10 Facts You Should Know About Dunkin' Coffee Drinks

Once upon a time, the first Dunkin' location was opened as a place to stop by and scarf down a dessert before you made your way to work. But, over time, the brand has changed its strategy from focusing on donuts to making itself a coffee brand. Now, the chain's coffee is what earns it much of its hype — and for good reason. It regularly tests new coffee products, trying to attract both the coffee minimalists and maximalists with classic, everyday favorites and unique seasonal coffee drinks you can't find anywhere else, respectively.

But even though the chain has been focused on coffee for some time now, there's probably a lot you don't know about the brand's coffee drinks. And if you're a regular — and you want to get the best coffee the chain has to offer — it pays to know a little more about what the brand sells at its multitude of locations across the country and the world. So, what exactly is there to know about Dunkin's coffee drinks? Let's take a closer look and find out.

You know when you take a sip of coffee and realize it's way, way weaker than you would have expected (or hoped for)? It can happen with hot coffee, but it's all the more common with iced coffee. And when that ice starts to melt, the problem gets even worse. The last thing you want to sip on is some coffee-flavored water that doesn't even give you the caffeine fix you were looking for in the first place. Well, Dunkin' is trying to avoid that with its iced coffee, which is why every iced coffee you get from the brand has actually been double-brewed.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, just what it sounds like — double brewing means brewing a cup of coffee with twice the amount of coffee typically used for a cup of Joe. That means that even when the ice in your iced coffee starts to melt, it's never going to taste watered down and take on that weird pale brown color. It also lends a freshness to the coffee and ensures you're getting a quality drink every time you order iced coffee from a Dunkin' store. The next time you offer an iced coffee from the brand, take a big sip and savor that double-brewing process.

Sometimes, when you go to a smaller, local coffee shop and it doesn't seem particularly busy, you might notice that your coffee tastes less than fresh. Or, perhaps you're the type of person who drinks from the same pot at home all day, and you're used to your coffee tasting just a bit stale after the first cup or so. But when you go to Dunkin' and order the chain's original blend hot coffee, you won't get that same experience — and that's because of a specific policy the brand has in place to ensure freshness in every cup.

Dunkin' chains freshly grind, brew, and pour fresh pots of coffee every 18 minutes. If, after that 18 minutes, the coffee hasn't been consumed, they toss it and start over with a new pot. That way, you're always guaranteed the freshest coffee possible. Let's face it — unless you're always on top of your schedule in the morning, you're probably not even getting coffee that fresh at home.

Coffee may seem simple, but it's anything but. Every shop that sells coffee needs to have someone on staff who knows coffee. But at a place like Dunkin', where there are thousands of locations, quality control is an even more serious task. The coffee experts at Dunkin' are responsible for verifying the quality of the beans and the finished product. And considering that 2,000 beans go into making just one pound of Dunkin' coffee, that's a lot of work. That's why Dunkin's coffee experts are required to taste about 200 cups of coffee every single day — all to ensure that you get the best possible drink in your cup every time.

That doesn't necessarily mean you'll like every coffee drink the chain sells. It just means that in every coffee drink, high-quality coffee forms the base of the beverage. So, every time you take a sip, you can be a bit more confident that you're getting a good product.

By now, we should all know that counting the calories in a particular item of food doesn't tell us whether it's healthy or not — health can't be narrowed down to just one number. However, we do know that getting too many of your daily calories from a sugary beverage probably isn't the smartest move to make on a daily basis. That's why we were shocked to learn that some of Dunkin's coffee drinks have over 1,000 calories.

A large churro frozen coffee, for example, comes in at a whopping 1,030 calories. A large caramel creme frozen coffee is even more calorie-dense at 1,120 calories. We're not saying that you should never have these drinks if you enjoy them — everyone deserves a treat every once in a while. But considering the calorie count, you may not want to make them part of your morning routine on the regular. But don't worry, because Dunkin' also offers a wide variety of less calorific options that are probably a little more reasonable for daily or near-daily consumption. But it's always good to know what you're eating (or drinking), so make sure you check the nutrition information before you make it a part of your regular diet.

Coffee is more complicated than you may think. Coffee shops aren't just using random beans and calling it a day. Rather, coffee beans are classified into different categories based on quality. The thing is that brands are not required to tell you the quality level of their coffee, which means most consumers are left in the dark with very little information about what they're actually drinking. But at Dunkin', things are done a bit differently. The chain wants its customers to know that they're getting good quality coffee, which is why the company has decided to label its coffee as premium quality. This means that on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best quality, Dunkin's coffee beans must be a 2 to make it into your cup.

Does that mean that you're going to love every single coffee drink that comes out of a Dunkin'? No, not necessarily. But it does mean that you're getting a quality cup of coffee, which should make you enjoy every sip that much more.

Sometimes, it feels like you have to know a secret language just to order your coffee the way you like it, and Dunkin' is no exception. Learning about the brand's lingo can help you more effectively order the coffee drink you really want to sip on. Have you ever wondered what's the difference between flavor shots and flavor swirls at Dunkin'? If you've heard the terms before but felt completely lost, you're in the right place. Although they sound like similar terms, they actually mean something different, and you'll want to know that difference before the next time you order.

Say you order a plain black coffee, but you're looking for a bit more flavor than just the bare bean juice. At the same time, though, you may not want to add any sugar or additional calories to your drink. In that case, you might want to ask for a flavor shot. These sugar-free flavor enhancers can transform your drink without adding more sugar to your beverage. Swirls, on the other hand, are more similar to a thin coffee creamer, and they do add additional sugar and calories to your drink. Additionally, flavor swirls contain dairy, whereas flavor shots do not. Understanding the difference between the two can help you customize your drink to your preferences every single time, whether you're looking for a way to make your coffee more decadent or you just need to add a touch of extra flavor to the mix.

Have you noticed that every single time you order your favorite Dunkin' drink, it seems to come out the same way? That level of consistency is what keeps customers coming back after they've found their drink of choice, and it seems like that's exactly what Dunkin' is trying to achieve. But it's no coincidence that your coffee from the chain always tastes the same. In fact, Dunkin' carefully measures cream and sugar additions perfectly every time by using a special machine.

This machine will add different amounts of cream and sugar to a drink depending on the size of the drink in question. Therefore, you can ask for three sugars, and the machine will dispense out exactly three sugars every time. This leaves less of your coffee order up to chance — instead, you know you're getting exactly what you asked for. If only making a cup of coffee at home could be that simple.

You're at Dunkin' and you're looking at the coffee menu, but nothing really seems appealing. Maybe you're looking to switch up your standard coffee order, or perhaps you just want to taste something that's out of the ordinary. You may assume that there are only so many options based on the menu on the board, but you'd be wrong. That's because Dunkin' has a secret menu, offering a range of options you'd never otherwise know to try. And luckily, some of them are seriously worth giving a try.

If you love a sweet, caramelly drink, for example, you may want to try ordering the Snickers iced coffee. It's creamy and packs that caramel flavor you love. The eggnog latte is a great option for the holiday season when you just want a cozy drink to take with you while you do your holiday shopping. And the strawberry cheesecake Coolatta? Well, it looks just as good as it tastes, making it a prime option for anyone who wants to post their drink on social media. And, if you want your morning coffee to taste like a whole cookie, you have to try the snickerdoodle frozen coffee. Just a warning: Going back to a plain mug of black coffee is never going to taste the same again.

Back in 2018, Dunkin' opened its first Dunkin' On Tap in its home city of Quincy, Massachusetts, a new store model that, as the name suggests, presents the brand's coffee drinks on tap, as opposed to how they're individually made at other Dunkin' locations. And by now, the Dunkin' On Tap model is somewhat commonplace in the Dunkin' universe. If your local store is one of these On Tap locations, you'll see an "On Tap" insignia that lets you know what you're getting into when you order a coffee here.

What's the difference between this kind of Dunkin' store and the original variety? Well, it really all comes down to consistency. With Dunkin' On Tap coffee drinks, you know you're getting the exact same beverage every time, which is ideal for those who always like to order the same thing. Oh, and if you want to try the brand's celebrated nitro cold brew, you'll actually have to go to an On Tap location — they're only served at these specific locations.

If you ever went to Dunkin' Donuts back in the day, then you know that the chain was once focused on the actual donuts. Those yeasty little cakes were the whole reason you would visit a Dunkin' location, and the coffee was just an added bonus, something to dip your breakfast into. But these days, things have changed. Today, Dunkin' actually sells more coffee than it does donuts, which has shifted the chain's whole premise.

In 2015, then-CEO Nigel Travis told CNBC that a whopping 60% of the company's business came from the sale of beverages, not donuts. Although donuts still accounted for a significant portion of the chain's sales, they were no longer the focus of the brand. And that seems evident in the company's offerings. You can now get a wide variety of coffee and other beverages from the brand, and the quality seems much better than it once was. But hey, just because donuts are no longer the focus doesn't mean you shouldn't treat yourself to one the next time you pick up your Dunkin' coffee order!