entropyembrace wrote:whoa....just switch the paper for porcelain and it would look pretty good to me.

+1 Surprisingly so.

entropyembrace wrote:whoa....just switch the paper for porcelain and it would look pretty good to me.

Don't know, that looked like espresso diarrhea to me...

I should make some correction. The espresso was terrible, not just "may not be good". The macaroons were excellent, though. I wish the McD here in the US can serve this quality of pastry.

I have not seen any McCafe here that doesn't use a superauto.

Guess so! They're even proudly featuring a superauto in their "apology" commercial: http://mcdonalds.com.au/#/mccafe_our-coffee.

I use to work 'in the system' for many years. The espresso is roasted at a shop in Texas if I remember correctly. Comes in a case with 5 pound bags, has a use through date of about 6 months and is only a dollar or two a pound. Take it for what it is worth.

I don't really understand why we would expect more? It's not like McD's couldn't produce and run a proper bar, the question is; Why would they? Superauto may represent a huge improvement over what they produce now by introducing consistency. When you have an $8/hr employee, its much better training him/her how to push a button. Now that you accept that superauto's are the way for McD to proceed, why would you waste money on high quality beans?

To me, anyone who frequents McD's after knowing what kind of product they sell (I didn't use the word food on purpose), deserves whatever swill they get.

tekomino wrote:Don't know, that looked like espresso diarrhea to me...

I know....it's totally blonde....but at least it has something that looks kind of like crema. Chalk it up to my exceedingly low expectations of what the McD's brand can deliver.

A lot of cafes that try to cultivate an image of quality do even worse.

chang00 - Is that in France? We were there earlier this year and we both had to do a double take when we looked in the window of a McCafe thinking it couldn't possibly be a McDonalds. I couldn't bring myself to order coffee there but my wife did have a pastry.

Yes, it is indeed a French McD.

Another impressive McD is in Hong Kong. We were at a McD that overlooks the ocean and uses LM. Too bad I did not get a chance to take a picture.

McD's have a bad rep here, but in reality, I appreciate the clean, consistent food, not to mention generally clean bathrooms. Many times I am happy to see a McD, especially in foreign countries. It succeeds in finding the most common taste denominator across diverse international groups, and pays dividends that are higher than most savings account.