McDonald's coffee beats 3 big rivals in magazine's test

Consumer Reports compares taste, cost

Bloomberg News
Published February 3, 2007

McDonald's Corp.'s coffee tastes better and costs less than brew from Starbucks Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Dunkin' Donuts, Consumer Reports magazine said.

"We compared the rivals with Starbucks, all in basic black--no flavors, milk, or sugar--and you know what? McDonald's beat the rest," Consumer Reports said in its March issue.

McDonald's Chief Executive Jim Skinner introduced coffee made from 100 percent Arabica beans, the kind used at Starbucks, a year ago. The move helped drive 2006 sales up 9 percent, the Oak Brook-based company said last month. The company said it sells 500 million cups of coffee a year.

Consumer Reports' "trained tasters" visited two stores of each company, the magazine said. McDonald's coffee was "decent and moderately strong," while Starbucks was "strong, but burnt and bitter," the magazine said.

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