# I pit McDonald's "McCafe" coffee drinks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327 "2008-09-26T14:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/21 "2008-09-26T17:27:55Z")
Personally, I’m a big fan of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/22 "2008-09-26T17:29:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Personally, I’m a big fan of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Do they still make the white chocolate hot chocolate? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/23 "2008-09-26T17:33:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Do they still make the white chocolate hot chocolate? No idea. I’m an expert (yes, really, as in I used to eat them five+ times per week!) on Dunkin’ breakfast sandwiches but not beverages. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/24 "2008-09-26T18:05:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I _heart_ their shakes. I just wish they could have the Shamrock ones year 'round. A friend of mine is in the refrigeration/airconditioning business. His company used to have a contract with a bunch of McDs in PA/OH/WV. He serviced the shake machines, and he shared very descriptive stories about how filthy they were. This was in the early 90s. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![Valerieblaise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@Valerieblaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valerieblaise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/25 "2008-09-26T18:31:38Z")
I’m pretty sure I love coffee at least as much as I love my parents, and oxygen, and shelter. I also thought McDonald’s old coffee was FINE. It was a passable cup of coffee, and almost always fresh. So yeah, I tried one of their iced coffees over the summer. I asked the person behind the counter if it was sweetened, because drinking corn syrup makes me ill. Seriously, I get queasy if I drink regular soda, even. I think it’s a blood-sugar thing. Anyway, the counter-person assured me that it wasn’t sweetened. (I’d asked for “Iced coffee, cream only.”) And so I dumped a couple of Splendas in there and went to town - only to immediately realize there was corn syrup in there SOMEWHERE. If it’s not in the coffee, it’s in the cream. And there’s a LOT of it. I threw it out. It was unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/26 "2008-09-26T18:43:56Z")
I had a vanilla shake from McDonald’s last weekend, and it gave me the hurtie-squirties for two days. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/27 "2008-09-26T18:48:53Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I had a vanilla shake from McDonald’s last weekend, and it gave me the hurtie-squirties for two days. Does that to me too, not that I drink 'em since I used to work there and clean the curdled crap out of the machines. Man, I hate those hurtie-squirties. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/28 "2008-09-26T18:58:30Z")
I know some here won’t go to Chick Fil A for anti-religious reasons, but if you want a DELICIOUS fast-food milkshake, go there and order chocolate. It’s a religious experience, I tells ya. McDonalds is sad. My uncle owned a franchise in the '70s and everyone in my family had stock in the company, so it’s the only place we ever ate out, practically. I was brought up on the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Today, I can’t eat lunch there without getting sick all day. The Egg McMuffin, though, I think is still pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/29 "2008-09-26T19:31:49Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > They also serve iced coffee which is a huge deal for us Rhode Islanders, who drink it in February, who drink it in church - well, really, all the time and everywhere. Problem is, the flavoring syrup is very sweet and it’s hard to get just the right level of extra sweetness as a result. If I take it like I do at Double D the sweetness will knock me out. If I use less sweetener than at Double D, it’s not sweet enough. It’s a head scratcher, I tell ya. And, no, I’m not skipping the flavor shot. I guess I’ll just skip McDonald’s. Serves you right, as a RI’er, not going to Dunkin Donuts…😃 (I am a displaced RI’er, myself) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/30 "2008-09-26T19:40:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I _heart_ their shakes. I just wish they could have the Shamrock ones year 'round. I like their chocolate shakes, but those Shamrock ones are just nasty. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/31 "2008-09-26T20:51:58Z")
Yes, those coffee drinks are super-sweet. But have you ever had a Starbucks? oooh, my Islets of Langerhans get all excited when I even _think_ of drinking one of those. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/32 "2008-09-26T21:01:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Personally, I’m a big fan of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Being a displace Northeasterner myself, I’m very excited by the rumor that DD is coming to the Twin Cities. Yeah, I know we have Caribou, Starbucks, and a few Dunn Bros., but it’s just not the same. (And I’m really really tired of everyone assuming when I say I miss DD that I’m some sort of donut addict. More than the coffee itself, I think, I miss people who understand that DD is a coffee shop first and a donut shop second. Sorry… tangential rant of the day.) ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/33 "2008-09-27T00:35:23Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Do they still make the white chocolate hot chocolate? It’s a permanent part of the rotation, at the ones I usually go to at least. I can only do it a couple times a week because of how over-rich it is, but when I am in the mood, wow is it delicious. It’s almost cold enough for DD hot chocolate season, right?! ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/34 "2008-09-27T02:04:43Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I know some here won’t go to Chick Fil A for anti-religious reasons, but if you want a DELICIOUS fast-food milkshake, go there and order chocolate. It’s a religious experience, I tells ya. > > McDonalds is sad. My uncle owned a franchise in the '70s and everyone in my family had stock in the company, so it’s the only place we ever ate out, practically. I was brought up on the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Today, I can’t eat lunch there without getting sick all day. The Egg McMuffin, though, I think is still pretty good. I will try that next time I see a Chick-Fil-A, if you try a strawberry shake from Steak&Shake. It is yummy. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/35 "2008-09-27T02:31:12Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > A friend of mine is in the refrigeration/airconditioning business. His company used to have a contract with a bunch of McDs in PA/OH/WV. He serviced the shake machines, and he shared very descriptive stories about how filthy they were. This was in the early 90s. Just saying. Seconded. I worked in a McDonalds in the late 90s and I would never drink one of their milkshakes. Ours was very old and infested with many cockroaches. After all, the shake mix sits inside it in basically an open bucket… ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/36 "2008-09-27T07:38:36Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Not that I’m a fan of McDonald’s and in fact won’t eat there, but their shakes are [actually made with ice cream, made from cow’s milk](http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal/nutrition_ingredients.html#6) (scroll down to where the shakes start). The ingredient list for the ice cream is probably similar to most supermarket or chain ice cream shop brands, barring companies like Ben & Jerry’s. I haven’t had a McD’s shake in ages. Last time I had a shake from there, they were using YOGURT in their shake mix, which is all kinds of Wrong. Ick, ick, ick. Since I have a Sonic which is just as close to me as a McDonald’s, I’ll go there for my fast food fixes…I think they have better food (as fast food goes) and they definitely have a greater selection. OK, and I’ll admit that I am addicted to lime slushies. And orange slushies. I don’t get them very often, but when I get the craving, get out of my way. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/37 "2008-09-27T13:42:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No idea. I’m an expert (yes, really, as in I used to eat them five+ times per week!) on Dunkin’ breakfast sandwiches but not beverages. Now _that’s_ scary. I love DD - their coffee is the best around (in fact, my husband is currently out getting us bagels and extra large coffees). But their breakfast sandwiches are just plain nasty. I did break down and try one of their flatbread sandwiches, and it’s not half bad. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/38 "2008-09-27T16:36:16Z")
I never thought that “[we add the cream and sugar for you](http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/features/breakfast.html)!” was a point in their favor, really. I know how much I like, you don’t, so just give me the coffee, just coffee, and a condiment bar and I’ll do it myself so it’s _right_. (I love Dunkin Donuts coffee but it’s a major gripe there, too. At least there they have sugar packets available, so I can order “no sugar” and do it myself. When they do it, I swear they dump half a cup in there. Ew.) Not that I’d ever set foot in a McD’s again. That’s not food. Blurgh. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/39 "2008-09-27T17:01:45Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Seconded. I worked in a McDonalds in the late 90s and I would never drink one of their milkshakes. Ours was very old and infested with many cockroaches. After all, the shake mix sits inside it in basically an open bucket… [post=7638208]This[/post] was my experience when I worked there (in the late '80s) in Australia. If it’s filthy enough to have maggots in the back, it sure as hell isn’t being cleaned properly on a regular basis! Yechhhh!!! And as for the coffee - I always thought the water temperature was calibrated too high, which burned the coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327/40 "2008-09-27T20:41:39Z")
If I ever eat at McD’s, which is probably every three/four months, it is because I am craving their hot, salty, addictive french fries. The one nearest me does a fine job; usually fresh, usually piping hot, and covered in whatever kind of crack/salt they put on their fries. They also do a marvelous Diet Coke. No, I’m not kidding. Most fountain sodas aren’t calibrated correctly, so the soda’s either too flat or lacking syrup. For some reason, McD’s has perfected the art of fountain soda. Perfect balance. Which is why you can find Audrey in the drive-thru there a few times a year, slurping an ice-cold Diet Coke and shoving hot salty french fries into her mouth as she speeds away. The rest of their menu? _shrug_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-mcdonalds-mccafe-coffee-drinks/465327.md?page=3)