup greca puts out about 2 and 2/3 mugs of coffee American style.
I used to buy Santo Domingo molido coffee but a few months ago I bought a pound of Monte Alto organic and haven't looked back.
My opinion: Starbucks sucks
Again IMO in Boston Dunkin Donuts makes a far better coffee at a fraction of the Starbucks price but here in Santo Permanentheatwave the stuff I make at home in a greca is soooo good.
I make it with cinnamon sticks in the greca and serve it with 0% fat milk, 1/3 teaspoon of sugar and a 1 tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate.
Two places in Santo Domingo that make great coffee are Villars Hermanos on Independencia, corner of Pasteur and la Cafetera on El Conde.
Starbucks in Santo Domingo = Taking crap coal to Newcastle :cross-eye:dead:
On this island they grow the stuff in perfect growing conditions. Cornyo
For me, part of living here ( 7 and 1/2 years now ) is discovering the local marvels and letting go bit by bit what I loved in my native land.
For example: I never ran red lights in Boston (much). One $100 ticket cured me of that.
In Santo Domingo I followed the crowd and ran red lights with impunity. Then the traffic police confiscated my driver's license several years ago as things started to tighten up. The fines weren't much but spending half a day at AMET headquarters and grovelliing before a traffic judge (soy culpable como el pecado; meresco la Victoria) to get a rise out of her and a lenient 50 peso fine (or somesuch) was part of my local experience but not something I want to repeat.
Now the AMET give you a ticket and if you don't pay it you can't renew your license.
Again, when in Rome; now I stop at red lights, crane my neck looking for AMET and if they're not around...BOOM...blow on through.