Which Fast Food Coffee Gives You The Best Buzz For The Buck?

AOL DailyFinance:

For years, Dunkin' Donuts reigned supreme as the king of fast-food coffee, towering over a field of lesser brews. Then, one day, Starbucks (SBUX) came along with pricier gourmet options, and the the war was on.

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Comments

[Summertown]

02:42 PM on 08/11/2011

Where did they find these people? Starbucks? I've never liked their coffee, its much too bitter. Smooth? When, not any time I've ever tried it.

And DD? Really? DD was always to weak for me. Even my husband who has no problem drinking coffee from the day before hates DD's coffee. I worked in a donut shop that ground its own beans for every cup of coffee, that set me up for knowing a good cup of coffee from a bad one.

Rarely to do I get a cup of coffee in a restaurant that can come up to the standards of my own freshly ground beans, measured out to suit my taste. I get a strong, non bitter, good after taste coffee every time.

[Charlie Ball 33]

02:29 PM on 08/11/2011

It pains me to say this, but MickeyD's gets my vote. I was very surprised but it's good. I never get coffee at Starbucks, they're regular coffee attempts to be to sophisticated for my taste. You can have your notes and aftertastes--it's coffee, not a wine-tasting.

[Lam56]

06:38 PM on 08/11/2011

You're not the first person I have heard say this; my next-door neighbor swears by MacDonald's. I must give it a try.

[voting4BO]

02:29 PM on 08/11/2011

it seems that I'm the only one that likes DD coffee. I guess my palate is refined enough for the good stuff...lol.
We get free maxwell house coffee at work and no one drinks it...we pitch in to buy our own bag of DD coffee and we drink it all night long!!! That's all we drink at work. Starbucks is ok but a little expensive.

[aaronburr]

02:29 PM on 08/11/2011

I've always thought Starbucks brews their coffee to stand up better to all the sweet junk people dump into it; black its pretty bitter. For just plain coffee McD's is OK during rush hour when they keep it fresh but risky off hours because it may have been sitting on the warmer for hours. I grind and brew my own - takes about six minutes in the morning to brew 10 cups when I'm getting ready to go out the door and it stays fresh in a good thermos. Plus it only costs about $1/pot even with the high current prices.

[BebeLush]

02:12 PM on 08/11/2011

McDonald's coffee is quite good. If you can get a fresh cup. That always seems to be a problem. And their gourmet coffees are pretty good too.

My personal fave is PJ's, a New Orleans local. They make the best iced coffees, hands down.

[veritas88]

01:51 PM on 08/11/2011

Back when I absolutely could not drink black coffee I used to think Starbucks coffee tasted awful and I haven't drank Starbucks coffee since maybe 2006 or so. But now that I've developed a taste for black coffee and have weaned myself off of sugar (for the most part) I like black coffee and will give Starbucks another try.

[rray]

01:44 PM on 08/11/2011

When I make coffee at home its always black expresso from the vacuum packed bags, but when I'm at the gas station I can't resist the sticky sweet cappucino from those machines. They used to have the iced version which was great, but they stopped carrying it locally.

[GeeBee]

01:36 PM on 08/11/2011

That article is nuts. When in the entire history of the world has the coffee at any donut shop been any good? The farce of having Dunkin Donuts terrible brew on sale at the supermarkets, so you can make the same junk at home, is yet another example of how corporate America will try to foist any dumb idea on the public, knowing that a certain amount of sales really can be generated from advertizing hype alone.

[armillariella]

01:36 PM on 08/11/2011

Ooooh! A sample size of 10, all apparently from the same office, and all already accustomed to drinking the same brand of coffee daily. Impressive. Did the tasters know which brands they were tasting? Did everyone sample the brands in the same order? One's taste perception is highly influenced by what what has tasted immediately prior, so if everyone tasted Brand A first, and Brand D last, then the results may well have more to do with the order in which the brands were tasted than actual preferences. I realize this was just meant to be a fun little game, not a true scientific study, but still... a little scientific literacy never hurts.

[wsdave]

02:09 PM on 08/11/2011

I hear they all washed their mouths out with soap between tastings.

[NHBill]

01:30 PM on 08/11/2011

First of all AOL I'm already signed in!
See?
Here I am.
Why won't you let me comment on AOL?
Secondly that report totally sucked.
Call Consumer Reports and find out how to do an authentic comparative tasting.

[voltaire11]

01:23 PM on 08/11/2011

I happen to love the Starbucks. The one that I frequent is run by a fraternity brother and I always get a great cup of coffee there and the cold drinks are refreshing in the summer. McDonalds is always good in a pinch but cannot drink DD coffee as it tastes like rubber to me.

[jsgaetano]

01:21 PM on 08/11/2011

There isn't a lot of quality control between store to store, but a good Seven-Eleven store does a good job on the coffee (and I'm somewhat of a coffee snob). Dunkin Donuts technically has good coffee, but I refuse to go there because they're now owned by the Bush Crime Family (aka the Carlyle Group). Also, I really, REALLY hate how they put in the cream and sugar for you- they would always put in WAY too much sugar. I've had McD coffee a handful of times, and was always pleasantly surprised at the quality.

[NHBill]

01:33 PM on 08/11/2011

For a while there DD's had great Coffee.
Now it's just cheap dreck.
MickyD's ain't bad in a pinch.
But just their straight Joe
not their awful 'Cafe' coffees.

[jsgaetano]

02:56 PM on 08/11/2011

About the only times I go to McD is when I'm out in rural areas and they are the only choice. So in many ways, they come out on the winning side of low expectations. I have to say they do a good job on the breakfast- no matter how far from civilization I've been, the pancakes were always done perfectly, and the scrambled eggs were good. The coffee is the same way- it's typically better than you have a right to expect that far away from a real city.

[KIVPossum]

01:15 PM on 08/11/2011

Never have been a fan of Starbucks coffee. Every town has a coffee shop that makes a better brew, often for less money. If you're on the road and need a quick hit of caffine, it's hard to beat MackyD's. Especially at the Sr Citizen prices

[rickthaluddite]

12:57 PM on 08/11/2011

I don't know what McDonalds coffee is like in the USA, but here in Canada it's better than Starbucks. I try to buy my coffee from my local coffeeshop that roasts its own beans.

[jsgaetano]

01:22 PM on 08/11/2011

I'd say it's difficult not to be better than Charbucks.

[wsdave]

02:13 PM on 08/11/2011

LOL!!

It's a good thing you describe yourself as a coffee snob and not a coffee aficionado.

[Benbo]

12:48 PM on 08/11/2011

I'm going to start my own coffee shop named "Brand X."