What do you think of McDonald's new McCafe?
What do you think of McDonald's entry into the "cappuccino?" and "latte" world? Should coffee aficionados consider this MickeyD's latest fad? Should anyone be concerned?
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alun Evans on
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In Asia and Australasia, McD's have had their Mc Cafes going for a while. They use a 100% Arabica blend for their Cappuccinos, lattes etc. I have found the quality variable, but the pricing is very sharp. They are S$1.00 cheaper than rivals Starbucks, Coffee Beans and Tea Leaf and Spinellis (Singapore). When they first launched I was suprised at how good the cappuccino I ordered was (I am not sying it was suprisingly good...but spried it as not so bad!). However, subsequent visits, including many during a 6 week stay in Singapore, did not compare so favorably. I think McD's are obviously looking at combating the Starbucks/Donut market initially. In New Zealand they have had problems with associating "Quality Coffee" with the Golden Arches logo. Last time I was back they were running both National TV and Radio advertising to try and focus on the quality of coffee (origins) and skill of the barista. Sadly they use Superautos, so the Barista aspect has been somewhat negated. Superautos are also used in Asia (not sure about in Australia).
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Permalink Reply by Kelly David H. on
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*Disclaimer* I do not think on any level that McDonalds and Starbucks have high, top quality coffee. The below portion is my opinion on a "coffee chain mocha".
Alright, here is what I think of McDonald's McCafe. I have only tried one mocha from there about 4 months ago just to say I did and I must say that I was surprized. I was surprized to say that I thought it tasted as good if not better than a Starbucks mocha. HOWEVER, I'm not a huge fan of mochas (if i'm gonna have chocolate in my coffee i like some good ground white chocolate) but I do expect it to taste like coffee flavored chocolate milk and that is exactly what it was SO right on McDonalds.
I guess my question is, is it a compliment to McDonalds or a burn for Starbucks (as if they didn't have enough already...and i'm not talking about their beans)? I mean, if your focus is coffee and a fast food burger joint is making better coffee than you, I think something might be wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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I have one 100 yards from my front door. This was an area of concern for me just before it opened, enough so that I actually blogged about it. Almost 2 months have passed now since their open and I think its safe to say that there has been no impact to our sales. Their presence might even have helped - we occasionally see a car peel off from their drive-thru line and come over to us instead.
Quality-wise I was unimpressed. Flavor was decent, better than several indies in town. Milk texture was pretty awful. Overall, exactly what I'd expected from them given the rest of their product line - a reasonable value if you have no other options. I do like their little flyer that describes each of the drinks and has diagrams... enough so that I contemplated ripping it off for use in our store.
I think that their presence is a good thing. It will introduce a reasonable approximation of a latte, mocha, and cappuccino to a market that would probably not have previously considered darkening the door of a specialty coffeehouse. After having a few "not bad" lattes there, they might be emboldened to stop in and try one of ours.
Their presence will not be good for the shop with marginal quality. If you are reading this and haven't had one of their drinks, go try one. If their latte is better than yours, then it is time to raise your game. Atmosphere and free wi-fi can only take you so far if your customer has a tastier option at a lower cost. Yes, shop up the street with the stale espresso and a super-auto... I mean you.
In fact, we all should raise our game anyway. What will YOU do this week to make your coffee better?
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Permalink Reply by Rob Dunne on
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McCafe have been around her in Ireland and Europe for quite some time. I wouldn't ever go out of my way to buy from them, just as good as starbucks, but if you like coffee you should be buying from your smaller local coffee shop's, as long as they produce a good cuppa joe.
they are now entering their barista into Competions.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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I've only tried their Iced Coffee (latte). I liked it well enough to go back for more. They put in about half a cup of their regular drip coffee, then some milk, then some kind of liquid sweetener, then the ice.
I bet it would not taste as good without sugar, though. I usually drink un-sweetened iced lattes.
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Hey Rob... they are entering their barista into competition?? They must be using a different machine setup where you are- here it is a superauto- milk foamed, coffee tamped etc by what ever machine they use. Here the barista would struggle to probably do more than put the lid on the cup!!!!!
Rob Dunne said:McCafe have been around her in Ireland and Europe for quite some time. I wouldn't ever go out of my way to buy from them, just as good as starbucks, but if you like coffee you should be buying from your smaller local coffee shop's, as long as they produce a good cuppa joe.
they are now entering their barista into Competions.
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Rob Dunne said:
they are now entering their barista into Competions.
Well, maybe since they already had the headsets they figured it was a good idea?
I wonder if they stir their cappuccinos in comp too? I've seen it done in two different shops, by McCashistas nervously glancing at the manual... so its GOTTA be in the training. Anyone else observe this?
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Permalink Reply by Al Soto on
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Here is Tahlequah, OK their latte was not fit for human consumption. It was nasty and more expensive that my own latte after adding an extra shot. They charge $1.09 for an extra shot of espresso. Their milk was week, and their sweetener had a synthetic taste to it (Perhaps it was a sugar free syrup.)
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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on
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I was in a McD's last week while out of town, just to see the new McCafe stuff they had installed, and the POP. They were really pushing it, but as a lady standing next me said to her friend, "McDonalds trying to do coffeehouse. That's funny." Most of the people used to going to Starbucks on a daily basis like having the cup as a status symbol, and walking around with a McCafe cup doesn't say the same thing, if you know what I mean.
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Permalink Reply by Laura Lindsay on
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I think it's intriguing that they devoted store space and money towards the new McCafe line. I enjoy a cup of McD's coffee when I go in occasionally, though I can't say I've stopped specifically for coffee as I do when I visit a cafe.
I haven't gotten any of the McCafe drinks such as mochas, etc because I'm not that confident in their barista skills, and there's a lack of customization. If I'm in the mood for anything more complex than a cup of joe I tend to visit an independent cafe. I could see where the average person might enjoy such drinks and I think it'll do well in those cases. I have no doubt that the drinks are on par with Starbucks, since they share the same automation, which isn't saying much. At least the beans aren't burnt to hell.
The only difficulty I see is people actually going to McDonald's specifically for the cafe part. It's great that they offer free wi-fi and decent coffee, but I don't know if McD's has pulled off the atmosphere necessary for hordes of cafe-crawlers to change their routines.
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Wow, what a great post! Great thoughts!
L'aura said:I think it's intriguing that they devoted store space and money towards the new McCafe line. I enjoy a cup of McD's coffee when I go in occasionally, though I can't say I've stopped specifically for coffee as I do when I visit a cafe.
I haven't gotten any of the McCafe drinks such as mochas, etc because I'm not that confident in their barista skills, and there's a lack of customization. If I'm in the mood for anything more complex than a cup of joe I tend to visit an independent cafe. I could see where the average person might enjoy such drinks and I think it'll do well in those cases. I have no doubt that the drinks are on par with Starbucks, since they share the same automation, which isn't saying much. At least the beans aren't burnt to hell.
The only difficulty I see is people actually going to McDonald's specifically for the cafe part. It's great that they offer free wi-fi and decent coffee, but I don't know if McD's has pulled off the atmosphere necessary for hordes of cafe-crawlers to change their routines.
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