10 Dunkin' Refreshers, Ranked Worst To Best
Once summer arrives and the days get swelteringly hot, it's time to switch up your drink routine. During the colder months of the year, a hot coffee is just what you need to warm yourself up at the start of your day. Come spring, you might want to opt for an iced coffee instead. But when it's super, super hot out, sometimes the last thing you want is a coffee. The bitter, intense flavor doesn't always hit right when all you want is something refreshing. So, what should you order when you make your morning coffee stop?
Well, if you happen to be getting your drink from Dunkin', you can always opt for one of its Refreshers. These fruity drinks are quite a bit lighter than coffee. They also come in a wide variety of flavors, so it's easy to find one that you like: some are super sweet, while others are more understated. Whichever one you choose, you're sure to enjoy the break from coffee with some of the best Dunkin' Refreshers. But which are delicious and which leave something to be desired? We tasted these different Dunkin' Refreshers flavors to give you a full review.
10. Mango Pineapple Refresher
Dunkin' likes to keep things fresh, so it's no surprise that it released some new flavors for the summer season this year. One of those flavors is the Mango Pineapple Refresher. When we first heard about this drink, we were excited: How can a mix of tropical fruits not be delicious, especially when it's hot out? But once we got the chance to take a sip, we were sorely disappointed. In our opinion, the Mango Pineapple Refresher did not taste good.
You can barely taste the mango flavoring at all, and the pineapple in the mix tastes ultra-artificial. We do pick up on plenty of sweetness, which isn't surprising considering this is supposed to be a blend of tropical fruit juices. However, all that sweetness is overpowering because it's never balanced by enough acidity. Plus, a strange aftertaste ensured that we didn't want to take another sip after the first one. We love that Dunkin' is trying new things and exploring new flavors for Refreshers, but we're disappointed to say that this one is largely a dud.
9. Strawberry Dragonfruit Coconut Refresher
Want to order a drink that's going to look pretty when you post it on social media? If so, you should definitely opt for the Strawberry Dragonfruit Coconut Refresher. Although many Refreshers are on the juicier side, the ones with coconut contain — you guessed it — coconut milk, which gives them a richer flavor and a fuller body. At first glance, we were super excited to try this coconut milk drink simply because it looked so good. Its lilac hue made this Dunkin' Refresher look floral, fruity, and refreshing all at once.
But, alas, you should never judge a book by its cover ... or a drink by its color. Unfortunately, we're not huge fans of this Refresher flavor. Is it better than the Mango Pineapple variety? Absolutely, but that's not difficult. We think this one tastes like liquid Sweet Tarts — there is a bit of tartness there, but overall, it's overwhelmingly sweet. If you're looking for liquid candy, then we guess it's not a bad choice. But if you're looking for something that's actually, as the name suggests, refreshing, the Strawberry Dragonfruit Coconut Refresher is simply not the way to go. Snap your photo if you must, and then move on to something more delicious on the Dunkin' menu.
8. Peach Passionfruit Refresher
Are there any peach lovers out there looking for a drink that will deliver all the peach flavor they want all summer long? If so, they're probably going to be into the Peach Passionfruit Refresher. Personally, we don't totally love the peach flavoring in this drink. It's quite strong, and it's definitely on the sweeter side, which isn't ideal for our palates. However, if you don't mind artificial-tasting peach flavor, then this drink might be up your alley. Although this Duinkin' Refresher is quite sweet, we found it to be slightly more enjoyable than the previous two on our ranking.
We will admit that this drink seems to be more balanced flavor-wise than the others we've covered. That distinct sweetness is still there, but for some reason, the acidity seemed better in this case. However, we still don't feel like the drink is very refreshing. How are you going to feel refreshed when you've just downed a ton of sugar? We wish they would offer these in an unsweetened version, so we could focus more on the flavor.
7. Raspberry Watermelon Coconut Refresher
There's a lot going on in this drink, and not all of it works. The coconut is the dominant flavor — the sweet, creamy taste of coconut milk coats your mouth and makes it hard to pick up on the fruit syrup at first. We almost detected a vanilla hint in the coconut milk, but we're not sure whether or not we just imagined that part.
After the initial hit of coconut, then you get smacked with the watermelon candy flavor of Dunkin's raspberry watermelon syrup. It's a bit of an odd combination because coconut is such a tropical taste, but watermelon isn't, and the tanginess of the fruit syrup clashes with the cloying sweetness of the coconut. On some sips, the mix of flavors comes close to working — it sort of reminded us of Chè Thái, the Vietnamese fruit jelly and coconut milk dessert. However, it was mostly just confusing. We didn't care to finish this Refresher.
6. Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher
You already know how we feel about the Strawberry Dragonfruit Coconut Refresher, but what about the version without the coconut milk? That's what you're getting when you order the Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher, and we have to admit, this one is way, way better than its milkier cousin. This Refresher still doesn't even come close to our favorite, but it's at least not totally unenjoyable. The strawberry flavor is rather strong but in a good way. There are also some subtle floral notes that make this Dunkin' Refresher a little more complex than we imagined. Of course, the Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher is pretty sweet, too. So don't assume that you're getting the most refreshing drink in the world.
This drink reminds us of those old-school Starbucks Refreshers before they got all fancy with the extra fruits and interesting syrups. But we don't mind the simplicity here: just the drink and some ice. We probably wouldn't order this iced drink on the regular, though. For those times when you just need something lighter than a coffee, it's not the worst choice on the Dunkin' menu.
5. Mango Pineapple Coconut Refresher
You may assume because we disliked the Mango Pineapple Refresher that we would feel the same way about the Mango Pineapple Coconut Refresher. Turns out, coconut milk does a lot for the drink by mellowing it out, so it's much better than its plain counterpart. Something about the addition of the coconut milk draws out the flavor of the mango. The pineapple seems less pronounced, and considering we found it kind of artificial in the other drink we had, that's a good thing. The same signature sweetness is still there, but because the milk adds a thickness to the drink, this Dunkin' Refresher can carry the sugar better.
This drink has a piña colada vibe, and who doesn't like a piña colada during the hottest summer months? We wouldn't go out of our way for this Refresher. But if we were in the mood for something tropical-tasting and happened to be sitting at the Dunkin' drive thru, we might be tempted — maybe.
4. Raspberry Watermelon Refresher
The non-coconut version of the Raspberry Watermelon Refresher is definitely superior to its creamier cousin. We had the option to choose between lemonade and green tea as the base; we went with lemonade, predicting that the citrus would pair well with the fruity syrup.
We were mostly right — the lemonade made a lot more sense with the raspberry watermelon syrup than the coconut milk did. We didn't detect much raspberry flavor in the syrup, though, as the watermelon took the spotlight. It didn't taste like watermelon juice, however, but more like artificially-flavored hard candy. Specifically, we got a strong Jolly Rancher vibe from this drink. Our main complaint was that it was a little bit too tart. While the lemonade complemented the fake watermelon fairly well, perhaps the green tea would have resulted in a less acidic beverage. Either way, this refresher is a solid middle-of-the-pack option. We weren't super into the candy-like taste of the syrup, but we could see some people really enjoying it.
3. Peach Passionfruit Coconut Refresher
Here's another Dunkin' Refresher that benefits from the addition of coconut milk. The Peach Passionfruit Coconut Refresher is actually pretty good once the milk is added to the mix. That peach flavor that was so strong in the plain version gets the help it needs from the creaminess of the milk. A thicker, fuller drink, those strong fruit flavors don't seem quite as abrasive. To be honest, we don't really taste much of the passionfruit flavor. There may be a slight tang that you could attribute to passionfruit, but we wouldn't have guessed that particular fruit if it wasn't in the name.
Of all of the Refreshers on the Dunkin' menu right now, we think that this one has the most potential to be there for the long term. While it's clearly a great choice for the summer, it's not so bright and fruity that you couldn't order it any other time of the year. Is it the best drink at Dunkin'? No. But if you're looking for something a little exciting or out of the ordinary, the Peach Passionfruit Coconut Refresher may be just what you've been searching for.
2. Mango Pineapple Lemonade Refresher
Finally, we can get down to our favorite Refreshers on the menu. If you're going to try this style of drink from Dunkin', we definitely recommend going the lemonade route. The other drinks seem to rely on largely artificial-tasting flavorings, but with these lemonade Refreshers, it feels like you're getting more of a familiar experience — especially if you grew up drinking lemonade during the summer. The mango pineapple flavor in this drink does not steal the show. Rather, it's the lemonade that takes the lead here. The result is a mildly flavored lemonade with just the right amount of sweetness to counteract the strong acidity.
The plain lemonade at Dunkin' is already solid, but we love when it's combined with other flavors. It makes a basic drink into something special. Because, sure, you can always make homemade lemonade, but the addition of mango and pineapple flavors? Not so easy. This iced drink is definitely worth a try if you want to experience some of the best the Dunkin' Refreshers line has to offer.
1. Peach Passionfruit Lemonade Refresher
Our favorite Dunkin' Refresher of them all has got to be the Peach Passionfruit Lemonade. The peach and lemonade pairing is truly everything we want in summer. Just imagine drinking fresh lemonade as you walk around a Georgia peach orchard, smelling the scents of ripening fruit wafting from the trees. That's exactly what you're going to get from this drink ... or, we guess, the closest thing you can get to ripe peaches when you're at a Dunkin' drive thru before your morning meeting.
There's the brightness and tang of the Dunkin' lemonade. There's a subtle peach flavor that offers some depth and additional sweetness to the mix. Again, we can't really taste the passionfruit here either, but we'll buy it if that's what Dunkin' wants to call it. Overall, if you want to order a Refresher for the first time and are at a loss for what to choose, we couldn't recommend the Peach Passionfruit Lemonade Refresher more.