Nerd Fuel: Dunkin’ – Chocolate Covered Strawberry

When it comes to flavored coffees, I’m both a hard critic and a sucker. I can’t resist snapping up every new flavor that hits the store shelves, even though I automatically expect them to fall short of my expectations. Still, every now and then I’ll come across one that is particularly good. That was the case with my latest find, Dunkin’s Chocolate Covered Strawberry.

I suspect that this coffee was slated to be released in time for Valentine’s Day. But for whatever reason, it didn’t show up on the shelves of my local grocery store until last week. My experience with Dunkin’ K-Cups has been generally positive, so I was excited to give this one a try. The first thing that caught my eye was the “Dark Roast” indicator on the box. The majority of flavored coffees tend to be medium roasts, since the darker roasted beans typically overpower any added flavoring.

The coffee itself smelled absolutely wonderful as it was brewing. The strawberry scent is front and center and mixed very well with the natural aroma of the beans. The flavor of the coffee was also quite surprising. Whatever magic Dunkin’ used to add the strawberry flavor to this brew worked amazingly well. I was fully expecting a “strawberry milkshake” sort of vibe from this coffee. But instead, what I found was “actual strawberries”. It was the perfect mix of sweet and tart. Just like biting into a real strawberry. The flavor then finished with a mild, hint of dark chocolate. But the chocolate flavor is very subtle. In fact, I’m not sure there’s any added chocolate flavor at all. I suspect that the dark roast of the beans plays a big part in creating the illusion of chocolate. But, I could be wrong. Either way, the taste profile worked exceptionally well.

This coffee is a bit sweeter than some aficionados are going to like. But if you treat this like a desert coffee, I think you’ll bound to be pleased. This coffee is another great example of a brew that will shine over ice with a little whipped cream on the top. But make no mistake, it is very tasty if served hot and straight from the machine.

Score: 4 out of 4

Would buy again?: Yes. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as a I did. Strawberry is not really one of those flavors that I’m drawn to. But this coffee was simply fantastic. Highly recommended.