Dunkin’ is bringing some thrilling espresso power into the brand new 12 months. On December thirty first, it introduced the restricted time “Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso” beverage in partnership with pop singer Sabrina Carpenter.
For those who don’t know who that’s, her hit music “Espresso” single-handedly helped Individuals pronounce espresso accurately. Trace: it’s not ex-presso!
As a result of Starbucks popularized the iced shaken espresso, I needed to evaluate the OG (Starbucks’ Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso) to this Dunkin’ providing.
Beginning with beverage construct: Whereas the beverage could appear easy – espresso, brown sugar, and oatmilk – there are variations in how every is made.
First, the espresso itself: Dunkin’ makes use of what it calls “daring espresso,” which I assume is a regular darkish roast. Starbucks makes use of blonde espresso, a lighter roast with a better caffeine content material. Second, the brown sugar: Dunkin’ calls it “brown sugar notes,” whereas Starbucks specifies “brown sugar and cinnamon collectively.” Lastly, I’ll shortly be aware that each checklist “oatmilk,” however spoiler alert: this ingredient makes an enormous distinction in style.
Now, onto the precise beverage expertise and style take a look at: The very first thing I observed was measurement (insert one in every of Sabrina Carpenter’s soiled jokes right here, as she typically makes them). I normally don’t order Dunkin’ and Starbucks concurrently, however the worth comparability was putting in comparison side-by-side. A small iced at Dunkin’ is 16 ounces, whereas a small at Starbucks is 12 ounces. The latter is 15% dearer and 4oz much less! +1 to Dunkin’.
Nonetheless, I’d moderately have much less of a superb factor than extra of a “simply okay” factor. Taste-wise, Starbucks’ model simply tasted higher. It had extra depth – the brown sugar tasted much less corn syrup-like and extra deep and developed with the cinnamon as the ultimate be aware.
Dunkin’s model, alternatively, began robust. It was extra espresso-forward, however I couldn’t recover from the aftertaste. It wasn’t overpowering however faintly synthetic and what I can solely describe as “eggy” or yolk-like tasting, which I attributed to the oatmilk. Dunkin’ sometimes makes use of Planet Oat oatmilk, whereas Starbucks makes use of Oatly.
In the end, Dunkin’s drink jogged my memory extra of a “common” Starbucks Iced Shaken Espresso—not fairly delivering on the promise of a Brown Sugar Oatmilk Espresso.
Sabrina made me do it, however I’m sticking to Starbucks for this shaken espresso rendition!
Bought Value: $4.89
Measurement: Small (16 oz)
Score: 5 out of 10
Diet Information: 120 energy, 1.5 grams of fats, 0 grams of trans fats, 0 milligrams of ldl cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 18 grams of sugar (together with 18 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.
