The best thing about Dunkin is you can make your order, the way you like it. The Dunkin menu has two different ways of adding flavor to your coffee, flavor shots and flavor swirls. Flavor shots are unsweetened essence. Flavor swirls, on the other hand, come with sugar, and are sweet. Both shots and swirls add flavor to your coffee. In addition, swirls sweeten your beverage and increase the taste.
Stiil, which one is the best, and what are the best combos of shots and swirls you should try at Dunkin’s?
Are Dunkin Flavor Shots syrups?
There is a common misconception that Flavor shots are syrups. The misconception occurs because the flavor shots are viscous liquids and are poured in a syrup fashion. But, flavor shots are not syrups. Then, what are they?
The Flavor shots in Dunkin are a type of essence added to enrich your coffee in every way. Shots enhance the taste, aroma, texture, and intensity of the coffee.
With Dunkin’s variety of shot choices, you can create complex and unique flavors of coffee. All you have to do is form combinations between savory and sweet flavors. For this, you need to understand what the shots are and how they differ from flavor swirls. Flavor shots are fruit essences and unsweetened non-creamy liquids added to enhance the flavor of your coffee.
Flavor shots in Dunkins are mostly fruity. For instance, there are raspberry flavor shots, blueberry, and more. Unlike flavor swirls, the shots do not add taste to the beverage. Before we dig into the differences any further, let us learn about the flavor swirls at Dunkin.
What is Dunkin Flavor Swirls?
Unlike shots, swirls are syrups. Flavor swirls are creamy and add extra sweetness to your coffee. The swirls are taste enhancers and are not for people on a strict diet. Despite adding flavor to your coffee, swirl also enriches it.
Flavor Swirls are bombs of deliciousness. Just like shots, there are different varieties of swirls and you can create combos to enjoy the ecstasy of your drink. To form the combos you should first learn the differences between flavor swirls and flavor shots.
Flavor Shots vs Swirls
People often tend to mistake swirls and shots for one another. Flavor shots are for health-conscious personalities willing to add an extra flavor to their coffee. Shots are sugar-free, unsweetened, and dairy-free. The purpose of the shots in Dunkin is only to add flavor to the coffee.
Swirls, on the other hand, are sweet, calorie-rich, delicious syrups. Flavor swirls carry dairy products with them. Sometimes you can combine swirls and shots to add new flavors to your coffee. The best example of a swirl-shot combo is the lattes with French vanilla shots and pumpkin swirls! Delicious, healthy and carries fewer calories!!
So far, we saw the basic difference between the flavor swirls and flavor shots. Let us now dig deep.
Sugar
- Swirl: Full of sugar and sweet. Want to know how much sugar is in one swirl? Take Caramel swirl, for instance. One serving of caramel swirl is 38 grams, and it has 21 grams of sugar, 3.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and the rest is carbohydrates.
- Shot: Unsweetened and sugar-free.
Flavor shots are full of carbs; there are no fats, and proteins.
If you are looking for low-carb flavor shots, French Vanilla is your choice.
Try French Vanilla over a hot coffee made with coconut milk (steamed coconut milk); the combo has a rich flavor and is the best option if you like milk and are avoiding it for diet-based reasons.
Cream
- Swirls:
- The flavor swirls in Dunkin are creamy.
- Though the flavor swirls make your coffee taste creamier, it is not actual cream.
- The cream is a dairy product extracted from milk. Flavor swirl, on the other hand, has very little milk.
- Ingredients of flavor swirl are condensed skim milk, water, and high fructose corn (kind of sugar).
- What difference does this make?
- Calories in flavor swirls are less than a cream, though flavor swirls are creamier.
- The flavor swirls go well with frozen coffee, iced coffee, and latte, creating a sweeter and indulgent beverage.
- Shots: There is no cream in flavor shots.
Taste
- Swirls: Though the flavor swirls carry flavor, it mainly sweetens your drink.
- Shots: Flavor-rich and carries the taste of the syrup used in the making; for instance, a blueberry shot is made of blueberry syrup and has the respective taste of the fruit; raspberry flavor shots taste like raspberry and so on.
So, which tastes better, shots or swirls?
The Verdict: You can now appreciate and recognize the taste carried by swirls; mouth-watering and enjoyable and taste good mainly because of sugar and milk.
It is clear from the above discussion that flavor swirls have better taste than the shots.
Texture
- Swirl: Smooth, fluffy, glossy, puffed up, less hygroscopic than shots; take more time to dissolve in the beverage than shots because they are porous.
- Shots: Thick, viscous, syrupy, hygroscopic, and dissolves faster than swirls.
The texture of shots and swirls is good, and they do not change the dimensions of your coffee.
Visual Appeal
Both the swirls and shots enhance the visual appeal of your coffee, and are delicious and delightful to look.
Flavors
- Swirl: Caramel, Hazelnut, Mocha, French Vanilla; seasonal flavors are Butter Pecan, and Peppermint Mocha.
- Shots: Blueberry, Vanilla, Toasted Almond, Hazelnut, raspberry, and coconut.
Artificial sweeteners
There are no artificial sweeteners in both shots and swirls.
Calories
- Swirls: 150-160 calories in one pump
- Shots: 5-10 calories
Swirls carry more calories because of their sugar and milk content.
Here is a calorie table for you to cheat your diet with flavor swirls now and then.
| Swirls | Calorie count |
| Caramel Swirl | 163 |
| French Vanilla | 110 |
| Pumpkin Swirl | 170 |
| Hazelnut swirl | 170 |
Milk
- Swirl: Dunkin uses skimmed milk and sugar to make the swirls. So, Yes! Flavor swirls have milk.
- Shots: Shots are fruity syrups and have no dairy products added.
Keto-Friendly
The keto diet is low in carbs and high in fats. Accordingly, flavor shots are your choice as they are unsweetened and suit the best for your keto coffee.
Flavor swirls are not keto-friendly.
What Flavor shots suit the keto diet?
If you are on the keto diet, you should choose shots made of keto-friendly fruits. In that case, you shall go for raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries flavored shots.
How to choose your flavors?
If you are on a keto diet, butter flavors should be your choice. Today, adding butter flavors is a new trend, especially for intermittent fasting diets and keto diets. Coconut flavors are the best combo of butter. Also, coconut prevents the post-caffeine crash. You should try it out someday for sure!
Hazelnut flavors add buttery sweetness to your coffee. If you do not like chemical-ridden flavors, then hazelnut is your choice.
Peppermint flavors are seasonal in Dunkin.
Peppermint is known for its medicinal properties. You can add chocolate if you think the peppermint and coffee combination is strange.
French vanilla is rich, sweet, and creamy. Any fruity flavor mends well with French Vanilla. If you prefer non-dairy coffee, French vanilla is your choice. The flavor goes well with all kinds of nut milk like, almond milk and coconut milk. The only drawback with the flavor is that the vanilla-flavored coffee leaves vanilla after taste. If you are a coffee lover and like the bitterness of the coffee to fill your mouth for a while, French Vanilla is not your choice.
You are free to try out new combinations and explore the best.
I give you some of the best here:
| Flavor | Description | Drink Pairing |
| French Vanilla | Smoother in consistency and richer in taste. | Complements most the coffee types. Goes well with Iced Lattes |
| Hazel Nut | Has a nutty flavor. Gives rounded tastes and reminded me of Nutella. People allergic to nuts can also have this flavor. B | All warm and iced lattes go well with Hazelnut. |
| Caramel | Adds smoky flavor and makes the beverage rich. Full of sugar and high in calories. | Tastes the best in both hot and cold coffee. Goes well with Iced latte |
| Toasted Almond | Nutty flavor and very similar to hazel nut. Again you can have it even if you are allergic to nuts as there are no real nuts in it. | Tastes the best with milk based coffees. For better results you can combine it with mocha swirl. |
| Blueberry | Tastes like blueberry-filled pastries and blueberry breakfast | Goes good with black coffee. Best to add the flavor to your morning coffee for a smooth and chill beginning. |
| Raspberry | Has a strong berry flavor | Fruity flavor is strong. Do not pair with milk-based drinks. Goes well with black tea and iced tea in Dunkin. |
| Coconut | Creamy, rich. Acts a good combo and enriches your beverage when added with other flavors | Coolatta is the best pair of coconut flavors. |
| Mocha | Tastes more like chocolate | You should mix it with Hazelnut to create Nutella like flavor |
Often people love to try fun flavors when it comes to coffee. Most of the unique and delicious combinations carry calorie counts and are high in sugar. But the sugar-free flavors at Dunkin allow you to enjoy delightful and enchanting flavors for a few calories. The flavor shots are nut-free, unsweetened, and dairy-free and carry no more than 5-6 calories. Flavor shots allow exploring new tastes though you are on a strict diet.
The flavor swirls, on the other hand, are for coffee lovers.
You should go for flavor swirls if you are least bothered about the calorie counts! There is no winner between the two. Choose your preferences. Explore and enjoy!
