Has the holiday season ever made you stop and wonder, “what in the world does a sugarplum taste like?” Well, get ready, America, because everyone can finally experience the deliciousness of the fabled holiday flavor with the launch of the new Sugarplum Macchiato at Dunkin’.
Our guests know and love Dunkin’s familiar holiday flavors like Peppermint Mocha and Gingerbread, but this year, we’re taking on the traditional with something unexpectedly colorful and uniquely delicious. The Sugarplum Macchiato – the newest addition to our holiday espresso lineup – features the bright berry flavors of blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and plum, accented by notes of vanilla, and rounded out with a sweet sugary finish. The combination of premium espresso, milk, and sugarplum flavor creates a whimsical, light-purple, layered drink that you’re sure to see popping up across social media this December.
To get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this exciting new drink dancing into Dunkin’, we sat down (virtually, of course!) with some of our culinary experts here at Dunkin’. Keep reading for the inside scoop!
Believe it or not, our culinary team started dreaming up the delicious sugarplum flavor back in late-2016 while brainstorming ideas themed around the famous holiday fairytale, The Nutcracker. According to Janet Rock, Research & Development Manager, and Kelly Callahan, Senior R&D Technologist, dancing around the culinary lab, reenacting ballet moves from The Nutcracker was an integral part of the development process. After several different takes on a Nutcracker-inspired drink, including a version of sugarplum that featured floral flavor notes, the team nailed the Sugarplum Macchiato with frosted berry flavor that guests can find at Dunkin’ today.
Now you may be wondering how that eye-catching purple color came to be. Well, our innovation team had been keeping a close eye on the ombré drink trend back in early 2019. They wanted Dunkin’s debut of a colored flavor swirl to not only be beautiful, but tell a story. The light-purple color in the Sugarplum Macchiato, which comes from plant sources, represents the fun, whimsical nature of winter, while also embodying the vibrance of the bright berry flavors.
While the Pink Velvet Macchiato, introduced for a limited-time for Valentine’s Day earlier this year, was the first colored flavor swirl offered at Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide, the idea to bring colored flavor swirls to Dunkin’ actually started with sugarplum.
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