If you live in the suburbs, the odds that you’ve seen a Dutch Bros. shop opening up over the past couple of years are pretty high. The cute little blue and gray drive-thru buildings are sprouting up around me like weeds. And I couldn’t be happier. That’s why I wanted to write a post about the best Dutch Bros coffees to order.
I love Dutch Bros. I love that they contribute 1% of all sales to local causes and community needs. And I love their partnerships formed with local children’s hospitals. I love the music they play, the attitudes of their employees, and the quick turnaround on drinks orders.
But, most of all, I love their coffees.
You might also be interested in my post about the best coffee to try at Central Market.
Is Dutch Bros. Coffee Good?
Here’s the most important question in this post, which is the quality of the coffee at Dutch Bros.
Is Dutch Bros. coffee any good?
Yes. Dutch Bros. buys and roasts all their own coffee, sourcing their beans from Colombia, Brazil, and El Salvador. They use a medium roast with mixed beans, teaching baristas to pull it fast to reduce the acid and bitterness. It’s pleasant to drink, gourmet in flavor and aroma, and perfect for the kind of drinks they serve at their to-go windows.
Does Dutch Bros. coffee come in a huge variety of flavors with lots of different options? Of course, that’s the whole point of going there.
Is there a sneaky secret menu? You know it.
You don’t have to order some fancy modern flavored Instagram-ready concoction. The baristas at Dutch Bros. are trained to make all the classics, from Americanos to Macchiatos.
If you haven’t checked out a Dutch Bros. location near you, and you like your coffee in the to-go variety, use this location finder and check it out.
If I’ve made the Dutch Bros. experience sound in any way intimidating or over-the-top, then I’ve done something wrong. It’s a cheerful group of people who work fast. We need more of that in this world.
The 10 Best Dutch Bros Coffees (Good Dutch Bros. Coffee Drinks to Order)
This list of the best Dutch Bros coffees is completely non-scientific. I put it together based on my own preferences and those of the people I regularly take with me to our local drive-thru.
It’s a good list because it covers pretty much the full spectrum of the menu and includes a variety of experiences for everyone from coffee gourmands to fans of energy drinks and kids who want a coffee-like experience.
1 – Nitro
Nitro is Dutch Bros.’s name for their nitro-infused cold brew. You can order it iced or hot (Dutch Bros. calls it “toasted”). The thing you’re looking for here is “smooth and creamy,” a combination of texture and flavor that nitro coffee fans swear by.
This is by far my favorite Dutch Bros. coffee drink, and everyone I recommend it to loves it.
Nitro is cold-brewed, meaning it’s steeped for hours in room temperature water. This draws out lovely cocoa and low-acid fruit notes that you find in fine coffees properly prepared. The cold brew is then infused with nitrogen gas, lending it a creamy texture thanks to the presence of tiny bubbles.
People love Nitro for that creamy texture and the smooth low-acid flavors of the coffee itself. If you love iced coffee, you’ll be knocked out by Dutch Bros. Nitro’s combination of smooth coffee and that light airy creamy texture.
You can get your Nitro straight-up or in 3 flavor variations:
- Caramelizer (caramel mocha)
- Annihilator (chocolate macadamia nut served breve style)
- Kicker (Irish Cream breve).
2 – Cold Brew
You can order the same cold brew that goes into my favorite Dutch Bros. drink (the Nitro from above) all on its own, without the nitrogen gas treatment. The medium roast and fast pull of the Bros. baristas means this cold brew is even more mellow than what you’ve tried in the past.
If you don’t want to make cold coffee at home, pull up to your neighborhood Dutch Bros. and let them do the work for you.
You can go for a pure cold brew or add a long list of flavors, just like the other coffee drinks on their menu. You can also order any cold brew drink “toasted” if you’re looking for a hot drink.
3 – Dutch Freeze
They call it a Dutch Freeze, but I call it a coffee milkshake. This is a blended iced coffee drink available plain or in a long list of flavors. Obviously, this isn’t made to appeal to the coffee gourmands in the audience, but it’s made with the same premium beans as Dutch Bros. other coffee drinks.
You can get Dutch Freeze in all sorts of weird flavors. My wife likes the Tuxedo, which is a mix of white and dark chocolate. They’re all pretty on the eyes, made to be shared and talked-about and all that.
Don’t get sidetracked by all the flavors. The coffee base in this drink is solid, and I’ve never found someone who couldn’t find a favorite flavor of Dutch Freeze on a hot day.
4 – Kids’ “Not So Hot” Hot Cocoa
I know that this isn’t a coffee drink but if you tell my 4-year-old that, I swear I will come to your house and play 90s boy band songs all night right outside your window.
My kid thinks this is coffee. I let him think that because there’s no way I’m actually giving him actual coffee. But he sees mommy and daddy drinking Dutch Bros. coffee and he wants to play along.
So, we order him this Kids’ “Not So Hot” Hot Cocoa. He thinks it’s coffee, but it’s just warm (not hot!) cocoa with whipped cream on top. It’s very small so I don’t worry too much about the sugar.
And, so far, ordering it has kept us from ordering him the real thing.
5 – Americano
I dragged my grumpy uncle to a Dutch Bros. a few weeks ago. He’s a coffee lover, a snob, and definitely not in Dutch Bros. target demographic.
We pulled up and they were absolutely blasting King Tubby’s “Take 5.” I guess it made its way onto a corporate playlist, or maybe one of the managers has good taste in music. My uncle is a major collector of vinyl records and a fan of dub music, so he instantly recognized the song. I could tell he was surprised and impressed.
He tried to put the Bros through their paces, ordering an Americano. For the uninitiated, this is really just espresso and hot water. The point of it is that it be served piping hot, and at about a medium-strength thanks to the watering-down effect. He’s a bit of a snob, concerned more about the golden ratio of coffee than a fancy menu with lots of flavors.
My uncle thought they wouldn’t be able to do it, and that his distaste for the place would be justified.
He took his first cautious sip of the gloriously-steamy drink right as the song changed. And as the first notes of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ “Small Ace” dropped, his eyes went wide, and his face lit up.
“It’s good.” That’s all he said.
If my grumpy old uncle can enjoy the Dutch Bros. American, so can you.
6 – 9-1-1
I’ll get right to it – this is the strongest drink on the menu at Dutch Bros. It has 6! shots of espresso, and honestly, I bet you can add even more, and the Bros won’t judge you at all. We’ve all been there.
It’s called 9-1-1 because it’s for a caffeine emergency. Need to wake up right away? This will do it.
The 9-1-1 is a six-shot breve. A breve is an espresso drink made with steamed half & half instead of milk. The 9-1-1 also has some Irish cream syrup thrown in, I guess to try to cut down on the extreme coffee taste. You can tell them to leave it out if you want more of a pure coffee flavor.
7 – Dirty Chai
Dirty Chai is a chai tea latte with a shot (or shots) of espresso. Dutch Bros. uses Oregon Chai for their latte mix, naturally sweetened with honey.
You’re getting about 100 milligrams of caffeine in a standard-sized Dirty Chai, a little from the tea and a lot from the espresso.
A Dutch Bros. Dirty Chai is about as strong as a standard cup of coffee, but smooth, with the delicious addition of spices and the blend of tea and coffee flavors and aromas.
8 – Mocha
Order a mocha at Dutch Bros. and you’re getting hot chocolate and espresso – as far as I’m concerned, the way God intended it to be. My preferred recipe for a café mocha is steamed milk, a chocolate sauce of some kind, and espresso.
You can get your mocha hot or cold at Dutch Bros., but honestly, I far prefer the hot version. To my taste, the blended cold drink is way too much like a coffee milkshake. If that sounds intriguing to you, by all means, give it a shot.
You can tell the barista how many shots you want. I don’t think there’s a limit beyond, you know, the size of the container they’re putting it in.
9 – Picture Perfect Dutch Freeze
Originally a secret menu item, Picture Perfect is now a Dutch Bros. mainstay.
The name comes from the fact that you get beautiful caramel and chocolate drizzles on the inside of your cup before the blended cold coffee beverage goes in. The end product is a gorgeous social media-worthy drink that the company hopes you’ll put on your Insta or TikTok.
But forget all that. This is a delicious drink. The medium-bodied coffee goes well with the dessert flavors, and if you’re worried about how sugary it is, ask them to knock off the whipped cream on the top for a slightly less guilty pleasure.
10 – Dutch Bros. Rebel Energy Drink
Okay, so, once again, this one isn’t coffee at all. Sue me.
I think the Rebel is one of the best things on the Dutch Bros. menu. When I’m not in the mood for coffee (usually because it’s blazing hot outside, or I just want a change from my routine) I reach for the Rebel.
Here’s why:
- It tastes delicious. It isn’t too sugar-sweet, but it has enough of a kick to get you through your morning.
- It’s surprisingly healthy. Or, at least, not unhealthy. It has half the calories and sugar of Red Bull.
- You can order it iced or blended. The blended version is like an energy drink-style margarita, smooth and powerfully cold.
- You have 41 flavors to choose from/ – and that’s just the ones listed on the menu. Like most other buzz-worthy food and drink spots, employees and customers have created their own flavor combos. Ask for a James Dean Rebel for a surprising combo of strawberry, coconut, and peach.
If you’re not feeling a hot or iced coffee, but still want a burst of energy, you have to try the Rebel.
A Little Background on Dutch Bros.
Dutch Bros. started out as a single coffee cart in Grants Pass, Oregon. That was 1992, right on the edge of the gourmet coffee craze. The last time I checked, they had 538 stores open in 12 states, with plans underway for 300 more openings over the next few years.
In the communities where they’ve taken hold, Dutch Bros. is already an institution. The company claims that 90% of its sales go to repeat customers. And Dutch Bros. works hard to cultivate and maintain its identity. Managers are trained to seek out and hire friendly, outgoing, energetic employees – they didn’t put “bros” in the name out of chance.
You can think of the Dutch Bros. business model as the anti-Starbucks. You can’t go inside and work on your screenplay or whatever. All their locations are drive-thru only. There’s no snobby size ordering system. The employees at Dutch Bros. remind me of the most interesting people at a frat party – the ones who genuinely want to get to know you while you’re standing together at the keg.
Conclusion: The Best Dutch Bros Coffees to Order
Dutch Bros. is all about variety and options. If you can think up a recipe and they have the ingredients, they’ll do it for you.
Starting with one of the ten drinks above will get you acquainted with what Dutch Bros. is all about. Hopefully, you’ll make your local Dutch Bros. drive-thru a part of your daily commute, like most of their customers.
I’d love to hear your favorite order at Dutch Bros. Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it.