Dunkin Donuts Iced Pumpkin Macchiato

I used to not be much of a Dunkin Donuts girl. That is until my boyfriend introduced me to the dark side (that being the Chips Ahoy iced coffee - which sadly they no longer carry). Seeing all the hype online about Dunkin's offering macchiato's ... I decided to give it a try. So, on my way back to work on my lunch break I decided to pick up a large Dunkin Donuts Iced Pumpkin Macchiato.

The iced macchiato is a layered beverage which includes brewed espresso, milk (your choice of whole or skim), ice and pumpkin swirl flavoring. Personally I find the pumpkin swirl to be sweet enough that a large only needed 1 packet of sugar substitute (equal/splenda). The milk is actually flavored with the pumpkin swirl and the espresso is then layered in over the ice and milk to create that gradient effect.

Of course the moment I was given my beverage, I made sure to swirl it all together using my straw to incorporate all the flavors together. I'm not one for a bold shot of espresso without milk or sweetener involved. The macchiato itself is very good. It's got the classic boldness from the espresso, the sweet pumpkin flavor and I found the two extremes in flavors really balance themselves out.

The only cringe worthy part was the price tag. In my area, a large (after meal tax) was $4.27. Granted, it's still cheaper than going to Starbucks (which a venti would actually be smaller than Dunks version - you'd have to stretch for a trenta to compete). But in comparison to the 2 large iced I can get for 80 cents more ... I think my iced pumpkin macchiato days are going to be treated as treats and not an on the regular purchase.

According to the Dunkin Donuts website, a large beverage (made with skim milk) is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.

Skinny Cow Creamy Iced Coffee Drink - Vanilla Latte

I'm an avid coffee fan ... but I'm very particular about how I take my coffee. I decided to go out on a limb and give the Skinny Cow Creamy Iced Coffee Drink in Vanilla Latte a try.

 

Hearing "iced coffee" I assumed these would be in the refrigerator section of my local grocery store. But surprisingly enough these were stocked in the drink aisle, alongside some of the iced tea beverages. There are three flavors available (my store only had two) so I opted to go with the vanilla latte. I popped it in the fridge and let it sit for a few days before deciding to give it a try.

 

Upon first sip .. I was completely disappointed. The drink tastes like someone poured a glass of milk and grabbed a squeeze bottle of that artificial coffee flavored syrup, poured some in and mixed it up and tried to pull it off as an iced coffee. It tastes like a chocolate milk that's got a coffee flavor to it. It's sweet, it's moderately thick ... and it's really, really not worth it. It reminded me of the Special K Protein coffee drinks they launched which I was repulsed by. Truth be told ... I wouldn't repurchase these, even if I had a coupon that made them free. This was just not my cup of tea.

 

A serving, 1 bottle, is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.