REVIEW: Dunkin’ Tropical Guava Refresher

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If you take your caffeine cold, Dunkin’s newest Refresher promises to wake you up and cool you down with tropical flair. A limited-time summer menu offering, the Dunkin’ Tropical Guava Refresher pairs a green tea base with guava-flavored concentrate for a fruity burst of energy. Also infused with B vitamins to promote energy production, a 24-ounce medium drink contains around 99 milligrams of caffeine.

My Refresher was delivered icy cold and looked like a sunset. The flavor is similarly vibrant: sweet, tart, a little floral, with a realistic guava flavor that tastes to me like a cross between a pear and a strawberry. As someone who has traded in sugary drinks for flavored seltzers (despite a persistent sweet tooth), the sweetness was not a shock to my system. Tartness weaves in and out of the drink, either by design or the way the concentrate is mixed, which prevents it from being consistently either too sweet or too sour.

Most guava-flavored products I know are paired with another fruit flavor, so it was a treat to enjoy something so guava-forward. As the ice dilutes the drink, the tartness fades, and the flavor tastes more like watery strawberry. Icy drinks will water down—such is life—but if you want to prolong the pucker, the lemonade version would also be delicious.

I didn’t detect the flavor of green tea and was not disappointed, because let’s be honest: the tea is merely a vehicle for caffeine and fruity goodness. I do blame the green tea for a drying effect on the tongue—thanks to tannins, if Google is to be believed—which made the drink a little less refreshing than it could have been. I am splitting hairs (slicing guavas thinly?) here, and it feels very “Princess and the Pea” to complain about a slightly dry tongue when I enjoyed this beverage on a day off, lounging about and expending only as much energy as it takes to complete that day’s New York Times Connections puzzle. I would order the standard drink again in a minute, but if I were absolutely parched, I’d consider choosing water as a base.

Whether you are vacationing by the poolside or simply evading life’s responsibilities in the drive-thru, the Dunkin’ Tropical Guava Refresher is one you should guava-tate toward. Depending on your taste preferences, consider swapping bases to customize your own tropical paradise in a to-go cup.

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: Medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 28 grams of total sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Pistachio Signature Latte

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On the cusp of summer, Dunkin’ has brought back its popular pistachio swirl, this time featured in the Pistachio Signature Latte. Available hot or iced, the drink combines espresso and milk with a sweet pistachio flavored swirl and is topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and waffle cone pieces.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of summer flavors, pistachio doesn’t exactly spring to mind. Then again, I’m not sure I want watermelon in my coffee (a quick search tells me that watermelon coffee is actually a thing – shows what I know!). What does come to mind is ice cream, and perhaps this is where everything comes together.

I recently had a delicious pistachio gelato that actually tasted like pistachios, but I’ve enjoyed pistachio ice cream plenty of times, and my general expectation for it is that it will be tinted green but otherwise mostly just taste like ice cream. Considering this, it didn’t surprise me when my first thought after sipping the iced version of the Pistachio Signature Latte was “this tastes like ice cream.” Since I’d put a straw in the drink and not encountered any waffle cone pieces yet, I don’t think I can chalk that up to being influenced by cone bits. There’s a rich, creamy sweetness that I associate with ice cream, but there isn’t much in the way of real pistachio flavor. It makes sense to me that it leans more into the pistachio ice cream realm because of Dunkin’s association with Baskin-Robbins and the fact that Dunkin’ is typically a bit more mainstream and doesn’t try to step too far into the gourmet zone. The chain has chosen to top this drink with waffle cone pieces instead of chopped pistachios, which I think tells us where their heads were at.

Speaking of those pieces, they are a great addition. They provide a fun, toasty-sugary crunch that I didn’t expect would make such a difference in how much I enjoy this drink. Should you opt for the iced version and don’t take a million years to drink it, they’ll probably stay sitting atop the whipped cream and remain somewhat crunchy. If you get the hot version, they’ll sink into the drink and take on a texture like slightly sogged cereal pieces. I’m aware how unappetizing that sounds when we’re talking about something we’re drinking, but for whatever reason, it works here, and I couldn’t stop sipping on this. It’s definitely more of a treat than a morning coffee, but it still managed to strike the right balance of sweetness without being overpowering.

If I’m reaching, and knowing it’s supposed to be pistachio flavored, I could say that it has some nutty notes, but if this were a blind taste test, I would never have guessed this is pistachio flavored. What it is is a very tasty drink, and in the spirit of summer, Dunkin’ should call it what it is: the Pistachio Ice Cream Signature Latte.

Purchased Price: $5.64 (Small Iced), $5.42 (Small Hot)
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Iced), 8 out of 10 (Hot)
Nutrition Facts: (Small Iced) 310 calories, 11 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 38 grams of total sugar, and 8 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Frosty Fusions

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Remember Wendy’s Frosty Swirls that came out (checks notes) a month ago?

Well, they have been whip kicked to the curb by Wendy’s red ponytails and replaced with the upgraded Frosty Fusions. Just kidding. These are the Frosty Swirls, which are very much still around, with a crunchy topping. Brownie batter gets Oreo cookie pieces, caramel has toffee pieces, and strawberry comes with strawberry Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers.

Like the Frosty Swirls, all three are available with either a chocolate or vanilla base. For my review of the previous line, I went with chocolate, so this time I decided to go with vanilla.

An issue I had with the Caramel Frosty Swirl was how weak the caramel sauce was. Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, it’s still weak here with this Frosty Fusion. But the tiny, plentiful toffee pieces add a bit of sweet butteriness to make up for the sauce.

However, even with the toffee, I can confidently say this one isn’t as flavorful or outstanding as the other two. Also, even though I know toffee is going to toffee, I was a bit annoyed by how the pieces stuck to my teeth. Although, maybe that’s me projecting my disappointment with this dessert since I love caramel.

The Oreo Brownie Twist Frosty Fusion combines two chocolatey flavors with the brownie batter sauce and Oreo pieces. Not surprisingly, the cookie pieces enhance the already delicious swirled sauce, and on this vanilla canvas, they both stood out.

On Wendy’s website, the description says, “Not gonna lie, there’s a lot going on here—and all of it is delicious.” While I don’t believe there’s a lot going on with this souped-up Frosty because it’s just three components, all of it is very tasty, and the dark cookie pieces add a pleasant contrasting texture.

Much like IKEA instructions, I sometimes don’t read product descriptions until after the fact, and that’s what I did with the Strawberry Pop-Tarts Frosty Fusion. Because I didn’t look it up, I initially thought this came topped with untoasted Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart pieces. However, I was pleasantly surprised after realizing it came with Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers, which, after thinking about it, made more sense texture-wise than untoasted and uncrunchy Pop-Tarts.

I tasted the strawberry sauce more than the Pop-Tarts’ filling, but didn’t mind that because it enhanced the Pop-Tarts’ flavor, making this a sweet, fruity, and crunchy treat. Much like the Strawberry Frosty Swirl was my favorite among the three swirls, this topped treat was the best of the bunch.

My thoughts about Wendy’s Frosty Fusions mirror what I thought about the Frosty Swirls. The Strawberry one is outstanding, the brownie batter one is excellent, and the caramel one is good, but at the same time, a bit underwhelming.

Purchased Price: $5.89 each
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Caramel Crunch), 8 out of 10 (Oreo Brownie Twist), 9 out of 10 (Pop-Tarts Strawberry)
Nutrition Facts: Oreo Brownie Twist – 520 calories, 23 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 370 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 54 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein. Pop-Tarts Strawberry – 370 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 52 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein. Caramel Crunch – 420 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 390 milligrams of sodium, 75 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 60 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Mtn Dew Mango Rush

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IT BURNS! MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE! CURSE YOU, LITTLE CAESARS, AND YOUR MTN DEW MANGO RUSH! I SWEAR I WILL SQUASH YOU TO MAKE YOU A LITTLER CAESARS AS PAYBACK FOR MAKING MY MOUTH HOTTER THAN YOUR HOT-N-READY PIZZAS!

The paragraph above is what I expected to scream after drinking Little Caesars’ exclusive Mtn Dew Mango Rush that features a blast of mango sweet heat flavor. But here I am, calmly wondering in mostly lowercase letters if there’s any heat. After drinking the entire 16-ounce can, there’s no spreading of spiciness or tingling that tickles the throat. I notice a little something in the aftertaste when I sip mindfully, but it doesn’t ring any fire alarms in my head. To be honest, I probably should’ve guessed this would be the case since the ballyhooed Mtn Dew Flamin’ Hot from a few years ago wasn’t necessarily Flamin’ or Hot.

This canned Mtn Dew doesn’t have any heat, but most interestingly, it doesn’t seem like it has much mango either. There has been a grove of mango Dew varieties, and what I taste here doesn’t bring any of them to mind. I don’t know if the “sweet heat” flavorings are messing with the natural and artificial mango flavors, but this tastes more like sweet orange than anything else.

While looking up the many tropical Dew variations, I came across a review on this website for a Mtn Dew Mango Heat Game Fuel from 2016 that I completely forgot about. In it, our reviewer, mentioned that it tasted “like Mountain Dew took a carbonated Ecto Cooler, added a splash of Sunny D, tossed in a dash of black pepper, and mixed it all together—by using a Mango Dum-Dum sucker as the swizzle stick.”

I never tried Mango Heat, so I can’t compare. But it does sound like the two flavors are similar. So it wouldn’t surprise me if this is a renamed version of it.

Little Caesars Mtn Dew Mango Rush doesn’t have a rush of mango flavor or heat. It tastes fine, but even though it’s available while supplies last, I don’t think it’s worth rushing out your door to pick up some.

Purchased Price: $2.99*
Size: 16 fl oz
Purchased at: Little Caesars
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 210 calories, 0 grams of fat, 65 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 57 grams of sugar (including 57 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 72 milligrams of caffeine.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Burger King Frozen Strawberry & Nerds Candy

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If I were the King, Queen, or Royal Advisor of Burger King, I would’ve sprinkled Nerds candy on top of a vanilla soft serve cone and put it on the menu before a Nerds-topped strawberry slush. But, despite the ill-fitting BK Crown on my head as I type this, I’m not in charge, so we have Burger King’s Frozen Strawberry & Nerds Candy.

The simple concept puts Rainbow Nerds on top of a Frozen Strawberry Fanta. Honestly, I’m a little surprised BK chose the Rainbow version instead of the classic and best Nerds flavor — strawberry. But I guess using the Rainbow one is more visually appealing because it looks like my cup collected hail made from unicorn tears.

Actually, now that I’ve had time to think about it. Maybe Nerds sprinkled on a vanilla cone isn’t a good idea. Perhaps it should be Nerds Gummy Clusters topping the ice cream. Creamy ice cream. Crunchy candy pieces. Chewy gummy candy. Sigh. I NEED to be The King of Burger King.

And this dessert NEEDS to come with a spoon.

The candy-topped slush came with a regular straw. At first, I didn’t want to destroy the colorful layer by mixing everything, so I just poked my straw into it. That forced enough Nerds into the long cylinder so that I could get a bit of flavor and crunch with a straw sip. I did this a few times, but decided to finish the rest with a spoon to get different candy-to-slush ratios. It was a more satisfying way to consume this.

The Nerds enhanced the slush’s strawberry flavor with a nondescript fruitiness and tanginess. But the red slush stood out no matter what candy-to-slush ratio I dug out. Its tanginess also amped up the strawberry-flavored slush’s tang. I also liked how the candy’s crunch gave this a texture that was reminiscent of ice crystals.

Burger King’s Frozen Strawberry & Nerds is a fine sweet summery treat, but it’s not as mind-blowing as Nerds Candy was to me in the 1980s. Adding it on top of a slush is unique, but it’s not exciting enough to consider this a must buy.

Purchased Price: $2.29
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 42 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

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