I have been to mucho McD for their nice coffee and have never seen them mix it. Mostly the cream and sweetener is at separate counter but occasionally they hand out the containers and packets separately with the coffee (you tell them how many you wish).

MisterNice

Actually, with the rollout of the Premium Roast Coffee in 2006 cream and sugar should be mixed by the crew, unless you specifically ask for it "on the side."

Here in the UK McD has espresso machines to make 'real' coffee. And it's cheap too only £1.20 a cup vs £1.90 at Starbucks (yes yes I know that's how much you'd pay in USD:mad::D)

Actually, I went to *$ the other day (living in Bradford means I need to go to Halifax if I want some proper coffee that's not *$), and was surprised to find the double espresso at £1.55, with no extra charge if you wanted a machiatto.
I thought that was a very decent deal...Most coffee-shops seem to charge £1.70-2.00 for a double machiatto.
Seems like Sbux make most of their profits selling "frappucino", whipped cream and other assorted non-coffee cr@p!

I am implying that *I* am the coffee snob NOT you.

And I am no less confused as to why a coffee snob would patronise Starbucks!

I guess people would have a their own definitions as to how to define a "snob." I jokingly said I am a coffee snob because I will ONLY drink certain kinds of coffee and Starbucks coffee is one of the only kinds I will drink. My post was in good humour poking fun at myself. I am sorry if you misunderstood it.

Ah, fair enough. Sorry about the confusion. :D

"If I was on the road and wanted a coffee I would not hesitate to stop at Mcdonalds if no better choices(and IMO starbucks is not a better option)were available."

Are you talking about Americano here or are you one of those people who don't realize that at a real cup is made via expresso, not drip?

"And I am no less confused as to why a coffee snob would patronise Starbucks!"

It's good coffee and you know what you're getting. It's one of the reasons for McDonald's success. They are extremely consistent. I know what I'll get (at least coffee wise) at a Starbucks. Plenty of people complain that their coffee has a burnt taste, but they just do a darker roast than most people are used to. It's much akin to how people complain and call Guinness too heavy without realizing that it is light beer.

In terms of the McD's coffee, I've had it. It's not good and not bad. It's sort of like one of those CBS comedy shows where they've audience tested each joke so that they don't offend anyone with anything. In the end, you get a generic product that people like, but really doesn't have a lot of character. It's a decent cup given what McDonalds is, but I wouldn't rave about it.

Here in the Pacific NW, McDonald's serves Seattle's Best Coffee. Seattle's Best is owned by Starbuck's. So in a sense, you can enjoy or not enjoy both at the same time.

I don't know what McDs serves here, but I think it tastes better than Starbucks. Last few times I had Starbucks it tasted burned. I don't care for most of the coffee though I can get in the US though, now Vienna that's another story.

I agree that McD's new coffee is much better than I expected. However, I have also found that Hardee's new Channel Islands coffee is just as good. Given they both now have decent coffee, the real choice boils down to who has the better chicken biscuit, which, of course, goes to Hardee's.

This is why they got sued by that woman who spilled the coffee on her legs, allegedly because they were serving coffee at temperatures significantly higher than the industry average, where you'd get third degree burns after 2 seconds of exposure.

The one time I tried McDonalds coffee was at a highway rest stop when I wanted some caffeine for the road. After 10 minutes of letting it sit outside, uncovered, on a cold day, it was still so hot I couldn't touch it and I ended up throwing it away in disgust.

I tried the iced coffee once, but you apparently can't just get it black - they premix all of their chemicals in to the entire batch. So that's a no-go, too.

Creamer, Sweetener, Temperature
 

I usually have to wait a bit for my McD coffee to cool. But then, I do that with almost any coffee I drink. It seems that its always too hot for me. Same for almost any hot drink I get like tea or hot chocolate.
I always ask for cream and Splenda on the side. I've had too many times where it just doesn't taste right and plenty of times where they must have put three or four times as much cream as I like. Once the clerk put six splenda (I asked for two) in the coffee. Several times I saw them put in sugar and made them give me a different cup. Now I always ask for it on the side.
Although I still think McD is the best, if we all liked the same thing it would get pretty boring for some of us!

You are not a coffee snob, you'e a SBUX snob. Big difference.

:p