Founded in 1950, Dunkin’ has proudly served sweet treats and beverages for over 70 years. With more than 13,000 locations globally, this fast food chain has solidified itself as the largest coffee and donut brand within the United States. But in 2018, Dunkin’ decided to step away from its food menu and undergo a name change reflecting its decision to focus on creating more fun beverages like secret menu drinks and the Sabrina Carpenter Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso collaboration. The company has been slowly preparing consumers for this change. In 2017, Dunkin’ took a leap of faith and released a line of ready-to-drink iced coffees that originally featured flavors (like French vanilla and mocha) you would commonly find in stores. These drinks were available in various convenience and grocery stores, plus gas stations.
With the National Coffee Association reporting pre-made coffees as the third most popular preparation method among coffee consumers in 2024, it only made sense that Dunkin’ would expand its ready-to-drink line to include new flavors. In c, they created a trio of new iced coffees with bakery-inspired flavors like brownie batter donut and cake batter donut. However, the latter was a complete fail. It tasted nothing like the sweet treat it advertised on its can. To be frank, it didn’t taste like dessert at all. It was so oddly sour and sickeningly sweet that it was placed last when Tasting Table ranked Dunkin’s bottled and canned coffees.
Why is Dunkin’s cake batter iced coffee so terrible?
With the release of the bottled and canned iced coffees came the promise that these beverages would feature the same great taste and quality that Dunkin’s signature iced coffee is known for. These ready-to-go drinks were made to meet the company’s specifications, which include using excellent Arabica coffee that gets blended with real milk and sugar. Advertised as a coffee and milk beverage, the cake batter donut drink meets Dunkin’s promise of real ingredients. Coffee, skim milk, cane sugar, and cream are listed as prominent ingredients. However, like all bottled and canned beverages, there’s still less than 2%of common food additives like cellulose gel, carrageenan, and other ingredients like natural flavoring and ascorbic acid.
Each canned iced coffee was created to replicate an iconic item on Dunkin’s menu. The cake batter donut iced coffee arose from the brand’s Dunkfetti donut, but the drink tastes nothing like its source of inspiration. In fact, it has zero cake batter flavor, which is crazy since the can claims it should have a vanilla cake taste. Considering there is no cake flavoring listed anywhere in the ingredients, it’s understandable that it’s lacking that flavor. Unfortunately, the can design is the only aspect of this beverage that gives you the essence of the cake you are desperately searching for in every sip.
With no redeeming qualities, it’s easy to understand why this canned Dunkin’ coffee is difficult to find. It’s definitely not the “delectable party in a cup” Dunkin’ wanted it to be. Instead, it’s truly one of the worst Dunkin’ drinks you can get. This canned iced coffee can only be described as cavity-inducingly sweet. With 30 grams of sugar, it also has 44% of your daily value of sugar in it. That alone is enough to make you skip this drink. Add in the strange sourness and unexplainably unpalatable flavors, and you’re better off trying one of Dunkin’s Sparkd’ Energy drinks. America might run on coffee, but it doesn’t rely on this one.
