[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds\/","headline":"The 7 Best Coffees to Try at McDonald\u2019s (Best McCafe Drinks)","name":"The 7 Best Coffees to Try at McDonald\u2019s (Best McCafe Drinks)","description":"[ Summary ] This guide breaks down the seven best McCaf\u00e9 drinks\u2014from classic Premium Roast to iced favorites, lattes, frapp\u00e9s, and even McDonald\u2019s standout orange pekoe tea. Each review highlights flavor, value, and how these drinks compare to popular coffeehouse options, helping you choose the perfect pick the next time you hit the McDonald\u2019s drive-thru....","datePublished":"2022-10-27","dateModified":"2025-12-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/author\/will-roby\/#Person","name":"Will Roby","url":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/author\/will-roby\/","identifier":4,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/846b80075b3411bde7ac4a75ce27257663312a3104a1d362a710f8a484603ac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/846b80075b3411bde7ac4a75ce27257663312a3104a1d362a710f8a484603ac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reflective Dynamics, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/wizard-of-coffee-blog-logo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/wizard-of-coffee-blog-logo.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds.jpg","height":360,"width":720},"url":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds\/","about":["General"],"wordCount":1589,"keywords":["Starbucks"],"articleBody":"[ Summary ]This guide breaks down the seven best McCaf\u00e9 drinks\u2014from classic Premium Roast to iced favorites, lattes, frapp\u00e9s, and even McDonald\u2019s standout orange pekoe tea. Each review highlights flavor, value, and how these drinks compare to popular coffeehouse options, helping you choose the perfect pick the next time you hit the McDonald\u2019s drive-thru. This post covers the best coffees to try at McDonald’s. These seven coffees are the best McCafe drinks that McDonald\u2019s has to offer.Below, I briefly review each drink. I also talk a little about familiar coffee products that McDonald\u2019s coffees remind me of.\u00a0You might also be interested in this post about the best cheap coffee brands, too.The next time you\u2019re in line for an Egg McMuffin or a Big Mac, consider one of the seven hot and cold coffee drinks below.1 – McDonald\u2019s Premium Roast CoffeeI love iconic fast food items.You can\u2019t think about Taco Bell without imagining Nachos Bell Grande or a Doritos Locos Taco.What would Starbuck\u2019s be without seasonal drinks like Pumpkin Spice Lattes?When I stop at Dunkin\u2019, I want a box of Munchkins.I feel the same way about a good old cup of McDonald\u2019s coffee.McDonald\u2019s premium roast coffee is almost a meme. It\u2019s familiar to so many of us from our earliest fast food memories.A while back, Courtney reviewed McDonald\u2019s premium roast coffee as part of a post comparing Mickey D\u2019s to Starbucks. She wrote that the restaurant\u2019s famous drip coffee had \u201ca soothing, familiar aroma.\u201d I can\u2019t say describe the aroma of a cup of McDonald\u2019s coffee any better than that.As for the taste: I wrote the word \u201crobust\u201d before even thinking about it. It has a strong flavor of roasted coffee. It tastes, to me, like what a baseline great cup of coffee should taste like.McDonald\u2019s premium roast is close to what I\u2019d call American Donut Shop coffee. Just acidic enough to remind you that you\u2019re drinking a cup of joe, but smooth and with a slight burnt sugar finish.The pots are freshly-brewed every half hour, so it has always tasted fresh and clean.The roast is truly medium. That\u2019s part of why the coffee is relatively low-acid. It\u2019s also a lighter roast than you get at other restaurants and premium coffee shops. That means you get a slightly-heavier caffeine load but maybe a little bit less true coffee flavor.McDonald\u2019s premium roast drip coffee is a classic for a reason.2 \u2013 McCafe\u2019s Iced Caramel Macchiato Has a Cult-Like FollowingIf you\u2019ve never met an acolyte of McDonald\u2019s Caramel Macchiato, you may not understand how strong an affinity people have for this drink.I\u2019ll admit I\u2019d never tried it myself until recently. I\u2019ve been scouting the McCafe menu in anticipation of writing this post. It\u2019s been devilishly hot where I live recently, so I decided to give this cult favorite a go.I knew from the first sip that it would be one of my favorite McCafe coffee drinks.I didn\u2019t know before I tried the drink that the base is a dark roast espresso. This lends itself perfectly to an iced coffee format since the coffee has strong base notes and a long finish. You might say it has big shoulders.I\u2019m not necessarily a flavored coffee guy, but the caramel syrup goes well with the strong roasted coffee and dark chocolate notes in McDonald\u2019s espresso base.You can order the drink with whole milk or nonfat milk. You can also ask for whipped cream and caramel syrup drizzled on top or skip all of that and just enjoy the drink straight up.I ordered it all the way. To me, part of the fun is letting the caramel and coffee blend together over time and creating a lovely textured thing that\u2019s part coffee ice cream and part milkshake.Iced coffee might not be your thing \u2013 I understand that. But as I write this post, most of the country is under some sort of heat advisory.We all need a break from the punishing sun.McCafe\u2019s Iced Caramel Macchiato hits all the right notes. The base coffee is powerful enough to withstand the flavors laced into it.Give it a shot. Who knows, you may be the next Iced Caramel Macchiato acolyte.3 \u2013 An Iced Mocha from McDonald\u2019s Is an Affordable Starbuck\u2019s AlternativeMcCafe\u2019s Iced Mocha is a creamy and cold coffee drink with a strong chocolate flavor.That description practically sells the drink all on its own.Okay, so this is another iced drink. Honestly, you can pretty much consider this a review of the non-iced version. The only difference is that the hot version will have a bolder flavor and will be, well, hot.My Starbucks will sell me an iced caf\u00e9 mocha for about $4. My iced mocha at McDonald\u2019s last week cost just over $3.That difference seems small but if you get one every day for a month you\u2019ll save $20 or so going to McDonald\u2019s instead of Starbucks.4 \u2013 My Wife Swears a Caramel Latte from McDonald\u2019s Is a Mood StabilizerThis is not a joke or a dig at my amazing wife. It\u2019s just the truth.My wife can be in the worst mood \u2013 maybe I said something boneheaded, or she had some trouble with something at work \u2013 and a big hot caramel latte solves the problem.I\u2019ve tried it myself and I appreciate what\u2019s going on here.McCafe keeps it simple \u2013 dark roast espresso and steamed milk. A little caramel syrup (and whipped cream and drizzle if you\u2019re into that sort of thing) and the drink is finished.Sometimes she orders it iced, but I\u2019ve never tried the iced version.Latte was the first gourmet coffee drink to break big in the US, and McDonald\u2019s version is a classic example. Creamy, with just enough of a roast coffee flavor to compliment the sweetness of the steamed milk and caramel.It helps that McDonald\u2019s version is about $1 cheaper than a similar Starbucks drink.5 \u2013 Love Really (Really) Hot Coffee? Try a McCafe AmericanoMy dad always ordered an Americano at McDonald\u2019s. He wasn\u2019t a coffee snob \u2013 he just liked his coffee hot.Ordering an Americano is the best way to get the piping hot McDonald\u2019s coffee you remember from your childhood.It\u2019s not easy to mess up an Americano. After all, the recipe is simple. McDonald\u2019s Americano is exactly what it should be \u2013 really hot water and dark roast espresso.I love the rich roast coffee flavor of the espresso base. Some mornings, you want a particularly hot cup to get things going and open your eyes.Americano is probably my most-common order at McCafe. The hot water doesn\u2019t mute the robust espresso flavor. Plus, I can sip on it for an hour or so without worrying about it getting cold.My local Mickey D\u2019s sells me my Americanos for $2.75. That\u2019s more than a dollar cheaper than Starbucks or any other big coffee retailer.6 \u2013 The McCafe Mocha Frapp\u00e9 Stands Up to Any CompetitorA Frapp\u00e9 is a classic coffee shop drink from Europe. Typically, it\u2019s made with instant coffee, milk, water, and sugar. It\u2019s frothy and creamy and has a unique texture.McDonald\u2019s version is made with their base drip coffee, and just a little bit. The flavor here is mainly chocolate with a slight coffee finish.This is more of a dessert drink than a proper coffee, but sometimes this is exactly what you want.For some people, frapp\u00e9 is their introduction to gourmet coffee since it\u2019s light and heavily-flavored.In terms of value, I\u2019d put the inexpensive McCafe Frapp\u00e9 up against any other frapp\u00e9-like drink on the market.7 \u2013 McDonald\u2019s Orange Pekoe Hot Tea Is Surprisingly Bold & FlavorfulI associate McDonald\u2019s tea with sickness, and that\u2019s not McCafe\u2019s fault.When I was a kid and I was sick at home in bed, one of my grandparents inevitably picked me up a quick hot cup of tea from the local Mickey D\u2019s.To break that association, and to help deal with a little summer cold I had recently, I sampled all three McDonald\u2019s teas available.Their basic orange pekoe tea is the best.It\u2019s not coffee, but it\u2019s hot, and it has caffeine, and sometimes tea is exactly what you need.A blend of whole leaf Indian and Sumatran black teas goes into the brew. The result is a bold tea flavor, a stronger than usual caffeine content, and a lovely clean finish that\u2019s reminiscent of herbs and spice.I\u2019m not a tea guy, and I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a tea blog or a tea sommelier out there who can help me describe the cup better than what I\u2019ve done.I paid $1.18 for my cup of hot tea at McDonald\u2019s, and you just can\u2019t beat that price.ConclusionThat\u2019s my list of the best seven coffees to try at McDonald\u2019s.You can\u2019t go wrong ordering any of the seven McCafe drinks reviewed above.Do you have a favorite McDonald\u2019s coffee drink? Let\u2019s talk about it. Leave a comment and start the discussion."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"The 7 Best Coffees to Try at McDonald\u2019s (Best McCafe Drinks)","item":"https:\/\/www.wizardofcoffee.com\/best-coffees-to-try-at-mcdonalds\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]