by Nigel Ong
Aside from its popular Original Blend, Dunkin also carries many other styles of roasts that you can try. These include the Cold Brew, Decaf, or Espresso Roast.
One such popular Dunkin coffee roast is the 100% Colombian. Balanced and easy to drink, it probably powers hundreds of thousands of Americans through their day. I thought I’ll pick up a bag and try it out.
In this post, I will brew and sample Dunkin’s 100% Colombian coffee roast. I will also compare its flavors against other relevant coffee, and decide if you should give this roast a try.
About Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast
Dunkin may be one of the largest restaurant chains in the world today, but it started as a donut and coffee shop in Quincy, Massachusetts. It made its name with great coffee, paired with indulging donuts.
Dunkin later focused more on the coffee, and started offering more roasts, and coffee in its stores. It also started selling its roasts in grocery stores, as a way to protect its market share from McCafe and Starbucks.
The 100% Colombian Roast is one of the more popular roasts in Dunkin’s range. Originally sold as roasts in coffee bags, Dunkin now offers it as hot coffee in its stores beginning 2020, showing how popular it is.
You can purchase 100% Colombian Roast in many forms. These include whole beans, ground coffee, or in pods such as K-Cups.
How Does Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast Taste?
| Coffee Style | Taste and Flavor Notes |
| French Press | Rich, some smokeSlightly acidic, citrus notes Caramelly, sweet aftertaste |
| Pour-over | Lighter taste, less smokyChocolate and citrus notesSubtle caramel finish |
| Espresso | Smoky, citrusy aroma cocoa bitterness, and some acidic tasteMilder than typical espressos |
| With Sugar | Enhanced chocolate noteReduced acidity |
| With Sweetener | Subtly delayed sweetness |
| With Milk | Smoother, mellowerSlightly sweetEnhanced chocolate note |
| With Creamer | Mellow, creamier Subtle sweetness Less creamy than milk |
| With Ice | Bitter, and smokier Turns more acidic as ice melts and dilutes the coffee |
First Impression
My bag of Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast comes as ground coffee. It is a medium roast made of 100% Colombian Arabica coffee. There are no descriptions of the flavor notes on the packaging.
When I tear into the coffee bag, I am greeted with the usual fragrance of freshly roasted coffee. The aroma also has some sweetness, indicating a sweet taste in the coffee.
The coffee comes in ground form, so I could not look at the individual beans. The color, however, is not too dark, showing that it is a medium-roast.
However, the ground size is medium, which should immediately work with a French press, pour-over, or a regular coffee maker.
To sample Dunkin 100% Colombian Medium Roast, I will brew it three ways:
French Press: This brewing style makes a murky, full-flavored coffee with floating particles. This should allow me to sample the coffee in all its ‘glory.’ I expect full flavor and strong flavor with this coffee.
Pour Over With Filter Paper: This method produces a ‘cleaner’ version of the coffee without too much oil and particles floating about. This should help me to sample more of the subtle notes.
Espresso: Espresso may be more common with darker roasts, but I found it generally able to concentrate flavors very well, especially at the crema. This may help me to sample the coffee’s flavors better.
French Press
I turned to my trusty Bodum Caffettiera French press to make my brew. My brewing style is based on the recommendations by Illy Coffee, similar to my other coffee reviews.
I added 15 grams of coffee and 180ml of hot water at around 185°F (about 85°C). After stirring the coffee ground, I let the concoction brew for 4 minutes before pouring.
My coffee looks less dark in color and is slightly transparent, much like regular coffee. The aroma has a bit of sweetness with a bit of cocoa note.
Taste-wise, this cup is rich but not to the level of being intense. There is smoke and earthiness, but not too much. This is a confident coffee, showing its character but not being overboard with it.
I could taste some chocolate-like notes, with some acidity, perhaps citrus fruits like background.
The finish is decent, with the aftertaste lingering on my palate slightly before disappearing. The aftertaste is sweet, with a caramel-like taste.
Pour-over With Filter Paper
My pour-over brewing method is based on steps from Starbucks. I kept to a 1:18 ratio and used hot, off-boiling water for my pourings.
As for the setup, mine is a bit more complex, using these:
As expected, the pour-over version tastes lighter and less intense than the French press brew. The filter paper removed some coffee oils and particles, cutting into the smoke and earthiness of the coffee.
If you like a less intense, medium-light coffee, this may be the right way to brew your Dunkin 100% Colombian.
The chocolate and citrusy notes are about the same. The coffee also finishes with caramel-like sweetness, similar to the French press version.
Espresso
The coffee ground is too coarse for espresso, so I first ground them into a finer consistency. Then, I used my Wacaco Minipresso GR to pull an espresso shot.
My kitchen smells divine when I pull the espresso, which is also very encouraging. I get a fragrant espresso with a rich, thick crema that can rival those from a proper coffee shop.
Aroma-wise, the espresso has a bit of smoke. Not too strong. There are also some citrusy, acidic smells. This may point to the coffee’s Colombian origins.
Flavor-wise, the coffee has good cocoa bitterness, with some acidic sourness cutting into the taste.
If you are ok with a milder espresso, this is not bad. However, this cannot compete with the regular, smoky, hard-hitting espresso in coffee shops.
With Sugar
Next up, I added a brown, coarse sugar stick to my cup of French press Dunkin 100% Colombian Coffee.
I tried the coffee and thought I’d add half a stick more. The coffee now tastes much better and more balanced.
On the appearance, the sugar added a bit of shine to the coffee. It also made it a bit thicker, with better texture. Swish it in your mouth, and you’ll know what I mean.
Taste-wise, the sugar accentuated the chocolate note and helped cut into a bit of its acidity. This makes the coffee less edgy in taste and suitable for more people.
With Sweetener
I chose Equal, one of the most popular artificial sweeteners. The active sweetener inside equal is Aspartame, which has different properties to sugar.
As a result, the sweetness I get from Equal is different from sugar. The sweetness seems to come a bit later, meaning when I sip the Dunkin 100% Colombian coffee, I get the initial burst of earthiness and smoke before the sweetness comes in.
Do note that this is very subtle. You may not even notice this.
With Milk
I used whole, UHT, fresh cow’s milk for this review. I added a single shot (about 30 ml or 1 oz) into my cup of coffee.
The milk turns the coffee brownish and gives an impression of the coffee mellowing out. This is confirmed in the tasting. The coffee becomes smoother and mellow, with a bit more texture.
There is also some subtle sweetness, thanks to the lactose in the milk. I think the subtle sweetness also elevated the chocolate note in the coffee.
With Creamer
With non-dairy creamer, I turned to the regular Coffee Mate. I added two teaspoons to my Dunkin 100% Colombian roast cup.
Just like milk, it mellows the coffee down by adding fat. The fat also makes the coffee creamier, smoother, and more indulgent. The whole cup has subtle sweetness, although it tastes less natural than milk.
My issue with creamer here is that it does not seem as creamy as milk, which makes me prefer the latter.
With Ice
I combined a cup of Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast with ice cubes in a glass. I then stirred the whole thing to ensure the coffee was chilled.
The coffee tastes nice when chilled. The ice elevated the smoke and earthiness, making the coffee bitter. The acid, slightly sour notes appear stronger as the ice melts, diluting the coffee.
I can see myself enjoying Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast cold. I may use steel cubes instead of ice to avoid diluting my coffee, keeping it bitter and earthy longer.
Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast vs Colombian Roasts
The Dunkin 100% Colombian is not the only Colombian coffee in the collection. I brewed coffee out from the roasts here and sampled them side by side with the Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast:
After sipping these, I would probably rank the Dunkin 100% Colombian joint first with the Gevalia roast. Both have that nice chocolatey note with a bit of smoke.
The McCafe is a medium dark roast, smokier than the other two. In this case, I ranked it behind. The AmazonFresh coffee is a bit lacking in flavor, probably because it is a decaf coffee.
Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast vs Popular Medium Roasts
Next, since the 100% Colombian Roast is a medium roast, I’ll also sample it with other popular medium roasts. These are:
- McCafe Premium Roast
- Starbucks House BlendGevalia House Blend
- Folgers House Blend
- AmazonFresh Donut Cafe Blend
Here, it can be hard to decide who is better. These are blends, which means they are created to appeal to as many palates as possible. The flavors are pleasant, with little edges.
I would probably place the Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast somewhere in the middle of the pack, behind McCafe and Gevalia and with AmazonFresh.
Dunkin 100% Colombian Roast vs Popular Dunkin Roasts
Aside from the 100% Colombian Roast, I also have the Dunkin Original Blend and the Midnight Blend. I’ll compare them together as well.
I would put the 100% Colombian Roast second behind the Original Blend. The Dunkin Original Blend remains one of my favorite coffees, and the 100% Colombian Roast is not good enough to beat it.
The Original Blend lacks that acidic note that 100% Colombian coffee has, making the former a smoother, easier-to-sip coffee.