Why Is McDonald's Coffee so Good?

I like McDonald's coffee for flavor and the price around here is $1.06 no matter what size. Glad to see others like it. Never heard of Peets and I refer to the other as StarYucks.

McDonald's is TONS better than Five Bucks. All those west coast chains and their clones brew it way too dark. Five Bucks tastes extremely burnt & bitter, so I'm surprised they actually got the review they did here. Their mocha frapp is great though!

Rich, your comment is interesting. Cracker Barrel brews coffee with distilled water only, so that way it tastes the same whether you're in Bismarck or Atlanta (I do NOT work for them BTW). Perhaps McDonald's should do the same.

I would drive out of my way to get McDonald's coffee. When I travel by car, I always drink McDonald's along the way.

Some towns or regions have less tasty McDonald's coffee than other places. I think the water sources affect the taste significantly. In towns where the tap water tastes bad, the coffee also tastes bad.

I have tried so many coffee places and no matter what business it is, I always end up dumping it out anyway and going back to McDonalds coffee. It is amazing good, smooth, with no burnt taste; yes a nutty taste with perfectly small amount of bitterness that gives it a superb taste; smells awesome too. Congrats McDonalds, your coffee rocks. You sold me.

I really like McDonald's coffee, but I also think their cup and lid design is superior to the competition. I drink it almost every day and appreciate how the thick paper cup does not require a sleeve. And the lid rarely gives me trouble as I am usually driving while drinking it. Can't say the same for other cups which often leak. Without McDonald's I probably wouldn't be a coffee drinker.

was very good but I don't like the mcdonalds coffee they have now

If you love McDonald's coffee like me you are going to have to get the McCafe medium dark blend. Taste to me just like a fresh cup of McDonald's coffee.

I am so disappointed with what they did with their coffee, I used to always suggest to my friends to go to McD's for their morning cup because it was so good. But now it tastes terrible. Over the last many months, I've tried multiple locations all around my travel zone, but they all taste crappy.

MCDONALD'S Coffee is simply the best Coffee and is always piping hot and fresh as a daisy! Our McDonald's on Long Prairie Road, FM,

FLower Mound, TX, Has the best staff, friendly, caring, and the orders are always correct!

HIgh Five to our favorite McDonald's!!

......Love ❤️ MCDONALD'S COFFEE!

I really enjoy the coffee at Tim Horton's. A little more costly than McDonald' which is my second choice at $1.85 for medium.

I’ve purchased the McCafe coffee at my grocer but the taste is not the same. I’ve tried to buy a bag of coffee from McDonalds and I’ve been told that they can not sell it.

I like it

McDonalds coffee ingredients

I love this coffee where can I buy to brew at home? Does McDonalds sell it?

McDonalds may have a good coffee but they leave it sit in the pot on

the Hot plate and the coffee burns. It only takes 5 min. for this to

change the taste to burnt!

My wife and I will only drink McDonalds coffee unless a Mc’s is not available . At home we blend a bag of decaf with the breakfast blend 50/50 and it delivers a wonderful cup of coffee . Our guests always remark that we have the best coffee. We are McDonalds hooked.

Mcdonalds coffee in the USA is disgusting, yet the coffee at Mcdonald's in Canada is amazing. They clearly use a different better quality type of bean and you can taste the difference.

I too tasted in Starbucks, Burger King, Petes, Tim Hortans, Dunkin donuts etc. But MC coffee is very good aroma, taste and freshness. Always you get the freshly brewed coffee with a big smile in MC D. I call Meck D coffee as no. 1

Passing Mcdonald's on my way home from work tonight, I thought I might pick up a Filet O' Fish and a vanilla shake. I'm in the drive-thru waiting for the vehicle with the NY license plate to hurry up and finish their order when I overheard her utter 'breakfast sandwiches'. I had no clue that breakfast sandwiches could be had all day/night at Mcdonald's and for some reason, I changed suit and ordered 2 Egg McMuffins and a vanilla shake. When it was my turn to pay and retrieve my order, I was taken aback as the window opened and I smelled the most 'delicious' aroma of coffee, truly delicious is the only way to describe it. I did not order coffee but the NY car must have, and the aroma permeated my McMuffin paper wrappings and paper bag! As soon as I made it home I knew that I would 'have' to google what particular coffee Mcdonald's uses, which brought me here to the HubPages, and here I am chiming in! I must say that I can hardly wait to stop at Mcdonald's on my way to work tomorrow morning. I have GOT TO indulge my other senses and in particular my palate. I deserve to explore this further! Cheers people!

So very good the McCafe coffee i agree, starbucks is so far away to have it.

Good article,and I totally agree Micky Dee's coffee is the best.

Pete's is literally undrinkable.

I always go to McDonalds for my cup of black coffee when traveling and on the way to work. I have had breakfast in expensive restaurants and very few are any better and some not as good.

For ice coffee, i think vienamese french style coffee is the best.

I have long believed that McDonald's coffee is consistently better than Starbucks'. Since I do not usually drink "special" coffee creations, I have no opinion on different lattes, etc. My wife and I are both longtime coffee drinkers, and having spent many years in Germany, we still believe that German coffees, at least most of their brands, are far superior to other coffees. At home, we drink Keurig cup coffee, primarily Tully's and Green Mountain blends, most of which are excellent. But for coffee outside the home, nothing comes close to McDonald's.

I have always rated McDonald's for there coffe as I only like ground coffe and an excellent choice when I'm driving on a long journey and very good value too compared with other outlets. How ever I have recently had there coffee in two different reasturant in different parts of the country and I'm so disappointed as o not both occasions it's been instant coffee served. Has anyone else experienced this.

Yes, MICKIE D'S the best.. I suggested to the owner of the Timmies store in our town to do a Blind test & compare.

Didn't happen, they know McDonald's would be the favorite. Never mind the cost difference, because I only buy one small per day. Why pay more for less taste.

Not in Don's world.

Hi I enjoyed your article. This reminds of me something that I noticed. I did a taste test and purchased various brands of coffee that were labeled 100% Arabica. They were in the packages and brewed by drip.

I noticed that coffee from the USA was thicker and had a cocoa taste.

The Canadian coffee samples were not thick and had no hint of cocoa.

They both tasted great just different. I was surprised that 100% Arabica coffee could taste so different. I guess different regions of the world like different flavor profiles.

I love Micky D's coffee. at home I use a percolator, yes, you read that right. trust me, best coffee in the world comes from a percolator.

Love your review and agree wholeheartedly! One part of MD's taste is a smokey, almost charcoaly flavor that isn't burnt like most dark roasts.

So the question is: How can we recreate that taste at home? I've been trying for 3 years and can't do it.

I think the secret is in the blend. Most 'gourmet' coffees are single origin. It's cheaper to do a blend and I think that is how they get their unique flavor profile.

I want to try some experiments with differing proportions of light, medium, and dark roast beans.

If anyone has any experience or has tried this, I'd love to hear it!

- John

I agree with you that McDonalds is much better than the other two you mentioned and I never quite knew why. It is the cheapest and the tastiest - especially when you add cream and sugar. I always thought starbucks tasted burnt too

thanks for the summary

I am a Starbucks guy. I usually drink a pot of Sumatra so I can make it back to the machine to brew a second pot of Sumatra.

And then I ran out of coffee filters......and there was no way I could face the grocery store ( I could barely drive), without my first pot of coffee. So I raced to McDonald's, and I must say, that there coffee was freakin spectacular. So now Im eating mcmuffins everyday and have gained a dangerous amount of weight. Thanks delicious McDonald's coffee!

McDonald's coffee is the best, period.

You always don't know quality coffee

I could NOT believe it when I saw McDonald’s coffee on the shelf next to Starbucks, Peet’s, etc. But, there it was.

- http://coffeelounge.net/colombian-mccafe-makes-its...

In my opinion, Gavina is one of the best coffee roasters in the country. I owned a euro style cafe in NY suburbs for 10 years and Gavina's coffee was my choice for daily blends and flavors.

It's no surprise that the blend they exclusively provide McDonalds is so good. I love it too.

I drink decaf so if I am in the mood for a regular decaf I go McDonald's. It's good and cheap. However, they don't have decaf versions of their gourmet drinks so off to Starbucks I go. If I am in Michigan, I go to Biggby Coffee. Far better than both Starbucks and McDonald's just not as widely available.

I've enjoyed McDonalds coffe for over 30 Years. It always seemed to keep me going ALL day with just a small cup. Now I have a cup of McDonalds coffee once a week as my indulgence. The rest of the week my coffee comes from a Keurig.

People still drink drip coffee???

I had a McD's decaf coffee last night, and it was...well....Delicious! Better than I make at home! by the cup! And I have to admit, I was actually looking for info on their creamer...it makes their coffee taste extra creamy, with less than I use at home. And I do prefer a med. roast, darker roasts are too bitter. I normally buy my beans at Sprouts, where they have a good selection of organic coffees. But I'll have to checkout Gavina...thanks!

I just purchased a box of McD's coffee in a K-Cup. It is just as delicious from the K-Cup as from the restaurant.

I have a heart condition and use. light coffee blend. but I get chest pain sometimes . But not with McDonalds coffee. thanks for the pro tip

I still like starbucks coffee.

I didn't actually know that McDonald's coffee was that good lol. Now, I think I'll have to give it a go in the morning and compare it to my Keurig coffee maker.

I think it so good is because is freshly made, and its nice and hot; especially when you want to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee.

Not that I don't agree with you that McDonalds has amazing coffee, but from what you said in this article, it seems to me that you just don't like dark coffee. You said yourself that the coffee you tried from Starbucks and Peet's was dark roasted, but McDonalds was medium roasted. Have you ever tried a medium roast from another coffee chain? Every Starbucks I've ever been to brews three kinds of coffee daily: light, medium and dark. They also brew fresh coffee every 8 minutes, and rotate between the three brews, meaning each batch will only sit for a maximum of 24 minutes. Granted, I live in Seattle, so perhaps that is why there are more brewed coffee options and why their coffee is fresher than what you've experienced? I noticed when I lived in Florida that Starbucks' coffee didn't taste even remotely as good as it did in my hometown... But anyway, McDonald's coffee is like... magically fantastic. It doesn't even make sense lol.

Seattle's Best Coffee is still the best tasting coffee I've ever had. Shame on Starbucks for continuously closing their locations =(

"You'll never get coffee that's been sitting out for hours or getting stale."

Unless you go to almost every McDonald's....haha. Almost every cup of coffee you buy at McDonald's has been sitting for at least an hour. Unless you go in the morning, when it's selling faster than it's going bad. If you buy a cup at Lunch and want it fresh, please say "make it fresh" otherwise you'll be getting coffee made during breakfast.

I tried an iced McCafe a few days ago and liked it, tho it was a little too sweet and I got throat and brain-freeze.

Have you lost your mind or your taste buds?! You could use their coffee to remove oil stains off of concrete. Hell, they're now GIVING their coffee away, because no one wants to part with a buck and a half to have their mouth insulted.

I agree wholeheartedly that the best restaurant coffee you can buy is Tim Horton's, followed by (believe it or not) Dunkin' Donuts.

But McDonald's coffee? Ain't lovin' it...

Thank you for this very interesting hub :). In the end it always comes to the palate and how the coffee is brewed or roasted. I for one am not a coffee critic but my hubby, on the record, does not like mickey D's coffee at all. Thank you for taking the time to experiment and write your personal thoughts on an interesting topic. Have a wonderful week :)

My parents and I enjoy Mc. Donalds coffee

You are so right Christy, Macca's coffee is really great! I am a bit of a coffee snob & only like mine strong & sweet & certain brands but I do get Macca's from time to time especially if I'm traveling long distances! And did you no that they use fair trade coffee..here in Australia anyway!! Great hub..will share, pin & tweet..cheers

So the Coffee Wars continue. I think often people buy the experience more than the drink. Interesting that McD goes to the trouble to buy gourmet blends. Sharing

I don't drink coffee but my husband and children do. I was blown away by your Protip and know what 'roast' I will be buying from now on. I liked your comparisons and reasoning too.

Voted up, useful, and interesting.

Voted up and useful, thanks for calling my attention to this. Price does not always equal quality.