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McDonald’s tests cold brew coffeeMcDonald’s tests cold brew coffee

San Diego stores add two cold brew drinks to McCafé menu

Nancy Luna, Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

October 15, 2018

2 Min Read
McDonald’s tests cold brew coffee
Courtesy of McDonald’s

McDonald’s is testing cold brew coffee in 74 locations in the San Diego market.

The chain announced Monday that it is exploring the beverage, which has been one of the hottest trends in the coffee sector for the past few years. Dunkin’ has had cold brew at its stores for two years.  Starbucks launched cold brew nationwide in 2015.

McDonald’s said the San Diego stores are offering two versions of the cold brew: a classic black or marble. The latter is served mixed with creamy syrup and swirls of light cream.

“San Diego is a city full of coffee lovers, so it’s an ideal place to test our McCafé Cold Brew Coffee,” Jamie Straza, a San Diego County McDonald’s franchise owner, said in a statement. “We were first in the country to test All Day Breakfast and we’re thrilled to continue bringing menu innovations to our San Diego customers.”

The coffee is made with 100 percent Arabica coffee beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in Guatemala, McDonald’s said. The company did not immediately respond when asked if the cold brew was brewed in house or off-site.

“These farms meet stringent environmental and social standards that help ensure the wellbeing of farmers, employees, families, the environment and wildlife,” the company said.

The San Diego stores are among about 755 McDonald’s in the Bakersfield, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.

Related:McDonald’s adds frozen cold-brew coffee drinks

Since debuting in 2009, McCafé menus have largely been unchanged. Last year, McDonald’s promised to elevate its McCafé offerings by adding three new espresso drinks at the chain’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants. The new drinks included cappuccino, Americano and iced caramel macchiato. Earlier this year, the chain introduced two cold-brew frozen drinks as an LTO. 

Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected] 

Follow her on Twitter: @FastFoodMaven

About the Author

Nancy Luna

Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Nancy Luna is a senior editor at Nation's Restaurant News and a contributing editor at Supermarket News. She covers the industry's largest and most talked about fast-food brands including McDonald's, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway. She is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years reporting experience. As a veteran business reporter based in Southern California, Nancy has covered some of the country's most beloved food and retail brands including In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Trader Joe's, Aldi, Whole Foods Market, Target and Costco. Luna is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton. When she's not digging for news on her beat, you can find Nancy regaling her fans about her latest dining adventures on her Fast Food Maven social media channels. Contact [email protected]  or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fastfoodmaven

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