Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Spice Ground Coffee!

Wal Mart sometimes carries the most random stuff -- stuff that you can't find in other stores.  I was there for ice cream, but scanned the aisles for pumpkin stuff before I left.  I saw some muffins and other things that I didn't feel like trying at the moment.

But when I saw this:

The packaging is fun and hard to resist!

... I just knew I had to have it!  I was so excited to brew myself some the very next morning.  Every day, when I brew coffee just for me, I use four tablespoons and four cups of water, which is about 16 ounces of coffee.

When I tore open my bag, it certainly smelled yummy!  It smelled like Dunkin's usual welcoming aroma, but with a sweet mix of spices.

So, I brewed myself some.  Flavored coffee versus coffee flavored by a syrup are very different.  Usually, with flavored coffee, the taste is much more subtle.  Thus, this coffee (of course) doesn't taste like the pumpkin coffee you would order at a DD store.  Instead, it tasted of all the spices of the season - it actually tasted a little too spicey. 

The next day, I used two tablespoons of plain Dunkin' and two tablespoons of Pumpkin Spice.  That was a perfect combination!  When it comes to coffee, sometimes it is a lot of trial-and-error.  The coffee has a BIT of an artificial taste, but it is still so fun to brew, drink and enjoy.


 Dunkin' Donuts coffee in a Starbucks mug?!  Blasphemy!

 On a semi-related note, I can't wait to get some Thanksgiving Blend at Starbucks soon.  It is so good!

Happy coffee hunting,
BeatlesFreak

OTHER COFFEE POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

• Make your own pumpkin spice latte
• Battle of the pumpkin coffees

Don't forget to become a fan of My Pumpkin Obsession on Facebook here.

PERFECTION: Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Muffin

Photo credit:  Rachel Betson, 2011*

I have nothing bad to say right now.  At all.  Every year, Dunkin' Donuts has pumpkin muffins until about November or so.  They have quite a following.  I get excited texts about them.  People Tweet and Facebook-status about them.  Pumpkinites are enthusiastic about them, to say the least!  Not one, but TWO, of these beauties were brought to me when I had my baby.  I ate my first and saved the second for the next day.

The best part of these muffins is the TOP!  It's crunchy and sweet.  But then you get to the muffin part, which I would NEVER throw away.  It is so soft and delicious.  They're always so nice and moist, just as a muffin should be.  And they are generously sized, so share with a friend!

A local bakery chain, Yum Yum Bake Shop, also has delicious pumpkin muffins.  They are spicy, sweet, and perfectly moist.  I bought one on impulse as a Friday dessert last week.  I also surprsied my husband with a Boston Creme donut, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Yum Yum's muffin was slightly smaller than Dunkin' Donuts, and the top wasn't as crunchy, but I recommend trying it if you spot a Yum Yum Bake Shop.  Baby and I also got to same some pumpkin donuts, also delicious and coated in sugar.

*PLEASE NOTE: I didn't take the above picture.  That credit goes out to Betson Photography.  Find them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/betsonphotography  and see their website: http://www.betsonphotography.com/.

Don't forget to become a fan of My Pumpkin Obsession on Facebook here.

The Battle of the Pumpkin Coffees

Every where you look, coffee shops and convenience stores are stocking up on their pumpkin-flavored coffees.  But are they good? 

The hype for Starbucks pumpkin spice latte was so much that they even held a contest to see what city should get pumpkin spice lattes first.  My region didn't win, sad to say!

I got a jump on my pumpkin coffee early and had my first one at Dunkin' Donuts around the first week of September.  Then I caught wind that Wawa (local convenience store chain) also was going to have some sort of NEW! pumpkin coffee.  I have now tried three different brands of Pumpkin coffees: Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Wawa.  Let's run them down.

DUNKIN' DONUTS

Dunkin' Donuts coffee is always hit-or-miss because you don't prepare it yourself.  Upon ordering any coffee, you are asked "cream and sugar?"  I always answer, "skim milk and Splenda?".

My first DD pumpkin coffee was good, though pretty sweet.  Not very spicy, though, and very syrupy.

My second, which I had yesterday, was VERY overly sweetened.  I could barely finish it.  I almost want to say that it was teetering on gross.  And I like sweet things, so this is saying a lot.  Their pumpkin MUFFIN, on the other hand, is always done right!  Moist and perfect.

C+ -- though it depends

WAWA

Wawa serves its coffees in carafes, so I assume that their flavoring was not a syrup.  I wasn't expecting too much, because Wawa coffee is weak and watered down.  I sweetened it with a little half-and-half and two Splendas.

Wawa's pumpkin coffee is subtle.  Not too sweet, not too spicey.  I thought it was pretty good, though not overly impressed.  It's still Wawa coffee, afterall, but at least you get to control how flavored it is.

B: Good, but not great.

STARBUCKS

I love my local Starbucks.  I don't go there very often, but it is always quiet and peaceful in there, with such friendly and chipper servers.  I'll never forget how, when I was pregnant, I spilled a cup of coffee and they helped me clean it up, then replaced it for free.  Once, at a different local Starbucks, I had forgotten my wallet and they were about to let me take my latte for FREE (I did pay for it in the end, though).

So I am already a little biased.

I went in with an empty bag of store-bought Starbucks coffee, which is good for a free tall coffee.  I thought I'd have to pay the difference for the flavoring, but I didn't.  It was completely free.  That might make me a even more biased!  Their pumpkin coffee is flavored with a syrup, so I knew it would already be pretty sweet.  I added just a bit of half-and-half and about half a Splenda.

And it was delicious!  AND it was piping hot.  I burnt my tounge a bit.  Dunkin' and Wawa's coffees were hot, but not piping hot!  It was perfectly spicey and tasted just like fall in a cup.  It didn't have an artificial taste like Dunkin' coffee does.  Starbucks advertises that it's pumpkin SPICE, though, so its not expected to taste like a pumpkin.  Instead, it is presumably is flavored with pumpkin spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. 

I enjoyed my tall my entire car ride to work and savored the last bit when I got to work.  I would drink these every day if I could.

Rating: A++ 

Sizes: It's worth noting that Wawa and Starbucks' tall/small coffees are a full 12 ounces, while Dunkin' Donuts are 10 ounces.  I don't know why that is, but I don't like it!