11 Caffeine-Free Dunkin' Drinks, Ranked

There's an ongoing feud in this coffee-loving nation of ours over which chain serves better coffee: Dunkin' or Starbucks. Although Starbucks is the favorite among millions of Americans, Dunkin' is the nation's largest coffee chain. Despite the coffee giant's widespread popularity, the Pacific Northwest is still mostly without beloved Dunkin' coffee, but the "America runs on Dunkin'" slogan still rings true throughout the rest of the U.S. Today, Dunkin' is most known for its surprisingly high-quality coffee, so much so that the chain dropped "Donuts" from its original title in 2019. Considering there's not much to be said for Dunkin's subpar donuts, I fully support this rebrand. Dunkin' offers everything from drip coffee to lattes to Americanos, including some secret menu concoctions that are worth a try on your next run.

Any establishment that specializes in coffee is bound to offer some coffee-alternatives for those who prefer to keep their caffeine intake at bay. Dunkin' hosts a variety of caffeine-free sweet treats and pick-me-ups on its lengthy menu, and I took on each one to discover which drinks are worthy to uphold Dunkin's legendary legacy. To determine the victors, I considered taste, above all else, as well as the value and originality of each drink. Use this list to find your next favorite late-night drink, or to discover a whole new world of Dunkin' possibilities outside of its tried-and-true coffee.

Blue raspberry is an elusive flavor with strange origins. Originally designed for sweetened ice shavings — a popular treat at gas stations and movie theaters to this day — the funky, candy-like flavor retains a cult following. Although it doesn't genuinely mimic the taste of raspberries, its unique taste and festive color is popular in a variety of candies and drinks. Dunkin' takes a stab at this love-it-or-hate-it flavor as one of its famous Coolatta drinks, and I'll be honest — I really wish it hadn't.

Considering a Dunkin' Coolatta is essentially just ice and flavor syrup blended into a slurry, you'd imagine the Blue Raspberry Coolatta to taste almost identical to the classic gas station slushies. But Dunkin's blue raspberry flavor is so sweet that it's practically nauseating. It has a medicinal aftertaste, almost like sweet-flavored kid's toothpastes, and left my tongue with a gross fresh-from-the-dentist flavor (and perhaps I should make an appointment after slurping down one of these sugary drinks). This Dunkin' drink's last-place ranking could have been absolved with a higher-quality blue raspberry syrup, or — preferably — a whole different fruit flavor for this Coolatta altogether.

Frozen hot chocolate sounds like an oxymoron, but that's exactly what Dunkin's frozen chocolate is. Enjoy all the flavors of a creamy hot chocolate with whipped cream when the weather calls for something icy cool with one of these classic Dunkin' confections. Dunkin's frozen chocolate comes in a variety of flavors and is topped with decadent whip and a drizzle of chocolate sauce for bonus chocolatey flavor. Among its frozen chocolate flavor offerings is caramel; a classic pairing for chocolate when straight cocoa in your treats starts to get a little bland and boring. Instead of the syrups that add a punch of sweet flavor to coffee drinks and iced teas, these blended dessert drinks are made with Dunkin's flavor swirls — an ultra-rich, thick version of traditional flavor shots. They add an exuberant amount of sugar to an already sweet drink, so even though these drinks are caffeine-free, you might get a jolt of energy from a sugar rush.

Dunkin's Caramel Swirl Frozen Chocolate just isn't caramel enough. If you search your palate for the flavor, you'll likely notice a hint of it. However, I was ready for an equal caramel-to-chocolate ratio. The addition of salt in this drink — to make it a luxurious salted caramel and chocolate dessert drink — would have kicked it up a few spots on this list by adding a flavor that wasn't as boring as a mere caramel-chocolate fusion.

Just like its coffee, Dunkin's teas are surprisingly good quality. Unlike some other major coffee chains, Dunkin' produces its own tea, and it boasts tea from farms that are members of the Ethical Tea Partnership — a non-profit devoted to ensuring fair harvest practices and improved conditions for workers and their environment. Dunkin's tea bags are the bougie pyramid-shaped type, allowing for faster brew time and less potential for messes.

Among Dunkin's many tea options is classic herbal mint, known to Dunkin' customers as "Cool Mint." Herbal mint tea is both a soothing after-dinner drink and an invigorating, caffeine-free wake-up, depending on the time of day you brew a cup. The mint tea at Dunkin' packs a punch of stimulating mint flavor, albeit to the point that it's a bit excessive. Despite many mint teas offering noticeable amounts of other flavors to balance out spearmint or peppermint, like anise or citrus, Dunkin's cool mint is really just mint. Just like the aforementioned toothpaste-flavored Coolatta, this drink tastes like it belongs in a dentist's office instead of in your Dunkin' cup.

Butter Pecan is a popular drink flavor at Dunkin' that originally appeared as a seasonal favorite for iced coffees and fall-themed lattes. Then — to the delight of Dunkin' enthusiasts who counted down the days until the elusive buttery flavor emerged from the ether — in April 2023, Butter Pecan earned a coveted permanent spot on the Dunkin' drink menu. Now, the flavor is available in swirl-form, and adds a touch of something unique to an otherwise standard frozen chocolate.

Butter Pecan — the second frozen chocolate flavor featured on this list — gives us a little more to work with than Caramel Swirl. As a more unique flavor, its presence in the drink is a little more noticeable than boring caramel, albeit not by much. While looking at the ingredients of the drink listed as a description of the order on the cup's sticker, I noticed that the frozen chocolate drinks with added flavor are not adjusted to account for the added sweetness. So, essentially, there's just as much chocolate in a frozen chocolate with no added flavor as there is in one with rich, indulgent swirls, making this drink arguably too sweet for human consumption. Well, that might be an overstatement, but I think Dunkin' could put a little more care into its beverages to allow for uniformity in their sweetness.

Chamomile tea might be the most popular herbal tea of all time. Naturally, it would be a crime for a tea-slinging establishment like Dunkin' not to offer its own take on this classic bedtime tea, and while Dunkin's chamomile is as classic as chamomile gets, it's lacking in flavor.

Chamomile Fields — Dunkin's version of the most soothing tea known to humankind — is an incredibly floral version of chamomile. The drink contains slight hints of apple, but other than that, this tea is chamomile all the way. An added fruity or spicy flavor could take this drink to new heights — like citrus or ginger — but I suspect Dunkin' wanted to keep this tea as traditional as possible, and I can respect that. This fresh, floral tea would make a soothing caffeine-free drink on a hot day if poured over ice, but the warmth from a hot tea makes this the ultimate drink to lull you to sleep.

Most people enjoy a sweet, creamy hot chocolate to warm the cockles on a chilly winter night. Dunkin' offers its hot chocolate all year long, even though you might get the side-eye from a barista if you order your chocolate drink hot in the summer instead of opting for the more-popular frozen chocolate delights. But, regardless of judgements, some of us (myself included) enjoy a hot beverage even on a sweltering day, and so I applaud Dunkin' for making its hot chocolate accessible at all times.

To the joy of those on the hunt for a satisfying hot chocolate, Dunkin's is loaded with chocolate flavor. The chocolate powder appears to concentrate on the thin layer of foam that forms at the top of the cup from the steamed milk, meaning that the first sip is certainly the best. While this drink is as chocolatey as it can get, it can still use some serious hot chocolate upgrades. For starters, don't even think about ordering this drink sans whipped cream; it's made with water and not milk, even though milk makes for a much more delicious hot chocolate, so it seriously requires a little added creaminess. Dunkin's version of this classic winter drink isn't as decadent as some might like, but I suspect that if you ask for it to be made with milk instead of water, the Dunkin' staff would happily oblige, although this substitution might result in an up-charge.

Sometimes you just want to keep things simple and stick with an original. If you're not in the mood for any fancy flavor swirls — and you want to avoid the added sugar — then Dunkin's original frozen version of a hot chocolate might be your best choice for a satisfying caffeine-free treat. This drink is made up of the same chocolate powder that makes Dunkin's hot chocolate, as well as ice, milk, whipped cream, and a chocolate drizzle.

Unlike all of Dunkin's flavored Frozen Chocolates, the original has the perfect amount of sugar. It's sweet enough to be a dessert, but it won't leave you with the same feeling you once had as a kid on Halloween night, post-candy binge. Although its sugar content is on point, this drink could be creamier; a touch of added milk and whip cream gives this drink and light amount of richness; just enough to coat your tongue with each sip. But once the ice starts to melt (and it melts fast when enjoyed outside in the sun), you wind up with a watery chocolate beverage that leaves you wishing you had just went out for ice cream, instead.

The Coolatta has been a fixture on the Dunkin' menu for over 20 years, with Vanilla Bean acting as one of the quintessential options for a refreshing, creamy, caffeine-free treat that's great for kids and adults alike. The Vanilla Bean Coolatta is one of my personal favorites from childhood, so I was hoping for a hit of nostalgia and a flavor that held up to my sugar-crazed childhood palate's discerning tastes. While this drink was just as creamy and refreshing as I remembered, I found myself a little disappointed in its flavor.

Typically, vanilla bean is loaded with more creamy and complex flavor than standard or French vanilla. You can usually identify a vanilla bean treat over regular vanilla by noticing little black specks throughout, like in vanilla bean-flavored ice cream compared to regular vanilla. I noticed none of these auspicious little black specks in the Vanilla Bean Coolatta, so I knew I was in for disappointment. Although this drink is erroneously labeled, lacking the complexity of vanilla beans, it was still an ideal creamy and icy treat for a hot day — more refreshing than ice cream and a little less sweet, but still just as decadent.

After the sugar-crash that ensued after trying three of Dunkin's frozen chocolates, the last to try was the French Vanilla Swirl flavor. Vanilla and chocolate together are like a painter and their canvas, joining forces to create a masterful work of art. It's a universally adored combo, and although it sounded boring to me — I was really hoping for something funky from Dunkin' — I still retained some semblance of high hopes. As it turns out, this classic combo didn't disappoint.

With just one sip, I discovered that the addition of French vanilla — richer and creamier than standard vanilla — was all that the frozen chocolate needed to land a spot towards the top of this list. The lack of creaminess in the original frozen chocolate is cured with added vanilla swirl, and the lightly vanilla-flavored whipped cream accentuated the flavor enough that it didn't get lost in the chocolate. The vanilla swirl introduces rich creaminess on the first sip and prepared my palate for the chocolatey indulgence to come. Although this drink is a little excessive in its sweetness, considering the amount of chocolate isn't reduced before adding the sweetened flavor swirls, its layers of flavor and ultra-creaminess makes up for it. Since the frozen chocolate is made up of more water than milk, it's refreshing on a hot day and still as decadent as a milkshake.

Dunkin's Hibiscus Kiss tea is as much fun to sip on as it is to say. While some desserts and candies are flavored with hibiscus, especially thanks to its naturally-occurring high levels of pectin — its most commonly found in teas, often accompanied by another flavor — usually fruit. While maybe not as prevalent of a flavor as chamomile or mint, hibiscus is a delicious option for a caffeine-free tea in hot or iced form.

Dunkin's take on this floral treasure doesn't include any other flavors to accompany it — much like how its mint and chamomile teas keep their classic, singular flavor — and that's perfectly alright by me. Hibiscus is known for its naturally complex tastes, and Dunkin's tea highlights these nuances to a tee (pun absolutely intended). Along with a powerful floral taste and aroma, tart berry notes — mostly cranberry — and hints of citrus and pomegranate make this tea naturally complex and delicious. Buy some tea bags to take home with you and brew this tea over ice for a caffeine-free summertime drink that doesn't require any sweeteners to be tasty and refreshing.

And at the top of my list, naturally, is the famous Coolatta — but not just any variety of Dunkin's esteemed blended drink. The Strawberry Coolatta ranks as the best caffeine-free Dunkin' beverage for its ability to help you cool in the summer, act as a sweet after-dinner confection, or as a refreshing midday pick-me-up. Strawberry is among the most beloved flavors of any dessert, from shortcake to compote to milkshakes. Dunkin's strawberry is another to add to your list of strawberry-centric favorites.

Unlike the Vanilla Bean Coolatta, this drink is made without milk, meaning its suitable for vegans. Its lack of milk also means that it's less heavy than the vanilla Coolatta or frozen chocolates, so it won't bog you down if you choose to enjoy this fruity delight in the middle of a workday. Much to my surprise, after the first sip, I was hit with a punch of fresh strawberry flavor, as opposed to overtly artificial strawberry essence that's often found in fast food desserts. Don't get me wrong — the candy-sweet taste of artificial strawberry was noticeable, but it meshed well with the nature of the drink. If you want to take this drink to new heights, order it with a secret drink menu tweak: a topping of whipped cream and a splash of Vanilla Bean Coolatta create a slice of strawberry shortcake in drink form.

Like many other New Yorkers, I've been a regular Dunkin' customer since childhood. While my love of caffeine knows no bounds, I appreciate a little sweet indulgence or soothing drink that reminds me of my younger days, before I discovered the glory of coffee.

I personally tried and tested each beverage that appears on this list in order to rank them from worst to best. I set aside any biases in flavor or sweetness preference and ranked each drink based on quality of preparation, overall flavor, sugar levels, and value. I found that each drink exceeded my expectations for value across the board, and so this aspect of the ranking process was ultimately forgotten in favor of focusing on taste, first and foremost.

Every Dunkin' drink ranked on this list is devoid of any caffeine content. Beverages labeled "decaf" were excluded from the ranking due to the trace amounts of caffeine found in decaffeinated coffee, black tea, and espresso.