Buzz Issues: 02 A Comparison

This is going to be a coffee comparison that I'm going to call the "Buzz Issues" and that means this is Issue 1. Again, maybe someone will find this useful but I can use this as a reference later, as well. Coffee is the biggest part of my day when it comes to what I put into my body and this is probably the first and last thing. I don't have a Starbucks in my area because I live on the dark side of the moon, but today I stopped at McDonald's and Sonic for large coffees.

Both of these are black with french vanilla flavorings. The Sonic cup is regular with french vanilla and the McDonald's cup is decaf with sugar free french vanilla (for Mom - she's at the house painting today). *Personal note, bring up the idea of decaf and sugar free options in restaurants later in this post.

Packaging: I know it sounds silly but let me start with the packaging. Sonic has a really good thing going with their coffees. The plastic lid is sturdy, I like a good, thick paper cup, and the corrugated cozy makes this high-class, let me tell you! McDonald's has a slick foam cup with no cozy and a much thinner plastic lid. I have dropped one or two of these in my time.

Aroma: Sonic's is nice, even, strong, woody, and nutty. McDonald's has a deep, strong smell, too, but slightly sweeter and I think if this is decaf, it was probably older.With aroma, there's appearance and the Sonic coffee was a bit darker.

Taste: Both coffees had a true coffee taste, nothing instant I would assume, but McDonald's tasted older and I'm sure it was. Sonic's was fresher and more bold. Otherwise, they didn't taste too terribly different. But if given the option, I would go for Sonic.

I wish I knew legitimately what each produced used as their brand of coffee. I honestly don't know. Both seem to be Colombian medium roast but who knows. The Sonic coffee was about ten cents more than the McDonald's coffee. Based on that and the facts above, Sonic does make a really nice cup of black coffee. It's just more authentic and fresher.