Elevate Your Dunkin' Coffee With These 5 Ordering Tips

Dunkin' Donuts got its start in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, a town just south of Boston. It now has a global presence in 45 different countries. While it may seem that this coffee and donut chain is everywhere in the U.S., most of its locations are actually on the East Coast, especially in the Northeast around where the company was founded. For decades, you could only really get a "regular" coffee there, which just includes cream and sugar and is still a preferred way of drinking the caffeinated brew in New England. But in 1997, the chain debuted frozen drinks, and in 2003, it made espresso available in stores with a relaunch of specialty espresso-based drinks in 2018. As such, you can get a lot more than just a regular coffee at Dunkin'.

There are supposedly 25,000 ways you can order your coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, but this is according to the company, and it probably just refers to the ways it wants you to order coffee. But if you're a culinary rebel, you may find such restrictions as an open invitation to break the rules and be creative with your morning pick-me-up. Below are five ordering tips that break the mold and demonstrate that there actually may be even more ways to enjoy your coffee here. They include nods to international coffee traditions, luxurious pastries, breakfast dishes, and even an iconic American sandwich. Just keep in mind that some of these tips may include additional charges, and some employees may not be too keen on creating these unique coffee drinks.

Macarons have become so commonplace in the U.S. now that you can even find them at 7-Eleven stores. That still doesn't detract from how good these French confections are. Not to be confused with macaroons, these sandwich cookies are made from a batter of beaten egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds and have a crispy, gossamer-thin crust that gives way to a chewy center. Flavors and fillings can be as diverse and creative as one's imagination, but strawberry is a perennial favorite. Even though Dunkin' Donuts may not appear to specialize in this posh European delicacy, you can actually cobble together a coffee drink that will transport you to a Paris patisserie, or at least your nearest 7-Eleven.

Start by ordering a latte with almond milk. If you don't need the extra hit of caffeine, order it on the lighter side (i.e., more almond milk), so that the bitter flavors of the brewed beans don't interfere too much with the berry flavors you'll be adding to this beverage. Now, opt for toasted almond and strawberry unsweetened flavorings. This is going to be your macaron cookie base; add whatever sweetener you like. Now here's where things get interesting: ask for a strawberry foam topping from the refresher section of the menu. This is going to mimic the fluffy macaron texture. To get the jammy strawberry filling typically found in a fruity macaron, order a jelly donut and squeeze the filling right into your latte. Or you can just ask for some strawberry jam.

Black Forest cake, or Schwarzwälder kirschtorte, is a Southern German specialty that has become popular all throughout the world. It consists of layers of chocolatey sponge cake doused in kirsch, a cherry brandy, sandwiching whipped cream and cherries, and covered with even more whipped cream. You can combine these flavors with a little taste of Austrian coffee culture by building a pastry-inspired riff on how coffee is drunk in Vienna. While Italy sometimes steals the show when it comes to coffee culture, this city has been a hub of its own style of coffeehouses since the 1700s and is famous for adding whipped cream to espresso.

Start by ordering an espresso and adding black cherry flavor from the refresher menu. Don't worry if you feel it may be a little bit tart for a coffee drink because the traditional torte is made with sour cherries and you're going to add a double helping of mocha syrup to your brew. Sweeten your creation to your liking — remember you're going for cake vibes here — and ask the staff for extra whipped cream. Your espresso cup should look like the Alps on the verge of experiencing a delicious avalanche. Take a sip, and you just may start waltzing around your local Dunkin'.

Few things can be as comforting as a bowl of oatmeal to start your day, especially if it has all the fixings — fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup, nuts, and a drizzle of milk or cream. However, making a deluxe bowl of oatmeal like this may be a tall order on mornings when you have to drop the kids off at school, pick up the dry cleaning, and walk the dog all before heading into work. Such a schedule requires an on-the-go pick-me-up, and if you want an all-in-one coffee and oatmeal experience on such busy mornings, here's how to do it.

Start by ordering a latte with oat milk and opt for unsweetened blueberry flavoring. Now, add butter pecan (one of the top-rated syrups here) and brown sugar syrups to get those rich, nutty, caramel notes in your drinkable oatmeal. Top it all off with a lot of whipped cream, which you'll need to balance a single glazed blueberry munchkin as the finishing touch. Or you can skip the whip and order a regular blueberry donut to dunk into your Dunkin' Donuts oatmeal deluxe latte. And on those particularly busy mornings, you can always add a shot (or two) of espresso to it.

Crème brûlée may be one of the most popular French desserts around; nobody could really blame it — it's a rich and creamy set custard flecked with vanilla bean specks and entombed in a thin layer of crunchy, slightly burnt sugar that adds just enough bitterness to offset the sweetness of the treasure below. Variations on this dessert abound, and you can now find brûlée-inspired creations all around, including caramelizing store-bought pie and torching sugar sprinkled over bagels. You can also have crème brûlée coffee at Dunkin' Donuts with a few simple tweaks and an unexpected addition.

Begin by ordering a macchiato with vanilla flavoring; make sure to request twice as much, and add caramel syrup. There are two directions you can take from here. If you want your coffee drink to emphasize the vanilla notes of the French custard, add vanilla syrup. If your favorite part of digging into this caramelized cream is savoring the burnt sugar, then add extra caramel syrup. Now here's the kicker: order a Boston cream donut and squeeze the vanilla pudding filling into your macchiato to make it extra custardy. And if you want it even richer, swirl in some half-and-half once you receive your order.

Whether you see them as a snack or a full meal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are an iconic American comfort food. Unlike crème brûlée, though, you don't often see people thinking too outside the box with this simple preparation. Maybe they don't want to mess too much with a culinary tradition that defined their childhoods, or maybe they just don't see the opportunities to experiment with this flavor combination. But think outside the bread, and maybe you'll even start seeing PB&Js in your Dunkin' coffee.

This tip works with pretty much any milk-based coffee drink at the donut chain and with any type of milk you like. Add blueberry and raspberry flavorings to your brew, which mimic the flavor of grape jelly. Now, add a double helping of peanut butter syrup, and there you have it: a peanut butter and jelly morning perk. To make it a little (or a lot) extra, take some inspiration from Elvis' favorite sandwich, which combines peanut butter and bacon. The King's version also includes sliced bananas, but it will work with jelly — or at least a jelly-flavored coffee. Order a side of bacon and stick a slice into your coffee cup, like you would with a bloody mary, or you can add whipped cream or foam to your creation and crumble the crispy cured pork belly over the top.