- As part of an ongoing taste test series, INSIDER tried four different fast food restaurants' hot coffee. We tried Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Dunkin' Donuts.
- Wendy's, a relative newcomer to the breakfast game, was our favorite.
- All four are a solid option though, if you're looking for a cheap caffeine jolt.
Here at INSIDER, we've done our fair share of taste tests, including fried chicken, French fries, and chocolate chip cookies. Today, we add fast food coffee to the list.
We sampled:
- McDonald's
- Chick-fil-A
- Wendy's
- Dunkin' Donuts
To make the taste test as scientific as possible, we ordered each coffee black (no milk or sugar), and added the same amount of Land O'Lakes half and half to each later.
Keep scrolling to see which coffee we might add to our daily routine.
To start my journey, I headed over to Chick-fil-A. I've never had their hot coffee, but their iced coffee is definitely on point, so I was excited to try the hot version.
Chick-fil-A's coffee was the most expensive — by just a penny. It cost $2.09 for a small coffee.
According to their website, their "Medium-roast coffee contain[s] only hand-picked certified 100% Colombian beans." They serve Thrive Farmers coffee, whom they partnered with in 2014, allegedly making it the "QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) industry's first-ever specialty-grade coffee."
The press release states that a portion of the revenue from each cup sold goes directly to Thrive's network of farmers in Central America, which made me feel good about drinking it.
I trekked next door to Dunkin' Donuts. It looked significantly smaller than Chick-fil-A's small size. The sleeve was also designed for a larger coffee.
Dunkin' Donuts' small coffee came in at $2.08, making it the second-most expensive coffee of the four.
They offer three different blends: Original, Dark Roast, and Dunkin Decaf. I opted for Original. The Dunkin' website suggests pairing the Original Roast with an Old Fashioned doughnut, because the "notes of nutmeg in our Old Fashioned donut pair beautifully with [the] light fruity notes in our Original Blend." Sadly, no doughnuts for me this morning.
Next stop: the McDonald's down the street. Since the brand is famous for its McCafé, I figured this might be the best of the bunch.
McDonald's has been selling coffee for 70 years, but McCafé, the coffee and breakfast branch, was only founded in 1993. While there are stand-alone McCafé's, every McDonald's sells breakfast and coffee all day long, as of 2016.
The McDonald's coffee smelled the best — it had a nutty aroma. It also only cost a dollar.
According to their website, McDonald's coffee is "Made with 100% Arabica beans."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider