If you’re looking for a strong coffee that won’t put you over your budget for the month, Dunkin’ has your back. When compared to Starbucks’ offerings, most of Dunkin’s coffees are generally more affordable, and you get more bang for your buck (more caffeine for a lower price!). The doughnut chain has become more serious about its coffee menu in recent years, going as far as to drop the “donuts” from its name and simply going by Dunkin’ in order to not pigeonhole itself to being known for only fried baked goods. According to the chain, there are about 25,000 different ways to place a coffee order at Dunkin’ — so which one is the best?
Chowhound tried 11 of Dunkin’s most popular iced coffee drinks (without any modifications) to determine which was our favorite. For its extra smooth flavor and strong caffeine kick, the cold brew coffee came out as our top choice. We ranked the iced coffees based on taste, smoothness, and the ability to customize to your liking, and the cold brew checked all of these boxes.
The cold brew has both a blessing and a curse: It’s made every day, which means it’s fresh, but this also means that if it runs out in a particular store, it likely will not be available again that day. We would recommend our second favorite choice, the classic iced coffee, in such instances, but be aware this one is also subject to running out as it too is made fresh every day.
Why Dunkin’s cold brew is our favorite iced coffee
Dunkin’s cold brew is a smooth sipper; others can have too much acidity or simply taste too strong, which is a cold brew mistake that typically happens from over-steeping the beans. The chain uses 100% arabica coffee beans, which are known to have a smooth, balanced flavor profile, and Dunkin’s cold brew has pleasantly sweet notes of dark chocolate.
The steep time of Dunkin’s cold brew is interesting — the coffee grounds are only steeped in water for 12 hours, which is on the shorter end of the expert-recommended steep time of 12 to 18 hours for cold brew. However, this shorter steep time doesn’t seem to affect the flavor or caffeine content in the slightest. The medium-sized cold brew (which measures 24 ounces) has an eye-opening 260 milligrams of caffeine — for context, an average cup of brewed coffee (which typically comes in a standard eight-ounce serving) has between 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine.
We also like the cold brew because it offers somewhat of a blank canvas to create the iced coffee drink of your dreams. Black and caffeine-packed? It’s already good to go. Sweet and creamy? Add in half-and-half cream and a few sugar syrup pumps. Vegan and flavorful? Opt for almond milk and a light splash of the vanilla syrup. There are no complicated modifications needed for the cold brew — it’s a drink that naturally takes well to any desired add-ins.
