What Makes McDonald's Coffee Taste Different From Your Home Brew

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Among all of the fast food coffees, McDonald's ranks pretty high. Even though it's not a coffee-forward chain like Starbucks or Dunkin', its McCafé brand has a loyal following all of its own, with some people admitting they stop at McDonald's not for its breakfast menu or burgers — but for the coffee alone. Many have desperately tried to recreate it at home to no avail. "I've tried buying creamers and coffee beans to match it but nothing comes close," read a post on Reddit. 

The truth is, you can't really replicate McDonald's coffee at home because the chain uses a proprietary roast that is not available for purchase to the public. All that's known is that McDonald's sources the 100% Arabica beans from Gaviña Gourmet Coffee, a global coffee supplier with a Cuban family heritage, based in Southern California. The beans are roasted to medium-dark and are later ground in the individual McDonald's stores. 

For hot coffee, the chain opts for a regular hot brew, but for iced coffee, it uses a Japanese-style brew that yields a bolder and more balanced drink. This is achieved by brewing the same amount of ground coffee with half the amount of hot water directly over a carafe filled with ice, resulting in a perfectly balanced brew.

It's one thing to say the coffee at McDonald's is good — it's another to put it above the most popular American coffee chain. Yet many McCafé fans insist that, compared to Starbucks, the fast food chain has better java. "McDonald's has better coffee than Starbucks," opined someone on Reddit, and several people agreed with the viewpoint. "Of all the coffee shops and fast food places I've been to, in my opinion, McDonalds makes the best cup of coffee," read another Reddit post, placing McCafé not just above Starbucks, but also Dutch Bros. Tasting Table even determined that McDonald's coffee is much better than Wendy's.

It seems that the only downside to McCafé is that you can't recreate it at home, as there's no way to purchase the exact beans the chain is using. You can, however, buy McCafé products on Amazon, such as the popular McCafé Premium Medium Roast Ground Coffee. Even though it's not the exact same as it is in the restaurant, it still has loads of five-star reviews and an overall rating of 4.7-stars on Amazon. As one Amazon reviewer put it: "It doesn't taste as good as fresh Mcdonald's coffee but it's a close second."