Skip to content
  • Friday, June 13, 2025
thebeerhousecafe

thebeerhousecafe

World's finest Food

  • Food & Cooking
  • Mexican Food
  • Organic Food
  • Healthy Food
  • Street Food
  • Fast Food
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • Home
  • I’m a former Starbucks barista. I tried black coffee from 4 fast-food chains, and 2 were surprisingly good.
Fast Food

I’m a former Starbucks barista. I tried black coffee from 4 fast-food chains, and 2 were surprisingly good.

May 19, 2022
Elizabeth W. Jernigan

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • Sonic was the only chain I wouldn’t order from again
  • Burger King’s coffee was solidly mediocre
  • I was nervous to try Wendy’s, but it was the biggest surprise of the bunch
  • Overall, McDonald’s had my favorite cup
small coffee cups from mccafe, wendy's, burger king, and sonic sitting on a window ledge

I went to four popular fast-food chains near my apartment.Dylan Clair

  • As a former Starbucks barista, I tried black coffee from four fast-food chains to find the best one.

  • McDonald’s and Wendy’s were worth coming back for — I enjoyed the flavors of both.

  • Burger King was mediocre but drinkable, and Sonic ended up being the only one that fell short.

Despite being a former Starbucks barista and self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, I have a soft spot for crappy cups of joe.

I’m talking about the coffee you get from gas stations on a road trip, funeral homes with questionable powdered “creamer,” and greasy-spoon diner counters on Sunday mornings.

Like these spots, fast-food chains aren’t necessarily known for their blends, so I ordered a small black coffee from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Sonic to see which has the best.

I then ranked each coffee based on five categories: sweetness/bitterness, body, acidity, flavors, and finish.

Sonic was the only chain I wouldn’t order from again

cup of sonic coffee sitting on a window ledge

I wasn’t a fan of Sonic’s coffee.Dylan Clair

Sonic’s breakfast menu has lots of hits, but coffee isn’t one of them — unless you’re a die-hard Keurig fan who likes the familiarity of Green Mountain coffee.

I ordered this later in the day, which worked in my favor because the employee had to brew a fresh pot. But the little hope I had was dashed after a few sips.

Maybe I just got a bad batch, but I thought Sonic’s coffee was poorly extracted (the process of steeping the grounds in water), slightly bitter, and just overall disappointing.

If Sonic was your only choice for coffee, I’d suggest just not getting coffee.

Burger King’s coffee was solidly mediocre

cup of burger king coffee sitting on a window ledge

There’s nothing terribly wrong with Burger King’s coffee.Dylan Clair

The temperature of Burger King’s coffee was closer to warm than hot when I got it, but it was well-extracted.

With chocolate on the nose and notes of molasses, it was more sweet than bitter. Although the overall flavor was pleasant, it was slightly more acidic than the others, which made it difficult to drink too much of it.

I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if it were fresher and hotter.

If it was the only option, I’d order it again. But I wouldn’t seek it out.

I was nervous to try Wendy’s, but it was the biggest surprise of the bunch

cup of wendy's coffee sitting on a window ledge

I’d gladly order coffee from Wendy’s again.Dylan Clair

Wendy’s describes its coffee as a medium roast, but it tasted more like a light roast to me.

It’s pretty bitter, which I didn’t think was a bad thing — it worked with the overall flavor.

Temperature-wise, it was hot. I wound up running an errand before it cooled enough to drink, but once it did, it was delightful.

It had very little acidity, which made it easier to drink. Although the flavor profile was more bitter than sweet, it had soft floral and herbal notes on the nose and tongue.

I ended up trying the same order at three different Wendy’s. At one location, the extraction level was weak, at another, it was well-steeped and flavorful.

Even with this slight mark against it, I’d order this again — and not just if it was the only option.

Overall, McDonald’s had my favorite cup

dylan holding a cup of mcdonalds coffee

dylan holding a cup of mcdonalds coffee

The flavor of McDonald’s coffee was great.Dylan Clair

The best part of this whole experience was being able to recreate one of my favorite John Mulaney bits by going through the McDonald’s drive-thru and ordering “one black coffee.”

But the coffee wasn’t bad either. McDonald’s, and its McCafé line, is probably the fast-food chain with the most coffee cred.

Its coffee had a deep-chocolate nose and was on the sweet end of the sweet/bitter spectrum. The blend had very low acidity and was well-extracted.

Out of the four coffees I tried, this had the best mouthfeel.

McDonald’s coffee is famously hot — there was even a lawsuit in the 1990s involving the safety of its temperature. But that worked well for me since it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside when I ordered it. By the time I got home, it was perfect.

I’d happily order this again.

Read the original article on Insider

Tags: Bridge 99 Food Trucks, Carb Food The Lowest, Central Texas Food Bank Rating, Chinese Food Lake And Washington, Chinse Food Deliverynear Me, Coronavirus Food Shopping, Devil Food Cake Recipes, Diverse Food Culture San Francisco, Fda Bans Fat In Food, Fdragonboat Festial Traditional Food, Felix Cat Food Gravy, Fl Phone Food Stamp, Food Coloring Uncooked Macaroni Noodles, Food Competitioin Tv Shows, Food Corners Resturanta, Food Dairy Market Companies, Food Donations Wheat Ridge, Food Farming Empires And Puzzles, Food Lion Owner Operator, Food Shopping For No Gallbladder, Food Stamps Covid 19 Texas, Food Stamps In Maui, Food Stamps Office Oak Ridge, Food Truck Charlotte Explosion, Free Delivery Food Coronavirus, Fresh Food Transport Vehicles, Hpp Meaning Food, Klcc Mall Food Court, Latino Food News, Local Oragnic Food Suppliers, Low Carb Malaysian Chinese Food, Mexican Food 75234, New Hampshire Food Cart Law, Outdoor Refriderator Food Servers, Pokemon Go Themed Food, Portland Food Editor Karen Brooks, Rotten Tomatoes Small Food, Sacramento Food Tours Groupon, Sawdust City Food, Scotch Bonnet Food Item, So Ono Food Products Shankar, Superbowl Food Anthony Bourdain, Thai Food Lake Grove, Thisisinsider Food Logo, What Food To Buy Coronavirus, What'S A Bitter Food Example, Where Do Chefs Get Food, Whole Food Selves Empty, Why Thailand Have Fresh Food, Wwlp Food Truck Festival

Post navigation

California bill aims to help street food vendors by changing retail code, streamlining permit process
Jury: Food Network’s Ariel Robinson guilty in foster child’s death
June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    
  • May 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • November 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • March 2020
  • Fast Food
  • Food & Cooking
  • Healthy Food
  • Mexican Food
  • Organic Food
  • Street Food
  • Delightful Mocktails: Celebrating Sobriety with Flavor
  • How to Plan a Corporate Catering Menu on a Budget
  • Scoring Big on Flavor: Exploring the Best Pizza Specials and Game Day Deals
  • How Regenerative Farming Differs From Organic Farming: Key Comparisons
  • Ruby Jewelry for the Bohemian Woman: Free-Spirited and Boho

bl

BR

basilagent
farroagent

BP

backlinkplacement.com

You may Missed

Fast Food

Delightful Mocktails: Celebrating Sobriety with Flavor

May 27, 2025
Elizabeth W. Jernigan
Fast Food

How to Plan a Corporate Catering Menu on a Budget

March 27, 2025
Elizabeth W. Jernigan
Fast Food

Scoring Big on Flavor: Exploring the Best Pizza Specials and Game Day Deals

February 26, 2025
Elizabeth W. Jernigan
Fast Food

How Regenerative Farming Differs From Organic Farming: Key Comparisons

January 28, 2025
Elizabeth W. Jernigan
Copyright © 2025 thebeerhousecafe
Theme by: Theme Horse
Proudly Powered by: WordPress

WhatsApp us