Dunkin’ Donuts has come under fire this week from customers after its alleged ‘new’ ice policy was revealed in a social media post.
On Monday, an anonymous Facebook user shared a picture of a paper displaying alleged pour directions for a variety of coffee and other beverage orders in the Dunkin’ World Facebook group, which has over 550,000 members.
The photo shows that an assortment of iced drinks—lattes and signature lattes, macchiatos, matchas, chais, cappuccinos, and Americanos—and other drinks including shakin’ espressos, should never be filled to the top of a cup, and that for these orders the same amount of drink should be poured regardless of if the customer asks for less or no ice.
Instead, those drinks should be filled to the ice line, which is signified by three red squares, on a Dunkin’ cup, the alleged company instructions to baristas show. When customers ask for less ice for those drinks, the ice should be filled to the second red line on a cup.
The Facebook user that posted the picture claimed the paper showed a new Dunkin’ policy, but it remains unconfirmed if the policy is indeed new—or if it is a company policy at all. Some commenters, who claim they are Dunkin’ workers, said the instructions were real.
Dunkin’ did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
The instructions advise to fill a cup to the top with no ice for a Dunkin’ Refresher, Dunkin’ Energy, or Iced Tea Lemonade.
“These beverages use measurements that account for ice in the cup,” the instructions read. “When made in the cup without ice, the ingredient ratios will be wrong and the beverage will not taste right. We do not recommend building these beverages with no ice.”
Some users have criticized the U.S.’s second-largest coffee chain for the instructions.
“Just paid $6+ for a large cookie butter cloud latte, with less ice, to not get filled to the top because their new fill policy says they will not do it, on purpose,” the original poster said. “Sending to everyone so that they are aware what they will be receiving.”
Other commenters said baristas will fill the cups to the top if customers ask, but will also charge extra for the extra pour, since less or no ice doesn’t necessarily equate to more product.
Wholesale coffee bean costs have risen over the past year since new tariffs were placed on countries including Brazil, which is the primary supplier for the U.S. market. This pushed up wholesale bean costs and led coffee chains to increase consumer prices by 15%-20%. But President Donald Trump has recently been seeking to answer attacks on affordability and cost of living, while claiming that the economy is in a “golden age” and affordability isn’t real whenever Democrats criticize him for it. However, his administration said this month that they are reversing some tariffs—including those on coffee—to bring down prices.
Starbucks and Dunkin’ collectively control about 85% of the U.S. coffee market measured by sales, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, citing data from Morgan Stanley.
Still, the dominant coffee chains are losing some ground to relatively newer brands like Dutch Bros., which caters more to a Gen Z customer base with customizable drinks and eye-catching creations often posted on Instagram and TikTok, analysts told The Journal.
