And Starbucks doesn't taste like crap?

McDonald's coffee is actually palatable these days if you're in a pinch. Don't dis the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters! I certainly prefer it to Starbucks.

The McDonald's iced coffee is actually pretty good. Just make sure they go super light on the flavored syrup.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I've heard good things about DD's coffee.

@tmccartney: When I was working mornings I started every day with a Large DD black coffee. I dont know about the rest of their stuff, but the regular coffee is tasty (and a good value)

@tmccartney: I wish I could have a cup of their coffee that didn't taste burnt. I have tried many times at many locations, and every cup tasted like a log out of a fireplace.

Or, support a locally owned shop. Most likely there's one within a stone's throw away.
[consumerist.com]

Gorilla coffee in Brooklyn RULES. Everything else is tepid dishwater in comparison.

@latormenta: Ben said three chains - that includes Starbucks. ;)

@latormenta: Reread the post, it says "too bad all three chains taste like crap" Starbucks included

McDs and Dunkin Donuts actually have pretty decently brewed coffee compared to Starbucks. They wouldnt be retraining Starbucks button monkeys if they wherent scared that they where losing business to the other chains.

DD and McDonalds coffee are both good. Starbucks regular coffee is too strong for me, but their espresso drinks are far better than DD's.

The main issue with McDonalds (and to a lesser extent DD) is that the coffee is not always fresh. At Starbucks it is always fresh.

Sorry, I know I'm not one of the cool kids if I say anything other than "StArBuXD SuXor!!!" but that's the way I feel. Starbuck's Americanos are smooth and delicious. And I'm a person who makes coffee at home using a Kona pour over vacuum pot.

Starbucks coffee tastes like burnt rat fur. I think both McDonalds and DD have decent coffee if drip is all you can access (although I hate how @ DD you can't put the cream in yourself!)

The Dunkin' Donuts whole bean you can get at the grocery store is great. It's the cheapest stuff I've found that I can enjoy drinking black.

Is it acceptable to drink Starbucks when you don't pay for it?

@latormenta: Um...they said all THREE chains. Try reading it again.

As a former Starbucks employee, I'd say McDonald's coffee is pretty alright. It sucked at the beginning, I'll attribute that to learning curve. But out of curiosity I tried some the other day and it was good. I think their coffee's appeal is because of the sweetness. It was almost too sweet for me, and the last time I had it it was WAY too sweet for me, but that's American tastes for you, and that's why many people don't like Starbucks coffee, because the flavor is a lot more light.

I actually really like Dunkin Donut's coffee

I get iced coffee @ McDs. It's really good. But, I don't get any syrup put into it. I just like iced coffee w/ cream. That's it. I watched them a few times make a large iced coffee for someone else. They filled the plastic cup with ice, pumped in syrup about 1/3 of the way up the cup, filled up the second 1/3 with cream and the final 1/3 with coffee. I'm sure iced coffees isn't supposed to be made with three equal parts of syrup, cream and coffee. Isn't it supposed to be mostly coffee with a little cream and syrup to taste? It grossed me out.

@smythe: Ok ok ok SORRY guys! THREE chains. My mistake!

@Ben Popken: Hey now, the MUD trucks throughout NYC are pretty darn good as well.

@Mojosan:

A few years ago McDonald's changed how they brew coffee, they brew a new pot every hour. At least they are supposed to every hour. I've been inside many McDonald's that put a sticky note attached to the pots with the time written down to show what time they put the new pot out.

I actually think McDonald's coffee is way better than Starbuck's coffee. The only thing Starbuck's is much better at of course is specialty drinks like latte's, etc.

Let's open the flood gates for "local chain" in 1.2.3.

I rarely ever drink any coffee beverages while at Starbucks -- usually tea or one of the bottled sodas they sell. I just use the Sbux to log onto the Internet and to read The Consumerist (among other sites). :~)

Alpine75, I agree. McD's coffee is good, but I often find that, unless you go in the mornings, it's usually not fresh.

Also, McDonalds has the best cup/lid combo. It's a very rigid coated styrofoam. Really keeps it hot and doesn't require a cup-condom.

i liked dunkin donuts' donuts way back maybe 15 years ago.... before they all closed down around here. There is just no decent alternative that filled the void. Just small donut shops that werent anything special & the horrid krispy kreme overly-sugarry horridness that could send you into a diabetic coma.

Lamar's donuts is the only barely decent chain around here that is a specifically offering donuts. They are "ok", but hardly anything special. I'd rather die than eat a too-sugarry krispy kreme donut. Blech!

Folgers.

Black.

@forgottenpassword: Lamar's in Kansas City? I used to love the one at 11th and Main that the health department shut down a few years ago. My mom and I would split a donut covered in Snickers.

I was pleasantly surprised the last time I had McDonald's coffee (during the Holidays). Not too dark of roast, and brewed about right. The cups that never get hot freak me out, though.

Won't drink McDonald's. Tastes like crap. Won't do Dunkin Donuts, unless I'm having a fat kid day, and want to jump up my sugar intake. Starbucks works just fine for me. My drinks are never too sweet, and the coffee is always fresh.

@floyderdc:
You say that like it's a bad thing. I'd rather support a locally owned business than a chain, and that goes for everything from lumber yards to record stores to restaurants to coffee shops. Money put back into the community is good for everyone.

I noticed a drop in consistency and quality when Starbucks went to the automated machines in some of their locations.
I can usually find somewhere else to get a coffee other than Starbucks. We have a couple other chains, but some of our local places are worse than Starbucks.

I like Dunkin Donuts coffee. But I live in the Boston area. It's required. :)

Ben, where did you find the information about the free Iced Coffee at McDonalds? Their website doesn't show it, and I can't find that information anywhere else. Please confirm - I don't want to get choked by my co-workers after I send them down to McDonald's today and I'm wrong.

Oh, and I'd echo the Lamar's Donut love.

Don't know about their coffee, but their donuts were the best.

@BSAKat: I'm in Shanghai, China. Unfortunately, all the locally-owned places here seem intent on copying Starbucks (down to the logo sometimes).

At least the Starbucks here haven't closed for retraining. Of course, they do it right to begin with (well, I get espresso on ice in a Tall cup and then fill the rest with soy milk).

@apotheosis: Disgusting. You've got to be kidding - that stuff is like drinking creosote.

i wouldn't buy the double d outside of connecticut (ESPECIALLY not in philly - that water may be good for hoagie rolls, but it kills double d coffee), but up here the coffee's great. i think a lot has to do with the rules here: brewed coffee is expected to be dumped out if it sits longer than 5 minutes. there's only one shop that i know doesn't follow that rule (b/c their coffee tastes like battery acid).

the only place i like more is a local shop that has honey on the fixins shelf (purportedly for tea, but honey is great in everything) & they occasionally have dominican coffee brewed, which beats the hell out of most coffee out there.

@BSAKat: You realize of course that most McDonalds and DDs are locally owned franchises right?

The cool kids say Starbucks sucks? Damn, I must've tuned out. Anyway, I'm no cool kid, and I say Starbucks sucks. Dunkin' Donuts isn't bad though. But some of the best coffee I've had comes from our local coffee house here in my central Ohio town ... they get it from Stauf's, a great little coffee place near Columbus.

I'm pretty sure that the reason cops got the reputation as "donut eaters" is because they hung out at Dunkin' Donuts. As a cop's daughter, I can tell you that it was more for the coffee than the donuts. Seriously. Back in the day, there were few places that you could count on getting coffee 24/7 in Chicagoland. Dunkin' Donuts, 7-11 and McDonald's for chains and of course, the greasy spoons who cater to the blue collar set, especially 3rd shift workers. But where did you find the cops? Dunkin' Donuts. Their coffee used to be very good and I so doubt that's changed. I miss them much out here in CA. Oh well. Next time I go back, I'm goin' to DD!

@Kurtz:

Disgusting. You've got to be kidding - that stuff is like drinking creosote.

@loganmo: Ditto that cream machine at McD's. I like to pour my own cream and sugar, not blindly accept their precise rationing-by-the-molecule. For drive-up customers, I can see how it is useful. But for in-store customers, it makes no sense.

How they managed to mechanize, mangle, and otherwise fuck up the simple act of transforming a cup of coffee from 'black' to 'regular' is baffling.

Starbucks isn't that bad for chain coffee, IMO. But I've found that they vary a lot in quality from location to location. Maybe some of their employees are better at their job than others? If that's the case, maybe this "retraining" is a good idea.

Oh, and I don't even like a tiny bit of sugar in my coffee. I can't imagine drinking coffee filled 1/3 of the way with syrup. Blech. Do Americans actually like that ultra-sweet crap? It seems like everything is overly sweetened nowadays.

Every McD's coffee I've ever had tastes like it's store policy to never clean the coffee equipment. The DD in Dupont Circle (Wash DC) tastes like they bought used coffee makers from McDs. I'm sure it's great in their test kitchens and stores with competent staff, but in those store in which it is constantly "trainee day"...well, I'd just rather make my own.

@johnva: yeah. They do. Most people who drink coffee dont actually like the taste of coffee. They like coffee drinks that are only marginal coffee related. I dont mind Starbucks for an occasional latte, but people who drink frappacapamocha whatever arent coffee drinkers, not with the sugar, syrup and other adulterations that those things go through.

Then again, Im happy with a cup of black coffee from sheetz when I need a kick, so Im no expert.

@smoothtom:
I do, but in my mind that doesn't make it any better.

@Tracy Ham and Eggs: MTO FTW!

i <3 sheetz.

@mac-phisto: Nothing said "awesome drinking night" back in the day like a 3AM Shmuffin run. And the place was always packed that time of night.