PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Coffee milk, a Rhode Island specialty, is gaining national attention.
Dunkin’ unveiled its fall menu on Wednesday with a Little Rhody-influenced latte.
It’s called “Dunkalatte,” a drink influenced by Rhode Island’s state drink, coffee milk.
The new Dunkalatte combines espresso with coffee milk.
The coffee milk itself is made from whole milk and Dunkin’s own coffee extract.
NBC 10 stopped by Dunkin’ Smith Hill to talk to several customers about the drink.
Customers like Jack Saribekian said it was solid.
“It’s like coffee, not too strong, but good,” Saribekian said.
It is now available to Dunkin’s customers nationwide.
Customer Peter Palmer said it’s a great way to connect the rest of the country to Rhode Island.
“It’s good that they have the experience of Little Rhody,” Palmer said.
Dunkin told NBC 10 that Rhode Island has always had a special place in their hearts and they wanted to honor the rich tradition of this iconic coffee milk.
Chef Frank Terranova explained how coffee milk came about in Rhode Island.
“They claim that immigrants arrived here around 1800, quite a lot of Italians, and that they prepared a kind of mixture of coffee and milk,” Terranova said.
“It was a concoction that got the ball rolling, so to speak.”