Yes, Almond Milk Will Cost You 50 Cents—But Only in a Latte

Just order a regular coffee, and quit complaining.

Photo taken at the Southie Dunkin' drive-thru.

Photo taken at the Southie Dunkin’ drive-thru.

When we reported that Dunkin’ Donuts was adding the non-dairy option of almond milk to their menus, birds sang, mountains moved, people tweeted. And then the mail started to roll in. One such email, from a disgruntled Dunkin’ customer, highlighted something that no one has reported on, not even Dunkin’ when they announced that they were adding almond milk to the menu: It could cost you extra.

Here is part of an email I received from a reader who shall remain nameless:

Dunkin Donuts CHARGES $ .50 in every hot coffee as well as iced coffee for just a tiny bit top off of almond breeze milk. This does not make sense & is not good marketing nor is it good customer service.

Not a great ploy..particularly when you go several times a day. Expensive. Not great strategy..

This was an intriguing email to receive as I made my way to my local Dunkin’ over the weekend. As it turns out, she is correct, that Dunkin’ is charging for almond milk. But, the charge only comes when you order a latte, and not when you add the non-dairy option to your regular coffee—hot or iced.

I’m pro Dunkin’ on this one. I stopped ordering lattes years ago. Why? Because they’re practically all milk. If I wanted a cup of milk, I’d just buy milk. Next time you’re at Dunkin’, Starbucks, or your favorite local coffee shop, watch as they make your latte. At least half the cup is filled with milk. So, it makes sense that Dunkin’ needs to charge extra. Almond milk isn’t cheap, and if they’ll be filling up half a cup of the creamy deliciousness per order, that supply will go fast.

Want to not be charged 50 cents per latte? Don’t order a latte. It’s a heck of a lot less calories to order a regular coffee with a (free) splash of almond milk.