December 2021 - Wizard of Coffee

I’m back with another coffee giant battle. The last time I looked at Starbucks vs. Dunkin and Starbucks won by a slim margin. But it got me thinking about who has better coffee, Starbucks vs. McDonald’s?I already know what you’re thinking, “Are Starbucks and McDonald’s even in the same universe?”They are actually. Starbucks and McDonalds are both considered fast food service restaurants. So, the question remains- Starbucks vs. McDonald’s, who has better coffee?I’m assuming that you don’t consider either the best of the best, you might to even consider McDonald’s a coffee option. But I’m going to look at the most popular drinks from these 2 massive players in the American fast causal coffee game.I’m going to start out with how we got to the questions in the first place:Who has better coffee? Starbucks vs. McDonald’s?Starbucks and McDonald’s – Unlikely Coffee CompetitorsI’m not going to bore you and rehash how Starbucks came to be the little luxury (most of us) can afford to make us feel special on a daily basis. WIth the 3rd wave coffee movement sweeping the American coffee landscape at the run of the century, Americans (millennials) wanted better coffee than their parents had. Starbucks was waiting in the wings for this moment and brought their brand (and its cult following) to just about every small town in America.I’ve talked about how Starbucks was my go-to in college and in my early career. It’s where I learned about espresso, different coffee drinks, even different roasts. I’m a part of this coffee movement (for better or worse) that has been applauded and blamed all in one conversation.McDonald’s Has Entered the ChatMcDonald’s saw an opportunity that they couldn’t pass up. They took a different approach than other Starbakcs competitors (looking at you Dunkin) and quietly entered the gourmet coffee market with a test of their McCafe line in a select market in Chicago. After the success of the soft launch in Chicago, McDonald’s expanded its McCafe offerings to a broader list of stores with great success.It should be noted that there was some hesitancy to draw too much attention to their entrance into gourmet coffee after the hot coffee lawsuit brought against the chain in 1994. The chain settled for 3 million dollars in damages and a lot of media blowback.I was a freshman in high school at the time and remember the news coverage vividly. That lawsuit (Liebeck vs. McDonald’s) went down in history as the beginning of (perceived) frivolous lawsuits that became popular in the late 1990s. I think Seinfeld even had an episode that made fun of it.McDonald’s found great success in the territory of their McCafe line and hasn’t looked back since. They are now one the top sellers of gourmet and espresso drinks in the world. They sell around 1 billion cups of coffee at a deep discount compared to the biggest, Starbucks racks in about 4 billion cups worldwide a year.This is how we got to the bougie Starbucks and the world’s largest fast food chain competing for your next cup of coffee. Who knew?Let’s take a look at the actual coffee and the experience of getting coffee at the two java giants.Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee – Drip CoffeeI always judge a coffee (chain brand in particular) by the quality of their drip coffee. If you can’t get the most basic cup of joe down then you’ve pretty much lost me. It’s like brisket or breakfast tacos in here in Texas. If you can’t get the bare minimum down then you’re doomed in my book.I ordered from both Starbucks and McDonald’s a 16 oz, black, drip coffee with no added cream or sweeteners. This always gives the true taste of a drip cup of coffee that could easily be disguised with added creamers or syrupy flavor to mask the subpar coffee.McDonald’s Drip Coffee ReviewI had some serious reservations about McDonald’s McCafe coffee’s ability to come anywhere to Starbucks. I don’t like their food and that’s what they’re famous for. How could the chain even begin to compete in the gourmet coffee arena?I was wrong, as one can be sometimes.The coffee was a pleasing temperature with a soothing, familiar aroma. I was surprised. Maybe leftover notions from the mentioned lawsuit, maybe I am part of the coffee snobbery problem that plagues this industry. Probably both.The coffee was a medium roast bean that wasn’t over or under extracted or old. It beat the pants off the Dunkin drip coffee I reviewed in my last post about coffee battles. It was nice, comforting, and belongs in the gourmet category for just a darn good cup of coffee.McDonald’s prides itself in sourcing only Rainforest Alliance certified beans. This label ensures the beans are grown as ethically and environmentally friend;y as possible to ensure the farmer and the earth are treated with dignity. I don’t know if that contributes to the flavor but it certainly changes my temperature on the behemoth of a corporation.What I found delightful about this cup was the absence of the bitter taste that is associated with all of Starbucks’ beans. I’m sure that the R&D team at McDonald’s has spent time making this their mission if they’re going to compete with the big dogs.Let’s talk about price. This 16 oz cup of enjoyable medium roast, socially conscious cup of coffee only costs $1.59 (excluding tax if applicable where you live). If we were all drinking McDonald’s coffee maybe we’d have more in our budgets for other little lux items.The cost, flavor, and Rainforest Alliance certification make this a surprisingly excellent cup of coffee. I’m not even factoring in the availability due to McDonald’s global location dominance.I would have a cup of this coffee again in a heartbeat. The only drawback about McDonald’s coffee offerings over all is the lack of non-dairy creamer options. I’ll get to that in a bit.Here’s my rating of McDonald’s medium roast drip coffee: 8/10.You can even brew your own McDOnald’s coffees at home now on Amazon.Starbucks Drip Coffee ReviewI ordered a Starbucks Pike Place roast. The Pike Place (PP) blend is made of 100% Arabica beans much like McCafe medium roast drip coffee. A grande PP drip coffee is $2.75 plus tax if applicable.McDonald’s is already winning on price alone.My drip coffee came in the red and green holiday cup that has caused quite a stir in the past over their holiday designs. I look forward to them. I like the simple yet cheerful aesthetic.I’ve already reviewed Starbucks Pike Place coffee so I don’t want to waste your time. But this is a different comparison review so I’m going to focus on what was better and not so great about Starbucks PP drip coffee, compared to McDonald’s.The coffee is bitter compared to McDonald’s drip coffee. This is a ding for Starbucks in my opinion. I think we put up with bitterness from Starbucks because they’re a little of a bully in the coffee industry.The price is almost double that of McDonald’s drip coffee. But much like name brand sneakers, I think you’re also paying for some extras that aren’t in your cup perse. Like Starbucks offers killer employee benefits and the brand is almost an accessory. Do with that what you will.Their Pike Place coffee is reliable. It’s going to make almost any coffee drinker happy. So if you’re looking for a crowd pleaser then this is a great option for morning meetings and the like. Also, McDonald’s doesn’t;t offer large quantities of their drip coffee for large groups.I standby my original review of the PP drip coffee from Starbucks. It’s good but seems like an afterthought compared to their other coffee and espresso offerings. I would think you’d want to keep that base coffee offering as strong as possible, but I’m just a blogger.Here’s my rating of Starbucks Pike Place medium roast drip coffee: 5/10.You can of course buy a variety of brewing styles for the Pike Place on Amazon to try for yourself.The Winner of the Starbucks vs McDonald’s Coffee – Drip CoffeeThe McDonald’s vs. Starbucks drip coffee comparison was a surprising landslide. If I have the choice between the 2, I will order McDonald’s over Starbucks drip coffee any day for a variety of reasons.McDonald’s is the clear winner in the best drip coffee. They win on price, taste, and convenience. Who knew?Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee – Vanilla LatteMcDonald’s came out of the gate strong with their drip coffee offerings and I was excited to see what they had in store when in came to a more nuanced espresso beverage that made me fall in love with Starbucks in my early 20s. I knew going into to this comparison that it was going to be a tough race for McDonald’s because I’m partial to Starbucks for sentimental reasons.Let’s get into who has a better vanilla latte? Starbucks vs. McDonald’sMcDonald’s Vanilla Latte ReviewI had such high hopes but McDonald’s fell short on their latte on quite a few points but let’s talk about what I ordered.I ordered the medium vanilla latte. The McCafe hot latte comes in 16 oz. with one shot, one flavor pump(?). I’m not sure how much they add in terms of traditional flavoring syrup compared to Starbucks so I had to wing it. Added an extra syrup to make it 2.I also had to add an extra shot to meet the Starbucks grande latte amounts. This added an extra dollar to the final price.Since I wanted to have as clean of a side by side comparison of the 2 brands I had to add a couple of things and was disappointed to find out they didn’t offer dairy alternatives for milk options. My tummy was going to be angry but for the sake of science, I drank whole milk.I ended up ordering the base vanilla latte and added extra syrup (no charge) and an extra shot for a dollar. This made the final price of McDonald’s latte $4.69 plus applicable taxes. This isn’t a lot cheaper than the Starbucks grande vanilla latte and I didn’t have milk options.Sad Vanilla LatteThis brings me to my next point. McDonald’s doesn’t have dedicated baristas. Being a barista on any level is a skill, a talent even.The company’s solution is a completely automated system that can’t compete with the time and care Starbucks is able to commit to their espresso drinks. I’m not sure what machine McDonald’s uses or if it’s similar to the machines you see offering self-serve “lattes” at your local gas station.I have never seen an espresso machine in a McDonald’s but I’ve never been behind the counter of a McDonald’s. I can tell you it was not a good latte.The foam was nonexistent and almost flat. It tasted sour and salty which is an immediate signal that the bean to water ratio is off and not extracting the grind properly. This was a sad latte.I also found the flavoring to be cloyingly sweet and almost chemically tasting. I’m guessing I was off on my syrup experiment when I was trying to get the ratios right for the comparison of the lattes. But I don’t think having just one would fix the chemical flavors that the latte’s “vanilla” had.The plus side of this latte was the beans for their espresso drinks are also Rainforest Alliance certified so I can at least know I have a latte that comes with that feel good seal. I can’t say the same for how angry the whole milk made my stomach but you can’t have a latte without milk.I can’t say what situation I would have to be in order this latte again. I was not impressed. Calling it a latte would almost be lying to you. Too bad there’s not the same industry regulation over what can be called what like there is in wine.Here’s my rating of the McDonald’s McCafe Vanilla Latte: 2/10 (I’m being generous)Starbucks Vanilla Latte ReviewI have written (almost too much) about my love for this drink from Starbucks and how well they execute it with everyone’s unique tweaks on the original recipe. I usually get a vanilla latte with coconut milk instead of whole milk because dairy milk and I don’t get along. But again, for the sake of science, I ordered the latte from Starbucks with whole milk.I ordered the base grande vanilla latte with one customization in that I changed the default milk option from 2% to whole and added the vanilla (2 pumps). The latte cost me $4.95. This is only 34 cents more than McDonald’s offering but tastes a million times better.Starbucks’ most iconic drink is probably the vanilla latte. It’s so good. And they do it perfectly almost every time. There might be a random franchised outlier in a random bus station in the middle of nowhere that is branded Starbucks and that latte might be meh. For the most part, you count on a consistently solid latte from Starbucks with the ability to customize to your needs.My drink was too hot to drink when I picked it up but that’s how their drinks tend to be. Once cooled, it was creamy, full flavored and the vanilla wasn’t overpowering or left a chemical flavor on my palate.I really love this drink and always have. I just wish I could always have it with whole milk. So creamy and rich. It might not be the best vanilla latte you’ve ever had but for a large market coffee player like Starbucks it’s going to be the best one out there.Here’s my rating of the Starbucks Vanilla Latte: 8/10Winner of the Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee – Vanilla LatteThis was a landslide by tremendous proportions. It’s like you matched up against Tom Brady against a peewee football team. It’s just not a fair match. The 2 lattes weren’t even in the same ballpark, maybe even universe.McDonald’s didn’t bring their A-game. When you enter the specialty espresso drink market your latte needs to be good, if not great. McDonald’s may have bitten off more than can chew when it comes to espresso based drinks.The problem is most of us use Starbucks’ latte as the baseline for an acceptable drink. If you can’t compete I think why bother?Maybe I’m partial, maybe I’m a snob, maybe I expected too much from them. But I really think if you’re offering a latte in 2021 you need to at least have multiple milk options other than just whole. I would’ve settled for even 2% but such is the McCafe life.I don’t want to spend a lot more time bashing this terrible offering from McDonald’s. Maybe you can try it and let me know your thoughts in the comments?Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee – Iced CoffeeI was still hopeful when I started this match-up of Starbucks vs. McDonald’s iced coffee battle. Because McDonald’s drip coffee shined so well I was hopeful that their iced coffee was exactly that, iced coffee.For both drinks, I ordered a medium/ grande iced coffee with no cream or sweeteners. I wanted to get the true taste of the coffee that was used in the coed coffee.Much like the drip coffee review, if you’re offering iced coffee it better be good. Iced coffee is the only coffee specific cold coffee drink McDonald’s offers. I would love to see cold brew on their menu in the future instead of whatever they’re doing with their espresso offerings. (Are you listening, McDonald’s?)McDonald’s Iced Coffee ReviewAs I mentioned, I ordered a plain black medium iced coffee. The medium iced coffee at McDonald’s costs $1.99. This is a killer deal. You can customize your coffee (within reason) for free. You can also make it a red eye by adding an espresso shot for $1.00.I wanted to really taste the coffee and my tummy said no more cow milk, thank you. I got a couple of weird looks when I ordered it plain black because the regular iced coffee comes with light cream (I’m guessing half and half) and liquid sugar (simple syrup??).The drink came in a delightful 16 oz. clear cup with the McCafe logo. I did the regular swirl of the ice and coffee to make that delightful sound. I can’t help it. It’s an involuntary reaction.When I’m trying a new cold or iced coffee I hold it up to the light to see how opaque or translucent coffee is. Too cloudy and your coffee is probably old and over brewed. If its too clear then your iced coffee is most likely watered down. The iced coffee from McDonald’s was perfect.We were off to a great start. I had high hopes.My first sip was pleasing. I’m not sure how they make their iced coffee (same beans as their drip) or what exact roast they use but it was a really good iced coffee.Much like their drip coffee, it was not bitter and coffee forward. I was worried it was going to be over concentrated or diluted in an iced form. It’s a great starter iced coffee drink. If this had existed when I was in high school I would probably have been hooked.The downside of the iced coffee offerings at McDonald’s is the lack of customization compared to Starbucks. I know it seems like I’m beating a dead horse, but the lack of nondairy milk options is a big deterrent for me (and I’m sure some of you). The McCafe brand has been circulating since around 2001. It’s been 20 years, its time to start offering something resides diary based milk.Would I order McDonald’s iced coffee again?Short answer, in a pinch, yes. Is it going to be my new iced coffee place, absolutely not but it’s nice to have as a backup of a backup for chain coffee joints.Here’s my rating of the McDonald’s iced coffee: 6/10 (I would’ve given a higher rating if it wasn’t for that darn dairy issue)Starbucks Iced Coffee ReviewI have had the iced coffee at Starbucks more times than I could even begin to count. I really enjoy it. Is it my favorite cold drink of their menu, no. Is it what I get when they’re out of cold brew? Yes.I gravitate towards cold coffee drinks 80% of the time because I live in Texas. It’s hot here. I don’t like a piping hot cup of coffee when it’s 80 degrees at 8 am.Starbucks has nailed the iced coffee at their stores. It’s not bitter, cloudy, or overly diluted. When I need a jolt of crisp, cold coffee, this is my go to (when cold brew is out of course).To keep the playing field level, ordered a grande (16 oz.) black iced coffee with no cream or sweetener. Starbucks (and McDonald’s) both add sweetener to their base iced coffee. I felt like this was going to cover up any off flavors that might be present in the brews.When I took my first sip, I immediately felt comforted. I felt like I was wrapped in a coffee security blanket. It was crisp and delightful. The brew wasn’t over extracted like some iced coffees can be to make up for the dilution that can happen when the ice starts to melt.I did the iconic iced coffee swirl with a big smile on my face. I was satisfied. The thing I keep going back to with all things Starbucks is that they consistently produce the same dependable product across almost all their stores and every day. Is it the best product out there, not by a long shot but it’s better than most.Let’s talk about price. The Starbucks grande iced coffee is $3.45 before any customizations and tax. That’s pretty steep compared to McDonald’s $1.99. And if you want flavors, milk, or syrup with your McDonald’s iced coffee, it’s free. Starbucks really gets you when start adding things.Will I stop buying from Starbucks because their iced coffee is more expensive than their competitors? No.Here’s my rating of the Starbucks iced coffee: 7/10Winner of the Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee – Iced CoffeeThis was a close battle. Going into this I thought for sure Starbucks was going to be a landslide winner. But they only scored 1 point higher because of the customization options.So who won the Starbucks vs. McDonald’s iced coffee match-up?Starbucks has better iced coffee because of the options offered. That’s really the deciding factor. If this isn’t an issue for you then it could be a tie, even a win for McDonald’s McCafe iced coffee.Let me know what you think.ConclusionThat was a close battle. Who has better coffee, Starbucks vs. McDonald’s? The results are in and it was a thin margin. Here are the final results:Drip Coffee Winner: McDonald’s (8/10)Vanilla Latte WInner: Starbucks (8/10)Iced Coffee Winner: Starbucks (7/10)The final over all scores for Starbucks vs. McDonald’s- who has better coffee?Starbucks: 6.6/10 (average)Mc Donald’s: 5.3/10 (average)As you can see Starbucks won by a one point margin for overall best coffee. Watch out Starbucks, there’s someone on your tail.I was surprised. If I had any guess of who was going to win I would guess it would be Starbucks by a much larger point spread. Color me impressed McDonald’s.I hope you learned a lot from this post. I certainly did. Let me know your thoughts below. I want to start a conversation about Starbucksvs. McDonald’s- who has better coffee?

Month: December 2021

Starbucks vs. McDonald’s Coffee (Flavor, Price, Quality)