The Great Coffee Challenge

And the winner is...

I read an article that said McDonald's new premium coffee had won in a blind taste test against Starbucks, and I was incredulous. So I decided to conduct my own test.

This Saturday I went to McDonald's in Richfield, Caribou across the street, and Starbucks down on 77th and Lyndale. I picked up a small cup of black coffee from each place and rushed them home. (Side note - I almost got a bag of hashbrowns and a greasy breakfast sandwich at McDonald's, because the drive through guy handed me the wrong order. He also forgot to ask for my money, and I nearly drove away with a free cup, but not wanting to call down bad karma on my taste test, I offered up the $1.05.)

Back at home, I portioned the coffee into 9 identical styro cups - 3 of each kind - marked with M, S, and C on the bottom. Then Will, Mom and I each took the test. The results:

1. Caribou Obsidian was delicious. All three of us chose this as our favorite.
2. Starbucks Cafe Verona was a little sharp, better with some cream.
3. McDonalds was so bad we threw the rest of it away.

Of course, taste is not the only consideration when choosing coffee. Coffee farmers often do not receive a fair price for this labor intensive crop. That's why I like to buy from organizations like Peace Coffee which promote fair trade and responsible farming methods. If you're interested in this issue, there's a documentary called Black Gold, which is playing in some theaters right now. You can also sign a petition to Starbucks to give Ethiopian farmers the right to use their regional names, which Starbucks has trademarked.