7 Dutch Bros At-Home Coffee Pods, Ranked

No matter how much you love coffee, there seem to be more options to try than you can keep up with. Whether it's because of the growing region, roasting process, brewing method, or style of drink, there are just so many ways to enjoy coffee. At-home coffee pods are practically in a league of their own, with somewhat endless choices for your morning cup of joe lining store shelves. Like many coffee chains in the U.S., in conjunction with its coffee shop, Dutch Bros is a part of the at-home coffee pod clan. The pod flavors find inspiration from one of Dutch Bros's popular iced coffees.

Dutch Bros began in 1992, quickly expanded in the 2000s, and specializes in flavored hot and cold coffee drinks. Some of those flavors are available in pods for your single-serve coffee maker. I can't say how much coffee I've had, but it's safe to say I could float a boat. But I've never had Dutch Bros at-home coffee pods, so I was looking forward to trying them. My typical go-to is a simple hot black cup of coffee, so I began there. I paid close attention from brew to final sip: aroma, flavor, aftertaste, drinkability. The one I liked the best was so good that it rocked that aforementioned boat. 

Vanilla is usually a safe flavor option for food and drink, but Dutch Bros' vanilla caramel misses the mark. There was virtually no scent as it was brewing, and if I hadn't known the flavor before taking a sip, I wouldn't have been able to guess what it was. It was so light in flavor, I couldn't taste any background notes. Unfortunately, it wasn't good drinking it black, either. It had a chemical aftertaste that ruined the cup, and I immediately had to add some cream — this helped a bit, but it created an even lighter cup of coffee.

The vanilla caramel pod option draws inspiration from Golden Eagle — an in-store favorite made with espresso, caramel, and vanilla breve with a caramel drizzle. A breve is similar to a latte, but swaps regular milk for half-and-half to create a thicker, creamier drink. This swap doesn't translate well to the pods. Overall, vanilla caramel lands last on my list because it lacks in every area. I'd suggest checking out some of these underrated Keurig pods instead.

Who doesn't love a good Irish cream? Alcoholic or not, it's a great flavor combination of sweet cream, chocolate, and vanilla. Pair with coffee, and you should have yourself a home run. But alas, this particular Irish cream option fell flat. It wasn't bad by any means; it just lacked that unique trait of Irish cream (and I don't mean whiskey) — the taste that hits the back of the tongue, popping off a rich, creamy, slightly sweet, and a little bit chocolate-y flavor that has you wanting more.

Though it lacked oomph, it was tasty enough. I couldn't place the flavor because it didn't have that quintessential Irish cream taste — instead, it was sort of a nondescript coffee that's not quite like regular. It had a small aftertaste drinking it black, but that went away with adding cream. So while drinkable, it didn't land higher on the list because it was lacking flavor.

Caramel mocha smelled amazing as it was brewing — like a chocolate turtle candy. It's inspired by Dutch Bros favorite Caramelizer, which is espresso, caramel sauce, and chocolate milk. I was certainly anticipating a good sip, but that didn't happen. Ironically, it smelled so good but had very little flavor. There was a tangy background note, but if I hadn't known the flavor I was brewing, I wouldn't have been able to place it. After about the sixth sip, I thought maybe ... maybe ... I detected a hint of caramel. Much like vanilla caramel, it couldn't deliver. At least, it had no aftertaste and was quite pleasant to drink black.

I didn't even try the pod option with cream, as the flavor was so light, brewed at eight ounces. The cream would have nixed any remaining flavor, although still drinkable and landing in the middle of my list. If you drink this caramel mocha coffee with a chocolate dessert like a chocolate lava cake, the dessert could bring out the complementary caramel and chocolate notes in the coffee.

The Cocomo is a Dutch Bros favorite made from espresso, coconut syrup, and chocolate milk, which inspired the coconut mocha pod. Sounds like a perfect combination to me. It smelled fantastic as it was brewing, like a chocolate-covered coconut macaroon. Yum. That got me ready for my first sip, which was pretty good, but not good enough to beat the top three. 

It had a tiny aftertaste, but it didn't disrupt the enjoyment of the cup. It was pleasant to drink black with nice hints of coconut, chocolate, and a richness in the background. The smell lingers nicely, too, and adds to the experience. When I tried the coffee with heavy cream, it was light in flavor (I went a little heavy on the cream), but it was kind of like eating a coconut cookie with milk. It was tasty, but it didn't wow quite like my first choice.

Dutch Bros OG medium roast is a solid medium cup of coffee. Though in my opinion, it leans toward light. It's smooth and goes down like water — a personal sign that signals a good cup of coffee because it means I was really enjoying it. Oddly, it didn't have much of an aroma while brewing, but the resulting cup was still good enough to get it in the top three. The coffee was rich with hints of Colombian profile notes, but it's not labeled as a Colombian coffee. However, Dutch Bros sources its 100% arabica beans from Central and South America.

OG medium roast is described as having milk chocolate and bright citrus flavor, and I'd say that's accurate. There was a hit of citrus tang that's not overpowering, and the finishing Colombian taste I got could border on a chocolate note. Regardless of the details, it was solid coffee, ideal for anyone who likes an easy cup of joe.

I have to love a dark roast named Mafia. Dark roast coffee is my first choice if I were offered all the coffee in the world — I like a bold hit of hot black coffee to wake up my senses. This was not that dark, but it was definitely good. It remained as my No. 1 choice until the most delicious coffee ever bumped it to second. Though it has body and depth like a dark roast, I wouldn't call this a dark roast. It just doesn't have that hit of coffee power most dark roasts do. It has a soft kick at the end of the sip, so this is great for anyone who likes something stronger than a medium but finds most dark roasts overpowering.

Oddly, brewing the Mafia dark roast didn't elicit nearly as much aroma as I was anticipating with a name like that. There wasn't much scent at all, but it went down like water and had a clean taste. It was enjoyable whether I brewed it at eight or 10 ounces or drank it black or with cream.

I was hooked from the moment the chocolate macadamia nut brewed to the final sip. The smell was so intoxicating that I enjoyed the scent alone. The aroma was drool-worthy, like double chocolate cookies with nuts baking in the oven. My nose sent messages to my brain, lighting up with past memories of all kinds of cookies — specifically thin chocolate wafer cookies from my childhood that had a slightly sweet chocolate taste — the kind of cookie that makes a great crumble on top of ice cream.

But because of the seriously disappointing other wonderful-smelling flavored Dutch Bros coffee, I was super curious about this one. And wow, it's like eating those cookies. The balance of flavor is perfect. Add some heavy cream, and it's like chocolate cookies and milk, turned into my dessert coffee. Chocolate macadamia nut is one of my overall favorite ingredient combinations. This pod option gathers inspiration from Dutch Bros Annihilator, which is a popular seller (understandably so) made with espresso and chocolate macadamia nut breve. Breve? Bravo.

To determine this list, I gathered the most Dutch Bros at-home coffee pods I could find (which happened to be Amazon), resulting in seven. I tasted each coffee black, unadulterated. Then I tried a few of them with cream, mostly because I enjoy flavored coffee with cream. I brewed the OG medium and Mafia dark at both eight and 10 ounces, and the flavored coffee at eight ounces (I like as much flavor as possible). The factors I considered were aroma, initial impression of first sip, overall flavor, background notes, drinkability, and aftertaste.