They say they drink it because they like the taste and the social aspect. It gets them moving — and keeps them moving. Whatever the reason they consume coffee, Angie’s List members have strong opinions about where they get it.

According to a recent online poll, 44 percent of members who visit coffee shops prefer Starbucks over mom-and-pops and smaller chains. Thirty-three percent favor independents, while 23 percent prefer another chain.

Carol Libutti, an office manager from Lake Worth, Fla., usually grabs a fat-free latte at a Starbucks while shopping on weekends. Asked how many locations she patronizes, Libutti needs a moment to think. “Let’s see,” she starts. “One ... two if I go out to Wellington. There’s one in Boynton I go to. Then one in the mall there. Probably five. Oh wait, six! Six different Starbucks. And if there was a drive-through closer to where I work, I’d go there, too.”

Convenience is no attraction for Stan Koczka. Despite a Starbucks one block from his house in Phoenix, Ariz., and another one inside his neighborhood supermarket, the retired teacher drives a couple of miles to an independent coffeehouse. “You don’t have to walk by the coffee pots and the puzzles and the books and all that other kind of stuff,” Koczka explains. “All I want is a good cup of coffee. I don’t need to call it by a French name or a Mexican name or anything else. Just a no-frills, good cup of coffee.”

For Columbus, Ohio, member Richard Dunston, good coffee means Dunkin’ Donuts. “I travel every week in my business and have generally found Starbucks to have peaked in terms of both product and service,” he says. “If it were not for their omni-presence I doubt they would be doing the numbers they are. Surprisingly I have discovered very good coffee in a place that was very low on my radar ... Dunkin Donuts!”

Karen Langevin of Hoover, Ala., typically brews her own coffee at home – mostly so the schoolteacher can afford her five-cup-a-day habit. She remembers reading a newspaper article about an independent coffee shop she frequented regularly that went out of business after Starbucks opened around the corner. The shopowner cited the chain’s aggressive marketing campaign. Incidentally, Langevin read the article after returning home from vacation, during which she had patronized Starbucks. “They’re easy to find and you’re getting a product you can count on,” she says.

Despite her local store’s closing, Langevin has mixed feelings about the power struggle between Starbucks and the smaller joints. “Even Starbucks started small, so I don’t see it as this horrible conglomerate,” she says. “It grew because it was well-run and well-marketed. You have to admire that.”

Have a comment about this story? E-mail us at mailbag@angieslist.com.