Dunkin Donuts coffee question

this may sound like a silly question, but is the vanilla flavor dunkin donuts coffee flavored with anything bad? I love it and drink loads of it, but have recently been wondering how they get it to taste so vanilla-ish. Anyone know anything?

Mon. May 29, 8:46am

just looked on web to find out- has 20 cal. per 10 oz serving enjoy

Monday, May 29, 2006, 10:22 AM

If it is just flavored with vanilla it probably doesn't have any added sugar, unless it's made with vanilla syrup. Probably just fine.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 6:19 AM

this may vary depending on the region, but i think they switched something up in their coffee. i used to love the french vanilla flavor, and then a few months ago, i ordered it and it was sickeningly sweet (i don't put any sugar in my coffee usually). i thought maybe someone messed up and added sugar, so i asked for a new one...same thing. this happened a few more times at different DDs, but none of the workers at DD could give me any information. so i'm thinking they switched to using syrup in the stores.

is this possible? i feel like they'd have to let us know if there is sugar in their product!

what's weird is that they still sell the FV whole bean coffee...so the beans *exist*.....

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 8:22 AM

d n d

well, i find it's suspicious. they made the switch to "flavor shots" - monin brand. when i worked at a coffee shop we had monin syrup and it was 150 cals a serving. so unless a serving was 1/4 cup... i don't know if i can belive 20 cals... i even wrote d n d an email and they never wrote back!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 10:56 AM

You can ask for less syrup if you think they are adding syrup to it. (half a pump instead of two pumps, for example). It's actually a better way to control the flavor strength/sweetness of your coffee then having the flavor added during roasted, although I know everyone love's DND coffee no matter what.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 1:42 PM

Ask if they have sugar-free vanilla syrup.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 2:23 PM

Beans are soaked in a solution by roaster

The beans are soaked in a solution ... I took a class in coffee roasting and flavoring once at a local but very successful coffee roaster.

So for the beans, 20 calories is correct -- in the shops they sometimes do add additional flavoring which is sweeter, such as the Monin which is 150 calories.

My suggestion is buy the beans and make it at home to ensure that there is no additional sugar added.

IF it is still too sweet, use a summatra or french roast to cut it.

If you are concerned about the caffeine, buy a darker roast -- CONTRARY to popular belief, the darker the roast the fewer caffeine. Roasting takes out the caffeine. So while espresso is the darkest, it has the least caffeine.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 3:19 PM

That's true, my husband can only drink VERY light roasts of coffee due to acid reflux. My tastes changed then, too and we both like the light roasts. To combat the caffeine, we now get a half caf. half decaf blend. It still tastes great (and light) but with less caffeine. ( we make our own coffee in the morning, can you ask for that if you order coffee from a coffee shop??)

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 10:47 PM

i used to LOVE dunkin donuts coffee from when i was in high school, straight up until a couple of years after college. drank one or two coffee's EVERYDAY!!! Something changed in their coffee at some point-and all of a sudden i realized i had been paying for coffee for a long time that tasted awful everyday. watery, bland, burnt, or old tasting. i don't think it's my tastebuds that have changed-the quality of their coffee has gone down for sure (while their prices have gone up) . . .so it's possible they would be using a syrup to make their coffee taste better.

i've boycotted Dunks for the last 6 months and now either make my own coffee at home or go to small time local coffee place now. any one else tired of Dunks?

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 11:33 PM

AGAIN ... its not a syrup IN the beans -- the beans are soaked in the syrup.

AND, the lighter the roast -- THE MORE CAFFEINE!

The darker the roast -- THE LESS CAFFEINE.

Just like Mountain Dew has almost TWICE the caffeine of Coke or Pepsi!

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 9:24 AM

11:33, i hear ya

i live in boston. so i can only speak for my experience here. back in the day, dunk's roasted their beans to create the different flavors. (like 3:19 was talking about). within the last year and a half, they started brewing ONLY dunkin blend and if you want a flavor, they add a flavor shot. a monin-brand flavor shot. (see 3:19 & 10:56). why do i care to comment on this? because i don't think it's fair to switch from "roasted-in" flavor at 20 cals to "flavor-shot" at 150 cals and not tell the consumer. and yes, i hate the "dunkin" blend. i, too, think it tastes like old, burnt, dishwater. bleck. i also recently read dunkin's had been bought by a french company! don't know when... but it could account for th different roast flavor/add flavor methods... or maybe a change is on the way.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 9:54 AM

on another note, notice their new slogan is 'America runs on dunkin'. I guess they had to say that - they couldn't really say 'America runs on donuts', could they?? haha. that wouldn't serve them well... :)

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 9:56 AM

thanks for all this info. so, just to clarify:

when I order my iced vanilla coffee with skim milk and equal, the only calories are the milk??

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 9:57 AM

To clarify, you're best off asking the person who's making the drink if the coffee is vanilla, or if they add a flavor shot or syrup to your drink. If the vanilla is from the beans, the coffee probably has 20 calories or so, plus the skim milk calories. If there is a flavor shot added or syrup, you'll have the 20 calories from the coffee, however many calories from skim milk, and then the additionall 100-150 calories from the syrup.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006, 10:35 AM

If you live in an area with a Sheetz, you should consider just going there to try their Vanilla Nut coffee - they have self serve, so you can add your own sugar (or Splenda) and skim, whole, 2%, half and half, or non-dairy creamers to your own liking. I don't trust anyone else making my coffee, so I always go places that I can self-serve.

Thursday, August 2, 2007, 6:34 AM

Related Content: How To Lose Weight- The Basics Weight Watchers Points System The Fat Smash Diet The Eat To Live Diet The Beck Diet Solution How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight		How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer How To Burn Fat Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Tips On Using PEERtrainer Visit The PEERtrainer Community Diet and Fitness Resources
Fitness Weight Watchers Meetings Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are Writing Down Your Daily Workouts Spending Money On A Personal Trainer? How I Became A Marathon Runner		Preventive Health How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot? Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer? Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy Reversing Disease Through Nutrition
New Diet and Fitness Articles: Weight Watchers Points Plus How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program		Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne: Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough How To Delay Short Term Gratification How To Stay Motivated How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule
Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight? Are Protein Drinks Safe? Nutrition As Medicine?		Everyday Weight Loss Tips How To Eat Healthy At A Party How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight The Three Bite Rule Tips On How To Stop A Binge