Which Is The Better Bargain – Starbucks or McDonalds Coffee
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I spend a lot of time in our local Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants finalizing each one of the posts I put up for this website (and the other 26 sites), and I thought maybe tonight was as good as any to lay out which one actually serves up the better bargain in their coffee and espresso menus! Right off the bat, you might decide that obviously McDonald's is probably going to win out. After all, Starbucks isn't exactly known for cheap coffee. But a bargain doesn't necessarily have to just encompass the price. There are other factors associated with the bargain: quality of the product, the time invested in getting to the product, and the choice of product. But let's start with quality.
Quality. Starbucks is known for having gourmet and specialty coffee beans, so a cup of coffee at Starbucks will, at the very least, be better in quality, right? Well, maybe not. The McCafe coffees are brewed from gourmet coffee beans procured in Brazil, Sumatra, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Now that's a blend of coffee beans from a variety of sources around the globe, not just from a select territory. Starbucks offers coffees from select areas of the world, and only blended together from those areas. Those beans are also roasted into mild, medium, bold, and extra bold roasts to give the same beans a different flavor.
If you happen to like choosing coffees from different regions at different roast points, the quality of coffee available at Starbucks just overwhelms the McCafe coffees. However, comparing the two premium coffees, using the house blend from Starbucks against McCafe, the taste isn't that much different. I would have to say that McCafe wins out here due to the coffees being practically equal and price being the only factor between (coming up later). That statement does lead me into the next section and choice.
Choice. Starbucks overwhelms McDonald's and the McCafe brand with choice. While you only have coffee blend choices between Espresso and McCafe (rich chocolate or mild flavor), if Starbucks has a coffee available in store, you can have just about anything you want! African Kitamu with its orange-like flavor mixed with a hint of cinnamon is just marvelous. You can't get that at McDonald's, I'm sad to say. Or perhaps the best coffee at Starbucks, the French Roast. Smoky and probably the boldest coffee you can find, but still very light to drink, there's just no comparison for this coffee anywhere. With choice, Starbucks becomes the better bargain.
Time. I hate to say this, because they are seem to work pretty quickly to get the order complete and send me on my way. But McDonald's just seems to have too much going on to get a coffee in my hands as quick as Starbucks. And Starbucks isn't exactly known for being super quick. Yet with having to take orders, fill orders, serve french fries, pull salads, and everything else that the front line at McDonald's has to accomplish, the McCafe section tends to be the last thing they want to do. And almost every single time that I order one of the iced drinks, they have to run to the back to get ice and fill the machine.
I try not to be impatient because I can really be impatient, but it does take more time to receive the coffee order at McDonald's. Because I'm writing, I usually have time to setup my computer for work before either Starbucks or McDonald's has completed my order. Waiting for over 5 minutes at McD's does happen frequently. Starbucks wins out as the better bargain if your time is being compromised by waiting.
Price. I barely even have to discuss this one, right? Starbucks is far and away more expensive than McDonald's. At least the specialty coffees are, with prices ranging around $5 for a medium at Starbucks and a comparable specialty for less than $3 at Mcdonald's. Plain black coffee is also more expensive, with the McDonald's brand selling for a $1 for a small while the "same" house blend at Starbucks is a buck and a half or more. It doesn't seem like much, but it will add up over time. McDonald's does win on price.
Okay, so add them up above, and I've got 2 for Starbucks and 2 for McDonald's. Starbucks for the better experience (time) and choices available. McDonald's and McCafe for quality (based on one choice only) and price. So, it's a toss up I guess, and that's probably why I frequent both. Well that and the fact that I don't want to creep out either place for stalking them night after night!
No, here's what I do: when I want to try a different coffee, something that I've never had before, I'll head to Starbucks. Like the Ethiopian Sidamo for a black coffee, or I'm seriously thinking the Pumpkin Spice Latte that is coming back so soon!
If I just want a plain dirt cheap coffee or simple chocolate flavored frappes, I'll just head over to McDonald's. If it's around a meal, it's also a good bit cheaper to eat at McDonald's than Starbucks, but that's an article for another day!
Which coffeehouse do you prefer and why? If you have another favorite (local or not), list it in the comments (thinking Caribou Coffee, etc.)?
Starbucks Gift Cards for Sale
You can find a bargain at Starbucks by purchasing one of the gift cards below at a discount. They typically sell for $5 to $10 less than face value!
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B. Daniels is the lead review expert with Find Cheap Bargains. B. was more than likely the person responsible for the hands-on review of every product on the site. He also spends time searching for sale bargains when not conducting and writing the reviews.
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