Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee

While Dunkin Donuts has a wide variety of food items, the most meaningful to me and many other people is their coffee, more specifically, their iced coffee. In the image above is my order from Dunkin, a medium cold brew with caramel and skim milk. Despite my passion for Dunkin coffee, I am not an avid coffee drinker. It is not something I rely on everyday. But a few times a week it fulfills a strong craving. The order itself consists of cold brew with three pumps of caramel and the standard amount of skim milk. It is the perfect amount of sweetness to cut the bitterness of coffee and a good amount of milk to make the coffee not watery but also not completely milky. I am not one who enjoys coffee without sweetness so the taste of the caramel and the sweetness it brings is quite enjoyable. A medium is the perfect size as well. Not being stingy with its sizing, a medium holds a lot of coffee in addition to being easily held and carried around. It provides an overall great coffee sipping experience. The size of the straw is an S/M meaning it fits both small and medium drinks. The straw pokes out just enough to not look goofily long but also is not barely poking out. The bright orange and pink lettering on the cup, straw, and on stores is classic and easily recognizable. The playful blobby font stands out right in your face and is a constant reminder of what you are drinking.

On a personal level, Dunkin Donuts is one of the few chains in my tiny suburban hometown of Holliston, MA. Though the location in my town is quite run down and somehow its parking lot has been under construction for months, the store is still running and the coffee always tastes great (with the bright orange and pink of course). Additionally it is one of the first buildings you’ll see when you enter my town from two of the busiest neighboring towns, truly giving me the sense that I am home. Two of my closest friends work at Dunkin Donuts. One works at a location in the town over from me and the other works at a location near her college campus at the University of Rhode Island. So I am quite connected to Dunkin on more than just a consumer level. In addition to the actual taste of Dunkin being great and a personal staple, drinking this coffee offers a great sense of belonging in the state of Massachusetts. In many more densely populated towns and cities in MA you can see multiple Dunkin’ Donuts’ in one view sight. A true ‘Masshole’ (a slang term which describes ‘a native or inhabitant of the state of Massachusetts’) knows that Dunkin is the way to go when it comes to coffee. As an avid lover of this state I find myself succumbing to all things that make Massachusetts Massachusetts. This doesn’t mean I am forcing down Dunkin coffee, it is that it makes me feel a deep connection to this state and the people within it. My medium cold brew with caramel and skim milk is not just another cup of coffee, but it is a vessel that opens a vast feeling of acceptance, passion, and comfort.

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The history of Dunkin Donuts can lay out some of its cultural elements. The franchise was founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts (just south of Boston) by William Rosenberg, a Boston native. He originally named it Open Kettle but it was officially changed to Dunkin’ Donuts two years later. Its current headquarters is located in Canton, MA. One question to consider would be why exactly has Dunkin Donuts remained such a prominent piece of culture in Massachusetts and all of New England? The spread of the franchise could lead to an explanation. What is Massachusetts’ role in the spread of Dunkin’ Donuts across the country but New England specifically? Massachusetts can be considered the powerhouse of New England so Dunkin’ starting there could definitely have given it a head start. I am excited to use these questions as starting points to deep-dive into the Dunkin' Donuts franchise and its cultural influence.

Source:

Dunkin’ Donuts History. ......https://news.dunkindonuts.com/internal_redirect/cms.ipressroom.com.s3.amazona........ws.com/285/files/201610/Dunkin%27%20Donuts%20History_11%203%2016.pdf.