Philip Ashby
Madison’s coffee shops serve a phenomenal selection of cold coffee options to keep urbanites cool and caffeinated on a hot day. Sometimes, though, when you’re on the road and short on time, you might find yourself considering grabbing an iced coffee from a fast-food joint. Not sure who does iced coffee right? Here are my takes on three choices. For the sake of comparison, I ordered the same drink at all three places: a small iced coffee with cream.
Let’s start with where not to get your fix: Taco Bell. I know, I know, it seems obvious that the place that fuels late-night cravings with bright orange Dorito-shell tacos might not brew a great cup of coffee, but I actually had high hopes. Taco Bell’s coffee is brewed to order, and it’s Rainforest Alliance-certified, which means there are some ethical guidelines involved in its growing.
It was a disaster at first sip. Despite having ordered my coffee with cream and no sugar, it was strangely sweet. Worse yet, the “cream” (which I suspect is of the fake, oil-based variety) left a horrible aftertaste in my mouth: plastic-y and oily. The coffee — what I could taste of it — was bland. There wasn’t a lot going on. Grossed out, I tossed it after a few obligatory sips.
A better option is Dunkin’ Donuts’ iced coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts’ hot coffee has long had a cult following, and its cold version uses the same beans, according to one staff member I talked to. Billed as a dark roast, it seemed more like a medium roast, with no bitterness. It wasn’t complex, but it was smooth and refreshing.
The clear winner in my taste test? Good ol’ Mickey D’s. McDonald’s roast is definitely more of a true dark roast, which is a great fit for iced coffee. It finishes with notes of dark chocolate and the right amount of bitterness. Up front, it was a little watery, but the lingering cocoa aftertaste made up for that.
McDonald’s blend is much more complex than Dunkin Donuts’, and I immediately identified Sumatran beans. This surprised me. Sumatran coffee, which is often described as “quirky,” doesn’t appeal to everyone. However, McDonald’s website confirmed that it does indeed include Sumatran beans in the mix. Both Taco Bell and Dunkin’ Donuts use Central and South American beans exclusively, so the inclusion of Sumatran beans is a bold choice by McDonald’s. And, I’d add, a delicious one.
