Many of us are trying to cut our sugar intake and control calories. When we lead a busy life this can be tricky, as we will need plenty of coffee, and once we decide on the coffee flavor we will want the large one.
This is where the sugar-free flavors will really help as they will cut the calorie intake right down, and Dunkin sugar-free flavors make a great alternative, and you won’t even know that you are not having sugar.
What Are Dunkin Flavor Shots?
The flavor shots add taste to the coffee without adding any sugar and are almost calorie-free, hence the Dunkin sugar-free flavors are what make the difference to your coffee. The flavor shot and flavor swirls are commonly mistaken for one another. Flavor shots are unsweetened, sugar-free, and dairy-free adding only flavor to your coffee.
While swirls are creamy because they contain dairy, and you can combine a swirl with a flavor shot. Some of the popular flavor shots are:
French Vanilla
The good news is that vanilla contains no calories and no sugar. French Vanilla is a fragrant flavor that many people like mixing through their coffee. When you are enjoying an iced latte, the French Vanilla is a good choice in giving the coffee a softer aromatic taste.
Hazelnut
If you suffer from nut allergies and love nuts, this is a nut-free experience, giving your coffee a lovely fragrant aroma of nuts. It contains no nuts but has cleverly managed to copy hazelnut flavor. This is a flavor that goes well with all coffees, so why not give it a try?
Caramel
Most of us love Caramel and this one is sugar-free, adding richness to regular coffee. The taste is superb and you will find that it tastes rich and creamy. Once you have decided to cut back on sugar and calories, you don’t want to be deterred as it is easy to slip back into your old ways.
Quick Fact: Having the Caramel shot is just like having sugar, and the good thing is you won’t miss the sweetness of sugar at all, as Caramel brings its own sweetness and flavor and goes with many different types of coffee.
What Happens When You Quit Sugar
Dunkin sugar-free flavors are important because many of us are over-addicted to sugar, and when we stop having it, good things happen. To start with, giving up sugar is a challenge, but the shots for your coffee will help you to get over that initial hurdle.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day for women, and when you manage to cut the sugar out:
- Your skin will look younger, as sugar interferes with the collagen and reduces the elasticity of the skin.
- You will find that you have more energy. As when you add sugar, you get ‘highs and lows’, noticeable in small children who get sugar ‘highs’.
- You will shed abdominal fat and drop extra weight and your blood sugar levels will remain stable, keeping your insulin levels stable while reducing the risk of diabetes.
- Less sugar also improves cardiovascular health, and you will be much healthier later in life.
Toasted Almond
This is another nutty-flavored shot that pairs so well with coffee and is better with milk-based coffee. Almond is well known for being great with coffee, as many people drink almond milk in coffee that is naturally slightly sweet. Give the almond shot a try as it is another shot that contains no calories and no sugar.
After a few days of being sugar-free, you won’t have any desire to go back to it as switching from sugar is a good habit to form.
Blueberry
Blueberry is a strong flavor that won’t be for everyone. Try it in black coffee as it is not overpowering and you will welcome the change. Dunkin sugar-free flavors have managed to bring you so many amazing sugar-free shots, that you may want to try making your own version at home, and the blueberry one would be easy.
Raspberry
This is another one for black coffee or tea, as it is not a flavor that goes well with milk. Raspberry will replace sugar and will pair well with iced black coffee as the warm weather comes.
Coconut
Coconut is perfect with milk-based coffee and a shot of coconut flavor will give your morning coffee that extra lift. If you are making the coffee at home, try Organic Shredded Coconut Unsweetened, for a good strong flavor in your coffee. Don’t use coconut oil as it contains high levels of saturated fat.
Unsweetened Cacao Powder
If you miss the flavor of chocolate and want to avoid sugar, you can try unsweetened cacao powder stirred directly into your coffee at home. It tastes like pure chocolate with no added sugar. Chocolate tends to lift coffee, and the powder is not syrupy (not a Dunkin Donut flavor).
Fresh Mango
Last summer our city had a glut of mangoes, they are very sweet and juicy, during that time I tried mango coffee, latte worked best and it certainly doesn’t require sugar. Maybe we could have a Mango sugar-free shot!
Dunkin Donuts Sugar-Free Flavors
Dunkin sugar-free flavors have coffee blends that you can try from home, and some of these are:
- Dunkin Espresso – Style Bag
- Best Sellers Coffee Variety Pack – Dunkin K Cups
- French Vanilla flavored – Dunkin’ Ground Coffee
- Decaf Medium Roast Coffee – Dunkin’ K Cups
- Caramel Me Crazy Flavored – Dunkin’ Ground Coffee
- Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa – Dunkin K Cups
A single shot in your coffee contains only 15 calories and 2 grams of carbs, so if you are on a Keto diet, you can certainly have your shot. The purpose of the shot is to liven up your coffee, which can otherwise be a bit boring.
With a few tips and a bit of creativity, you will have lots of ideas to get you through giving up sugar. Some additives to change the taste of your coffee are:
- Nutmeg add one-half of a teaspoon to warm up your coffee and give it flavor.
- Orange juice to black coffee, this is very popular in some states
- Cinnamon, one full teaspoon will change the flavor of your coffee, or latte. Even buy some cinnamon sticks to infuse into the coffee.
- Ginger, this goes well with tea and coffee and is very healthy try half a teaspoon of powdered ginger in your coffee to give it that zing.
The above are a few things to try at home as Dunkin flavor shots are not for sale, but only for commercial use in their stores. The store suggests that if you want to try shots at home purchase Dunkin’s flavored ground coffee K-cups.
The interesting thing about coffee is that it is improving all the time and we are finding different ways to bring you the best flavors.
Other Ways to Sweeten Coffee Without Adding Sugar
1. Stevia
Is a plant-based sugar substitute that has absolutely no calories, you can grow Stevia in your garden, as it is an evergreen herb, then just pull off a leaf and place it in your coffee.
2. Monk Fruit
A fruit with total sweetness and no calories. Remove the seeds and mash them up. Better still buy the extract and keep it in the fridge, as it has absolutely no calories.
3. Maple Syrup
Is a sweet strong antioxidant with amazing health properties, add only a drip to your morning coffee as it does contain calories, but is a highly concentrated sweetener.
4. Coconut Sugar
It will naturally taste coconut but don’t use much just enough to give you that slight sweetness.
5. Agave
This is a sweetener from Mexico, and the Mexicans use it in everything, it is perfect in coffee as it has a caramel aftertaste. Don’t have much of it as it tastes very sweet and contains fructose. It would be worth experimenting with Agave to make a caramel coffee drink, it would contain calories.
Health Risks of Sugar Try Coffee with Health Benefits Instead
Because sugar poses health risks to us. Dunkin sugar-free flavors have been invented to help us have the best coffee shop experience without sugar.
One of the suggestions is to use Cardamon or Cardamon pods, this is a middle Eastern flavor, and it is unusual but gives the coffee a great flavor, it is said to neutralize caffeine addiction and control cholesterol levels in the body. Most people don’t suffer from coffee addiction, and this could only be determined by a doctor.
The article then goes on to say that Cardamon also cures erectile dysfunction, so for some men, it may be worth a try.
Peppermint Oil is a wonderful addition to coffee, and we can now try peppermint flavor lattes. There is absolutely no sugar, but the peppermint flavor works really well with the coffee giving the flavor added depth. Peppermint Oil also has health benefits especially helpful in cases of stomach upset and irritable bowel syndrome.
Cloves have been used for centuries, and some people grind them with their coffee grinder along with the coffee beans. Only use two or three cloves otherwise you will lose the coffee flavor and just get clove flavor. Cloves are high in antioxidants and help to improve the health of your liver, so add them to your coffee every day.
Replacing Sugar in Coffee
There are so many ways of replacing sugar with other things when making coffee, some people just put a shot of alcohol into the coffee, but that doesn’t give you any health benefits and is not one of the Dunkin sugar-free flavors.
If you had two teaspoons of sugar a day in every cup of coffee, this could add up to 2o teaspoons and this is much too much sugar. So it is important to try to stop adding sugar and use something natural instead.
Quick Fact: If you find it hard to stop the sugar, start by cutting it down. The first week just try one teaspoon, and next week half a teaspoon and by week three, you will be ready to stop the sugar.
Dunkin Sugar-Free Flavor Shots
Having your coffee in the right coffee chain is helpful when you are trying to eliminate the sugar, as Dunkin Sugar-Free Flavor Shots will keep you sugar-free. Sometimes drink pairing can help you, and you could try toasted almond coffee with a Mocha Swirl. Or if you are having the French Vanilla combine that with a Mocha Swirl.
If you want to add some flavor shots of your own to coffee Monin and Torani sell them on eBay, but be careful as some will have sugar, look for the sugar-free ones. If you purchase Dunkin’s flavored ground coffee, you can start experimenting at home to make your perfect sugar-free coffee shots.
Dunkin Donuts History
Dunkin Donuts has a proud history, opening in Quincy Massachusetts in 1950 and growing, it now has 12,900 locations in 42 countries, and of course, its products include coffee and donuts.
In 2013 Dunkin Brands CEO announced that the Dunkin Donuts franchises would be available in California, and 45 new restaurants opened giving Dunkin sugar-free flavors a new lease of life. Since 2017 all Dunkin locations are franchisee owned and operated, and they are often paired with Baskin Robbin’s ice cream in a single multibrand store.
In 2014, English Football Club Liverpool announced a multimillion pound global partnership with Dunkin Donuts. In 2016, Dunkin became the official “coffee, donut, and breakfast partner” of the National Hockey League.
In 2020, Dunkin Brands was sold to Inspire Brands, and Dunkin Brands ceased to exist as a separate company, so it is now all part of Inspire Brands. Dunkin Donuts continues to make great coffee and donuts under the new management, and their stores are easily recognized.
When Did Were Dunkin Sugar-Free Flavors Add to The Menu?
The flavor shots have only been added recently, meaning any drink can become low carb. This is terrific, especially for diabetics who can’t always get their needs met in food outlets. You can order a cold brew or espresso and add whole milk or coconut milk. Then you can add a sugar-free shot that is only sold in the outlets.
The flavor shots are great fun and you can experiment with them in your coffee, and it helps to know that they are sugar-free. The flavor shots, as listed before are excellent and sugar-free and you have so many options, especially when you invent your own coffee style.
The Dunkin Donuts Sugar-Free Flavors are:
- French Vanilla
- Hazelnut
- Toasted Almond
- Blueberry
- Raspberry
- Coconut
You are only able to purchase the sugar-free shots in-store.
Your Sugar-Free Dunkin Donut Choices What has Least Sugar?
- Black coffees and iced teas are all sugar-free options – You should also be safe consuming the flavor shots as they are sugar-free, but if you have a milk combination it definitely adds calories and carbs. Almond milk used in Dunkin Donuts is not a sugar-free product.
- Donuts – The donuts are laden with sugar, and most of us like them and have them now and again. Dunkin donuts are considering removing the word “Donuts” from its name. I guess this is a sign of the times, as everyone strives to be healthier and eat the right food.
At one time Dunkin Donuts shops all varied a lot with different locations varying their menu options with some selling full breakfasts and others selling donuts and coffee. Since then the shop menus have been standardized and new menu items introduced.
In 2018 Dunkin Donuts began to expand its options beginning in Quincy with modern decor cold beverages on tap and a single-cup brewing machine. More take-out food began to be sold and espresso coffee machines were introduced.
Home delivery services commenced around this time. A sandwich was even invented to mark the switch to home delivery in 2019. The whole story of Dunkin’s sugar-free donuts and its origins is extremely interesting, and for the food and drinks to still remain popular after all this time is amazing.
- Kids Drinks – Is there a kid’s temperature for hot drinks? Dunkin’ does not have a kid’s temperature as they do at Starbucks, but you can ask for a few ice cubes to be put into any hot drink to cool it down quickly.
What drinks at Dunkin’ have no caffeine?
If you’re looking for absolutely NO caffeine then the only items from Dunkin’s drink menu are the herbal teas and the non-coffee Coolattas: blue raspberry, strawberry, and vanilla bean. These are fine for kids to have a cool after-school drink.
Conclusion
There is something for everyone at Dunkin Donuts, including Dunkin’s sugar-free flavors. Don’t forget to try the sugar-free flavor shots, as I think that they will surprise you, adding so much flavor to the coffee without adding calories or carbs. In time there will probably be even more choices.
