Americano, McCafe, McDonald's

I had about 40 minutes to wait for someone, a 5-year old girl, and P100.00 to spare, and all these banners of McCafe with coffee looking so good just called out to me. 


I got my daughter -- who fortunately, didn't ask for anything more -- a sundae cone and decided to try the coffee in McCafe. Most of their coffee variants are just about P20.00 more than the McDonald's brew.

I chose to have an Americano, P50.00, which they defined on the menu board as, "espresso coffee topped with hot water for full-bodied flavor". The addition of water made me think -- will it taste watered down? Is this how Americano is usually made?

Filled almost to the brim of the paper cup that didn't have a single splash of Ronald red (after some studying, I did find a tiny Ronald drawing suggesting how to dispose of the cup), the coffee did come with the flavor they promised. It was strong, absent of any high acidic taste, and with a color that guarantees it did not come from the same machine as the ones they sell in McDonald's. The server or barista (is that how they're called in McCafe as well?) informed me that their coffee was Arabica sourced from Australia. It was very, very hot (had to wait a bit to get a sip I could appreciate), and my heart started to palpitate a bit, but it was a good type of thumping. The coffee was very good! 

Do I sound surprised? It's probably because the fast food giant's coffee is not half as good, even if it used to be, and is no longer reliable when you need a good cup of coffee. On bad days, you either get a cup that's practically coffee-flavored water, or one that is bordering on grey in tint, and on mud on a rainy day in consistency. Does it cost so much to provide the same kind of coffee to go with their breakfast, which I'm a great fan of (I am over the big mac phase)? 

There's been some ads on the new, more full-flavored coffee they added to the McDonald's menu. I have yet to taste something better and consistent from them... but that's for another day. Today, I had the McCafe Americano, and I was happy with it. It would help, though, if they could serve it with some milk instead of the same packet of non-dairy creamer they serve at the fast food restaurant.