Oregon-Based Coffee Chain Takes the Trail South

People flocked as the long-anticipated Dutch Bros opened in Utah

When I typically enter school, I pass about 10 people with Starbucks drinks in their hands. I was surprised to walk in early one morning and see the same crowd all with Dutch Bros drinks in hand. I had seen pictures and heard about it, but had no clue that it had come to Utah. I finally decided to stop by on my way home from school and I am very glad I did, as it was worth all the hype.
They have 4 locations throughout the state, spanning from Sandy to Saint George. Thankfully, students won’t have to travel far for long, as one is opening up in Draper. Their locations are very typical-looking in that they look like drive-thru coffee shops by design but with the trademark Dutch Bros logo and colors. The very first thing I noticed was the size of the line. It will probably shorten the longer it is open, but when I stopped by, the line wrapped around the building a couple of times. I probably had to wait 30 minutes for my drinks, but they were worth it.
When I got to the window, I had no clue what I wanted, but the girl helping me was super personable and willing to give me tons of recommendations. She helped me through the process and even stayed next to my car to talk with me and the other employees while drinks were being made. This shop was uncharacteristic to other coffee shops I had been to in that it was loud and the employees seemed excited to work. I ended up getting 4 drinks for my family and myself.

Dutch Bros’ dirty caterpillar smoothie, which was green apple and caramel with a caramel drizzle. (Max Merhi)

The drink I got for myself was called the “Dirty Caterpillar” smoothie. It was a green apple and caramel flavored smoothie with a caramel drizzle around the cup and whipped cream on top and I really enjoyed it. I was anticipating it to be too sweet, but the sour apple flavor made it balance out perfectly. I felt like the more I drank, the more it balanced out, and the more I enjoyed it.

Dutch Bros’ birthday cake Dutch Frost, a sweet, delicious beverage. (Max Merhi)

I purchased three more drinks that I didn’t drink the entirety of, but I had a couple of sips of. The second one I purchased was a birthday cake-flavored Dutch Frost, which was described as the chain’s take on a milkshake. It tasted amazing and was very smooth and not hard to drink through a straw, a flaw of regular milkshakes. It was a vanilla-like flavor and looked just as sweet as it tasted. A minor criticism is that it may have been a little sweet, but I personally have a huge sweet tooth, so I didn’t mind too much.

Dutch Bros’ electric berry iced lemonade with lime and blue raspberry flavoring. (Max Merhi)

Another drink I ordered was an electric berry iced lemonade, which was essentially a lemonade with lime and blue raspberry flavoring. I really enjoyed this drink as well, as I enjoyed all three flavors together. They were all strong flavors, but I couldn’t really taste one over another, so it was a strong and sour drink, but very delicious nonetheless.

Dutch Bros’ tropical iced tea, a green tea with blue raspberry, coconut, and passionfruit flavoring. (Max Merhi)

 

The last drink I tried was the tropical (passion fruit, coconut, blue raspberry) iced tea with green tea. I think this was my second favorite drink as I much prefer tea to coffee and this was spot-on. The flavors weren’t super strong, which is to be expected, but the subtle fruity flavors made the drink refreshing and amazing. The passion fruit flavoring stood out the most to me, but I could identify all flavors. This cool, refreshing drink was perfect to end my day.
Overall, I completely believe in the Dutch Bros hype and I will definitely be going back. The prices were very fair for what I received and I am super excited for more locations to open so that hopefully the lines will shorten out.

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