Tag: Dunkin

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte

Vin 2 Comments

Dunkin Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte Cup

What is the Dunkin’ Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte?

If you’re searching for a slight remix on the typical Pumpkin Spice Latte, Dunkin’ has you covered.

How is it?

Quick, without looking, what’s today’s date?!

Yeah, I had no idea either, but I bet you’re a little shocked we’ve already reached Pumpkin Spice Season. Sure, it seems to come earlier and earlier every year, but if you told me it was June 10th, I wouldn’t put up a fight. Times and dates have become a complete blur.

If you need something to help shake that fog, might I suggest this new Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Dunkin Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte Dunkin Logo

The word “Signature” might be fogging my thought process here, but this tastes like an “upscale” iced pumpkin spiced latte. A slightly more mature tasting Dunkin’ drink if you will. The difference here is a shot of espresso and vanilla.

The vanilla flavor definitely bleeds through nicely. The espresso balances the pumpkin flavor, which prevents it from being too overbearing or artificial tasting.

Anything else you need to know?

The downside about lattes, especially at Dunkin’, is that they ultimately end up tasting more like a milk drink than a coffee. That sounds obvious, but if I told you this was some kind of NesQuik-style coffee and pumpkin-flavored milk, you’d believe me. I acknowledge how nitpicky this sounds.

Dunkin Signature Pumpkin Spice Latte Whip

I’m hot and cold on whipped topping, but the cinnamon-topped cream here was a perfect addition. I actually think I liked the last few sips of latte and melted topping best.

Oh, and speaking of hot and cold, you can get this hot or iced. I always opt for iced.

Conclusion:

So, this really isn’t an extreme departure from the pumpkin spice fare you’re used to, but it’s still quite good.

I like the thought process. Pumpkin spice is a bit played out, so why not start mixing it with other flavors and really ramp it up? Vanilla is a good start, but I want some Mocha Pumpkin Spice stuff or something weirder like Coconut Pumpkin Spice. That should be the bridge coffee from summer to fall.

It’s fall now, right? What day is it again? I forgot already.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: Small
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 250 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 gram of trans fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 mg of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of total carbohydrates, 38 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Post Dunkin’ Cereal

Vin 4 Comments

Post Dunkin Cereal

Don’t even talk to me in the morning until I’ve had my Dunkin’ coffee…cereal?!

That’s right folks, Post and Dunkin’ have collaborated on a coffee-based cereal.

Why it’s taken this long is anyone’s guess. But it makes sense as both coffee and cereal (along with about seven other things) have long been part of “a complete breakfast,” according to commercials. Why not combine the two?

This isn’t Dunkin’s first cereal, but it’s the first time the brand has cerealized a beverage flavor. You can now try Dunkin’s famous Mocha Latte and Caramel Macchiato in a bowl instead of a cup. I mean, you can probably use a cup if you want. You do you.

Post Dunkin Cereal Marshmallows

The cereals consist of Cocoa Puffs-style pieces with flavored marshmallows that look like little foam swirled lattes, and feature real Dunkin’ coffee, so you can add an additional, but negligible amount of caffeine to your morning. Sounds good to me.

Post Dunkin Mocha Latte Cereal Bowl

Mocha Latte hit me with a huge waft of coffee smell, which is both pleasant and mildly strange coming from a cereal. As far as taste, the cereal pieces aren’t that far off from the Cocoa Puffs they resemble. They’re chocolate heavy, with a generic coffee flavor accompaniment. The marshmallows burst with the titular coffee drink’s flavor. They taste exactly like sugary coffee foam and syrup.

If I had to narrow down a description, I’d say this is Count Chocula if you swapped coffee for milk (more on that later). Imagine a cereal called “Count Coffula” or “Café Chocula” or “Count Chock Full o’ Nutsula,” OR, don’t imagine anything. You do you.

Post Dunkin Caramel Macchiato Cereal Bowl

Caramel Macchiato smells like, and forgive me for crossing company lines, a Caramel Frappuccino. Think of any caramel centric cereal you’ve had, but with a kicker – you get a nice little coffee flavor infusion.

Imagine one of those gourmet popcorn companies making a “caramel coffee” flavor. That’s the flavor profile I keep coming back to. To use this example again, think of when you get to the bottom of your caramel Frap and its mostly ice, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle. It tastes like that.

I could have gone for even more coffee flavor, but I guess they have to appeal to kids. The cereal piece shapes are a bit uninspired, but the marshmallows are cute, and they’re the star of the show for me.

As far as the cereal milk flavor, Imagine the drinks the cereal is based on, but swap the coffee to dairy ratio. They each tasted like a coffee drink that is 75% milk or whatever your preferred dairy is.

Oh, and just out of sheer curiosity, I tried this: both cereals with coffee instead of milk.

Look out, we got a wild man here!

Post Dunkin Cereal Mixed

Why not? I had some coffee left over, threw in my splash of half and half and mixed equal parts of each cereal in. It was a half and half and half and half. I kinda loved it. The coffee sopped into the cereal pieces and gave it that extra oomph I wanted, and the mocha and caramel flavors pushed through. If you’re feeling bold, give this a shot, but obviously, use cold coffee.

So yeah, these are ultimately a winner for me. There’s just enough coffee flavor to get your fix while also not scaring off the kids. I’m probably just gonna mix the two bags together at this point. I may even isolate a bag of the marshmallows and use them as ingredients in some kind of snack mix. Feel free to leave some suggestions on what I should add.

I’m hoping this leads to more coffee cereals. You have to imagine Starbucks will put something out if these do well. Hit us with a line of Frap cereals. As for Dunkin’, I’m not sure which coffees they can mimic next, but how about a Munchkin Cereal that features ALL the Munchkin flavors in one box?

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11 oz boxes
Purchased at: Received from Post Cereals
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Mocha Latte), 8 out of 10 (Caramel Macchiato)
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup) Mocha Latte – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. Caramel Macchiato – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Refreshers

Vin 5 Comments

Dunkin Refreshers

What are Dunkin’ Refreshers?

If you’re looking for an invigorating beverage this summer, Dunkin’ has you covered with the new green tea-based Peach Passion Fruit and Strawberry Dragonfruit Refreshers.

Dunkin Refreshers Flavors Closeup

How are they?

I won’t bury the lede – they live up to their name, but one definitely outshines the other.

Peach Passionfruit was the clear winner.

It tasted like Peach Tea Snapple with a splash of guava that also had a few Sour Peach Fruit Rings floating in it. Well, maybe if you mute all of the previous flavors by about 33%. It’s not nearly as sweet as that description sounds, but I appreciated that.

It started with a strong peach flavor that soon got washed with a mild sourness I can only assume came from the passion fruit that I thought tasted exactly like guava. Still, peach was in the driver’s seat, and the flavors blended well, unlike, Strawberry Dragonfruit, which was just pretty dull.

Dunkin Refreshers Top

It tasted like strawberry for a split second, but immediately turned into Power-C Vitamin Water. It makes sense, since they’re both dragonfruit flavored, but this is essentially just that Vitamin Water with some faint herbal tea notes in the background. That’s it, it’s Vitamin Water.

Anything else you need to know?

Refreshers are made with iced green tea, flavored fruit concentrate, and B vitamins, so you can see why Dunkin’ chose this name. Despite not being a big fan of one, I can’t dispute the claim. These are pretty refreshing.

Dunkin Refreshers Cuvee

For all the wine drinkers out there, I went ahead and tried a little cuvée of both flavors. Sad to say, it was a non-descript mess. Somehow the sourness rose while the peach tea flavored completely died. It ended up tasting like a flat, tangy, tropical punch seltzer.

Conclusion:

Oh, that reminds me, I wish these were carbonated. I think both flavor profiles could have benefitted from some effervescence.

There are much better menu options at Dunkin’, but if you don’t feel like a coffee or a frozen fruit drink, you might get a nice boost to your day from a Refresher – just make sure to get the Peach Passionfruit.

Purchased Price: $2.00 each
Size: Medium
Purchased at: Dunkin
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Peach Passionfruit), 4 out of 10 (Strawberry Dragonfruit)
Nutrition Facts: Peach Passionfruit – 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 15 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of total carbohydrates, 29 grams of total sugars, 24mg of potassium, 10g of calcium, 1 gram of protein. Strawberry Dragonfruit – 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 15 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of total carbohydrates, 27 grams of total sugars, 24mg of potassium, 10g of calcium, 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Croissant Stuffers

Vin 5 Comments

Dunkin Croissant Stuffers Side

What are Dunkin’ Croissant Stuffers?

Dunkin’ is looking to kickstart its own “is a hot dog a sandwich” like debate by offering two new croissants stuffed with meats and cheeses.

How are they?

I’m prepared to say there are a couple of tasty new breakfast sandwiches (???) on the market.

I don’t know what it is about these little rolls that always turns me into a (probably offensive) caricature of a Frenchman, but when I eat one I just have to say “Qua-sahn,” and follow that up with that stereotypical “huh-huh” grunt laugh and a fake mustache twirl. So gimmie a second while I do my routine.

—

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, it’s time to shove these into it.

The actual croissants are perfectly textured. They were as buttery and flakey as you’d expect, but that’s not to say the overall sandwiches (???) were without their flaws.

Dunkin Chicken Bacon Cheese Croissant Stuffers

Chicken, Bacon & Cheese – First of all, Everything seasoning is a game-changer. I’d eat an Everything Croissant every morning without remorse. The stuffing is where this one went off the rails a bit.

Dunkin Chicken Bacon Cheese Croissant Stuffers Innards

If you are expecting a lot of chicken and bacon, well, this is basically the anti-Arby’s, because they don’t have the meats. There was a tiny piece of rubbery bacon weaved through and a flimsy piece of chicken that got dwarfed by the flavors of bacon and Colby Jack – which was the best part of the stuffing. If you’ve ever had a Chicken Bake from Costco, this tasted kinda like a Lean Pockets version of that with less chicken and no dressing.

Dunkin Three Cheese Croissant Stuffers

Three Cheese – This one wasn’t exactly teeming with stuffing either, but the mix of mozzarella and cheddar was delicious. There’s also a baked-on layer of Swiss on the outside of the croissant, which brought it all together. I’d call Three Cheese borderline great, but I still wish there was more cheese overall. Also, Dunkin’ should’ve added Colby Jack to this one too.

Dunkin Three Cheese Croissant Stuffers Innards

Anything else you need to know?

I’m a huge fan of the Cheddar Bagel Twists Dunkin’ sells, and the way the Swiss was baked on the Three Cheese Stuffer reminded me of those. Baked-on cheese is underrated.

Oh, and if you’re hungry, these aren’t exactly huge portions, so you might wanna grab one of each.

Conclusion:

Croissant Stuffers are a nice light breakfast. I’m happy the croissant is the star of each show, but I imagine the majority of people are gonna be left unfulfilled by the lack of stuffing in these sandwiches.

That’s right, I have declared them a sandwich.

Purchased Price: $3.49 each
Size: n/a
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Chicken, Bacon & Cheese), 8 out of 10 (Three Cheese)
Nutrition Facts: Chicken, Bacon & Cheese – 330 calories, 18 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 710 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 14 grams of protein. Three Cheese – 320 calories, 17 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 500 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Iced Matcha Latte

Marvo 19 Comments

Dunkin Matcha Iced Latte

Update 3/4/2021: We also tried the blueberry-flavored version! Click here to read our review.

Matcha is not for everyone.

I can easily understand how its grassy and slightly bitter flavor can be a taste bud turnoff. Even when the bright green tea powder is mixed with milk and ice, like it is with Dunkin’s Matcha Lattes, it still won’t be for everyone.

But if you love the flavor, as I do, then Dunkin’s Matcha Latte is a perfectly adequate drink.

It’s available hot, iced, or frozen, but because it was 75 degrees when I ordered it, I decided to go with an iced latte. And, because I sometimes like to test my lactose intolerance, I decided to get mine with whole milk.

Dunkin’ makes a big deal about how its matcha green tea powder is from the Nishio region of the Aichi prefecture in Japan, where the finest tea leaves have been grown for more than 800 years. To be honest, I can’t determine how fine the tea is or whether the tea is from Nishio or the city of Uji in Kyoto prefecture. But I don’t care because I’ve enjoyed every slurp of Dunkin’s Iced Matcha Latte.

Full disclosure: I’m a man who is easily satisfied when it comes to matcha lattes. I’ve had a number of them, from either Starbucks or in bottled form from one of the many Japanese beverage brands I can get my hands on here on this rock that’s the closest U.S. state to Japan. Out of all of them, I don’t think I’ve ever had a lousy matcha latte.

Dunkin Matcha Iced Latte Closeup

To me, they all generally taste the same because it’s a simple drink. It’s pretty much matcha powder and milk. But this one from Dunkin’ doesn’t have as strong of a matcha punch as others. Maybe my dairy choice subdued the sweet, slightly bitter flavor, but it did make the drink creamy. Speaking of cream, I thought this tasted like a less sweet, less bitter matcha ice cream.

This offering from Dunkin’ isn’t going to change your mind about the green tea made from baby leaves if you don’t care for its flavor. But if you do enjoy the earthy matcha tea, it’s a perfectly fine latte and it’s nice to be able to buy one from someplace other than Starbucks.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Medium
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 250 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 32 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein.