Dunkin’s Newest Drink Has 84 Grams of Added Sugar

This week, Dunkin’ released their highly anticipated fall menu to kick off pumpkin spice season. But to our surprise, pumpkin is a side note at the breakfast chain this year. Instead, they have a few new flavors up their sleeve, including a nostalgic sip.

Alongside a line of Sabrina Carpenter’s fruity Daydream Refreshers, a new coffee flavor has arrived. Meet “Cereal N’ Milk,” the newest addition to Dunkin’s seasonal menu. Currently available in hot and iced latte form, the Cereal N’ Milk flavor will also be arriving as a Coolatta variety later in the season and in a specialty Blueberry Cereal N’ Milk Matcha Latte.

But before you wait up on trying it in its Coolatta form, the slushy-style drink offered at the chain, there’s something you should know. When looking at the nutrition information for the Cereal N’ Milk line, the Coolatta stood out to us as pretty alarming. Let’s explain.

For one small Cereal N’ Milk Coolatta, the nutrition shows:

• Calories: 440
• Carbohydrates: 97g
• Dietary Fiber: 0g
• Total Sugars: 93g
• Added Sugar: 84g
• Protein: 6g
• Total Fat: 3.5g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 10mg
• Sodium: 230mg

Mind you, this is the small, 16-ounce size of this drink, and it’s loaded with 84 grams of added sugar. The medium and large? A whopping 126 and 168 grams of added sugar, respectively. To really break down the excessive amount of added sugar in this drink, we asked our senior nutrition editor and registered dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, to weigh in.

“Most Americans eat too much added sugar, and for many the top source is sugar-sweetened beverages. That’s because it’s easy to way overshoot the recommended daily maximum intake of added sugar—which is around 40 grams per day—in just one sweetened drink without realizing it. This drink, for example, has over twice that amount,” explains Ball. “While your diet should make room for foods you like, it’s important to be mindful of how highly-sweetened drinks like this not only fit into your day, but also your week as a whole. Trying this drink once is one thing, but I would not recommend having it regularly or multiple times per week.” 

But don’t fret: If you were excited about the Cereal N’ Milk flavor, there are a couple of ways to enjoy it instead of waiting for this Coolatta. And the other options are available now and have a fraction of the sugar per sip.

Slurping up this flavor in latte form, whether it be hot or iced, is the way to go. In each small Cereal N’ Milk latte, there are 18 grams of added sugar. That’s still fairly high, but it’s definitely easier to incorporate into a healthy eating pattern—it has nearly 80% less sugar than the Coolatta. Plus, the latte versions have half as many calories as the Coolatta, and they even have slightly more protein!