If you’re born on the East Coast, you’ve come to see a Dunkin’s on every street corner. Born in the West Coast? Those spots are fill by Starbucks. Regardless of which chain you drank in elementary school, people come to develop coffee preferences. Plus, all restaurants offer new items.
Ofter the past decade, we’ve seen cold brew become a coffee shop staple. Starbucks introduced it in 2015 and Dunkin’ introduced it in 2016. Since then, both chains have put the beverage on the forefront of their menus and even introduced novelty beverages centered around cold brews.
On the West Coast, the Dunkin’ presence has slowly been increasing. Whether you’ve only tried Starbucks, Dunkin, or neither you might wonder how the two cold brews compare.
Mostly, this is going to be a personal assessment. Believe me, I’ve had my share of both Dunkin and Starbucks. I don’t pledge allegiance to one over the other, and I wouldn’t be afraid to praise either chain.
Some information regarding the chains aren’t as subjective: namely, the sizes and prices. The Dunkin cold brew is available in three sizes: small (16 oz./ $2.59), medium (24 oz./ $3.09), or large (32 oz./ $3.59). Starbucks offers four sizes: tall (12 oz./ $3.45), grande (16 oz./ $3.95), venti (24 oz./ $4.25), and trenta (31 oz./ $4.45). Dunkin’ does win for being the more affordable option.
When it comes to cold brews, you’ll often hear words like “smoother,” and “bolder” to describe the flavors. Certainly, there is a stronger coffee flavor than iced coffee. This is true for both Starbucks and Dunkin’, but if the coffee flavor doesn’t taste good, you wouldn’t want the flavor to be more prominent.
Both chains say their cold brews have nodes of chocolate in them, though Dunkin’ compares their flavor to dark chocolate. This is likely because they use a dark roast to make their cold brew. Meanwhile, Starbucks just called their beans Arabica and doesn’t specify the roast. This highlights the biggest difference, Dunkin’ is much bolder and slightly more bitter. Meanwhile, Starbucks is a little sweeter though just as flavorful.
If we’re judging the two brands just on the taste of black cold brew, I would opt for Starbucks. I like bold flavors and stronger coffees, but Dunkin’s cold brew is slightly stronger than I like.
On a normal day, I don’t add much to the cold brew. Just a little almond milk and no sugar. For this reason, the natural sweetness of the Starbucks cold brew is the prefect flavor for me.
Starbucks does have some speciality cold brews such as Pumpkin Sweet Cream Cold Brew or Irish Cream Cold Brew. This usually these additions only weaken the experience for me. When I tried the pumpkin variety (and I love pumpkin spice coffees), I felt the cold brew was masked by the cream.
The boldness of the Dunkin’ cold brew lends itself well to flavors. As a brand, Dunkin’ seems to have many more flavor options and more seasonal offering. Even if you add in the sweet pumpkin swirl to flavor your cold brew, you can still taste the cold brew flavors. If you’re a fan of flavored coffees, you might want to consider Dunkin’.
Both brands have great cold brew. For everyday drinking, I’d vote for Starbucks. When I want a fun flavor, Dunkin’ does it better.