What Sets Dunkin's Dunkalatte Apart From Its Other Lattes?

September brings with it the energy of exciting change for the year — and no, we're not talking about back-to-school time, or leaves turning to beautiful colors. We're speaking, of course, about the eagerly anticipated Dunkin' fall menu. We know we can expect favorites like Pumpkin Spice Signature Lattes, but we also know to look forward to totally new items. We recently reviewed two offerings in the latter category, trying Dunkin's new seasonal items and deciding which we'd love to see stay on the menu permanently. There was a clear winner, but the product itself might be a little confusing. The Dunkalatte is delicious, but how is it different than all the lattes that have long lived on Dunkin's permanent menu?

Lattes in general are part of a wider group of espresso drinks mostly distinguished by their milk-to-espresso proportions and milk preparation (frothed, steamed, or both). The difference between lattes and cappuccinos, for example, is that lattes are made with steamed milk and capped with a layer of milk foam in a different ratio than the cappuccino. The specific difference between all straightforward lattes and Dunkin's new Dunkalatte, though, is that the milk is actually something called coffee milk. Coffee milk is whole milk flavored with coffee extract, like chocolate milk is milk with chocolate syrup. It's a creamy, rich, roasty, bittersweet treat and is also the official state drink of Rhode Island. 

Coffee milk's popularity in New England primes it perfectly to take its place at Dunkin', a chain whose first-ever location in Massachusetts still thrives today. To further put a Dunkin' twist on the quintessential New England drink, Dunkin' uses its own coffee extract. Coffee extract is made by infusing alcohol or an alcohol substitute with coffee beans that have been crushed open to expose their flavor compounds. The Dunkalatte, then, is like coffee inception — you get the experience of Dunkin' coffee-flavored milk within Dunkin' espresso. That's a double concentration of roasty, chocolatey coffee, balanced by that rich milk. 

Dunkin' describes the Dunkalatte as "an ultra-smooth drink that sips like a latte and tastes like a melty milkshake," and frames it as a next-level creamy coffee. Our own taste test revealed it to live up to the milkshake hype, with a melted coffee ice cream quality. You get the intense flavor of the espresso without bitterness, as it's been balanced by the sweet coffee syrup and smooth milk. 

While we still love Dunkin's traditional lattes, made with straightforward whole milk or any milk a customer chooses, it's almost hard to imagine going back to plain milk once you've experienced coffee milk. The Dunkalatte, available hot or iced, is tasty enough that we'd love to see it stick around all year — or at least return every fall.