Disclaimer: This article is in no way promoting caffeine addiction. 

Early mornings, tired eyes and a foggy mind are all things I experience on a daily basis. It sounds terrible, but hear me out — two words: Dunkin’ Donuts. 

There’s nothing particularly special about a coffee place, but I know Dunkin’ is my go-to in place of Starbucks or Caribou Coffee. 

Here’s why: their iced coffee. 

I have always been a tea lover, whether it’s green tea, black tea, passion tea… you name it. I have even collected tea cups over the years to show my dedicated obsession. 

But then people around me started bringing me to Dunkin’. I started by getting their sweet tea with raspberry —  it really quenched my thirst. Not to mention, it’s not nearly as expensive as a frappuccino from Starbucks, which usually sits around $5. 

My friends made fun of me because apparently getting iced tea at Dunkin’ isn’t normal. So I hopped on the trend of iced coffee. 

My go-to order changed to a medium iced coffee with french vanilla and cream. This is both good and bad. 

A note: coffee (hot coffee, anyways) has never settled well with my body. Consuming it has always ended with a stomach ache or headache.

My first iced coffee wasn’t glorious because it wasn’t tea and I’ve never really liked coffee. It was different. I went back and forth between tea and coffee from Dunkin’ for probably a few weeks. 

Then I started waking up even more tired than before, so I figured it was time for caffeine on a daily-basis. 

I love the taste of Dunkin’ iced coffee. The workers add just the right amount of french vanilla flavoring and cream that it most definitely makes up for the bitter taste of coffee. 

Surprisingly, I function quite a bit better with iced coffee every morning. It’s a good start to an even better day. I’ve found having a good start to the day makes for a productive day, which means less stress on my end. 

However, everything comes with a price… literally. 

My bank account says no to iced coffee, but my brain says yes. This is a problem. 

I can’t say spending money at Dunkin’ is detrimental to my funds, it just isn’t the greatest choice when there are other things I could be doing with it —  like saving to pay off my thousands of dollars of student debt. 

But when I look at the big picture, I remember getting iced coffee makes me happy and helps wake me up so I can be more productive. This ultimately helps alleviate stress because of my productivity. In the end, I’m doing these things for my college degree. 

So really, it’ll pay for itself in the long run. 

The consumption of iced coffee is said to be beneficial for a number of reasons. Here’s just a few: 

• It could lift your mood
• It can be easier on your stomach than hot coffee — this would explain why my stomach didn’t give out when consuming iced coffee for the first time.
• It’s easy to make

Iced coffee helps get me through the day without being overly exhausted at the end of the night. With the amount of chaos in my life — work, school, balancing my social life — it really does lend a helping hand. 

Dirks can be reached at [email protected].