While other coffee chains attempt to dominate the autumnal flavor board, Dunkin’s New Signature Latte line-up takes a commanding stronghold of classic winter holiday flavors. One of its four new varieties, available hot or cold, is the Toasted Gingerbread Signature Latte, which features “the flavors of gingerbread, marshmallow and chocolate all in one cup, topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle and cinnamon sugar.”
I’ll be completely transparent here, I bought this drink twice, and I’m still not sure I’ve had the website description of this beverage. But look, I get it, seasonal menus are difficult with unique flavors, special prep instructions, and stress!
The first version of the Toasted Gingerbread Latte I received had nothing on top. No whipped cream, no drizzle, no cinnamon sugar. It was overwhelmingly sweet and tasted like a lightly spiced hot chocolate. If I got this at a freezing cold football game, I wouldn’t be mad, but I was definitely missing any trace of the traditional gingerbread flavor (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, etc).
Feeling like surely something had gone wrong, I tried a second Dunkin’ location a few days later and received an entirely different beverage. This time, there was whipped topping, chocolate drizzle (the website says this was supposed to be caramel, but I didn’t mind this modification), and a cinnamon spice sprinkle topping. Again, I’m not sure this was “correct” either, but it was a massive improvement from the first attempt.
This second version of the Toasted Gingerbread Latte had a much stronger spice flavor both in the drink and from the cinnamon sugar topping. It was still ridiculously sweet and could pass more as gingerbread spice hot chocolate, with almost no coffee taste coming through. It was much more enjoyable with any type of topping accoutrements. I do think Dunkin’ could have done more with the notion of “toasted” (maybe if it was made with oatmilk?), and I would have loved more molasses flavor. But all-in-all, this wasn’t a total miss.
If you’re a fan of sweet drinks, holiday spice, and random barista surprises (because WHO KNOWS how this drink is really supposed to be made), go ahead and roll the dice to see what your local Dunkin’ decides the Toasted Gingerbread Signature Latte is. Maybe try one every day in December like an Advent Calendar surprise!
Purchased Price: $3.08
Size: Small
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small made with whole milk) 300 calories, 11 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 39 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein.