A Dunkalatte is two things: espresso and coffee milk. Dunkin' describes its coffee milk as whole milk mixed with coffee extract. In Rhode Island we've had a name for that for a long time. It's coffee milk, it's the official state drink, and the thing that makes it is coffee syrup.

Search for a Dunkalatte recipe and most of what comes up tells you to make the syrup first. Brew a pot of coffee, add a cup of sugar, simmer it down for half an hour, cool it, strain it, use it inside two weeks. That's a real recipe, and it works. It's also the part we do for you. Dave's Coffee Milk Syrup is cold-brewed coffee and cane sugar, reduced in small batches at our roastery in Rhode Island. It was in refrigerators around here long before it showed up on a drive-thru menu.

What a Dunkalatte actually is

Most lattes are espresso poured into plain milk. The milk is there for body, and all the coffee flavor comes from the shot. A Dunkalatte flips that. The milk itself already tastes like coffee, because it's coffee milk, and the espresso goes on top of it. So the drink is coffee all the way through, sweet and creamy, without the shot having to do all the work.

That's why it's easy to make at home. You aren't recreating a secret. You're stirring syrup into milk and adding espresso. If you can make coffee milk, and you can, you're one shot away.

What you'll need

• 2 tablespoons Dave's Coffee Milk Syrup
• 8 oz cold milk. Whole milk is closest to the original. Oat milk works and comes out a little sweeter.
• 2 shots of espresso, about 2 oz. Or 3 oz of strong drip, moka pot coffee, or cold brew concentrate.
• Ice, for the iced version

Iced Dunkalatte

1. Pour the milk into a 16 oz glass and stir in the syrup until there are no streaks left. Stop here and taste it. That's coffee milk, the state drink of Rhode Island, and plenty of people never get past this step.
2. Fill the glass with ice.
3. Pull the espresso and pour it over the top. Stir it in, or leave it layered and let it mix as you drink. Both are correct.

Hot Dunkalatte

1. Stir the syrup into the cold milk first, same as above. Syrup dissolves into cold milk more evenly than it does into hot.
2. Steam the coffee milk, or heat it on the stove to about 140°F. Warm, not scalded.
3. Pull the espresso into a 12 oz mug and pour the hot coffee milk over it.

Pumpkin Cloud Dunkalatte, at home

This fall's version adds pumpkin and a cold foam on top. It takes one more bottle and about a minute.

• 1 tablespoon Dave's Coffee Milk Syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dave's Maple Pumpkin Spice Syrup
• 8 oz cold milk
• 2 shots espresso
• For the foam: 2 oz milk or half and half, plus 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin spice syrup

1. Stir both syrups into the 8 oz of milk. Fill the glass with ice.
2. Pull the espresso and pour it over.
3. Put the 2 oz of milk and the teaspoon of pumpkin syrup in a small jar or cup. Froth it with a handheld frother for about 20 seconds, or shake it hard in the jar with the lid on until it thickens. Spoon it on top.

Our pumpkin spice syrup is real cinnamon, star anise and cloves with pure maple, and no corn syrup. We bottle it once a year, in the fall, so if you want the pumpkin version this is the season for it.

How much syrup

A classic Rhode Island coffee milk is two generous tablespoons of syrup in an 8 oz glass of milk, and that's the ratio to start from. It lands close to the drive-thru version, which is on the sweet side.

If you'd rather have it quieter, one tablespoon still makes coffee milk. It just tastes more like coffee and less like a treat. Past three tablespoons the milk stops being milk.

One thing to know: the syrup has caffeine of its own, about 20 mg per tablespoon, because it's made from actual coffee. Two tablespoons plus two shots is a real drink. If you want the flavor without the whole dose, make the coffee milk and skip the espresso.

Which coffee to use

Any espresso works. Ours is Blind Pig, a medium dark blend that's the house shot in both of our cafés, and it's what we pull under our own coffee milk. The syrup itself starts with a Brazilian bean we roast specifically for it, so the two are built to go together.

Questions people ask

What is coffee milk?

Cold milk with coffee syrup stirred in. It's the official state drink of Rhode Island, and it's served in diners, school cafeterias and kitchens all over the state. The syrup is coffee and sugar, cooked down until it's thick. Here's the longer story if you want it.

Is a Dunkalatte just coffee milk?

Almost. Coffee milk is the base. Add espresso and it becomes a latte. If you've had coffee milk and wondered what all the fuss was about, the espresso is the difference.

Can I use coffee extract instead of syrup?

You can, with sugar added separately. Coffee syrup is the two of those already combined and cooked together, which is why it tastes rounder than extract stirred into sweetened milk. Ours is only two ingredients: cane sugar and cold-brewed coffee.

Does it have to be whole milk?

No. Whole milk is closest to the original and gives the creamiest result. Two percent is fine. Oat milk is the best of the non-dairy options for this drink because it has some body of its own.

More to make with the same bottle

Coffee milk syrup goes further than the glass. The Pumpkin Spice Latte Story covers the other fall drink, and our syrup recipes page has everything from baked apples to tiramisu. If you're stocking up, the full coffee milk lineup is here, including the 4-pack.

Dunkin' and Dunkalatte are trademarks of their owner. Dave's Coffee isn't affiliated with Dunkin'. We just make the best coffee milk syrup.