Battle of The Dishes: McCafe versus QuikTrip Cappuccino
By Jonathan Bender in Battle of the dishes
Tuesday, Sep. 1 2009 @ 9:45AM
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QuikTrip's Web site offers up an idea of what's in store:
For decades, cappuccino was sipped by high-brow types in outdoor cafes in Italian resorts along the Mediterranean. Not any more, QuikTrip discovered the secret of cappucino and made it available to the real people of the world.While I had hoped to compare like drink to like drink, I had to make compromises. McDonald's doesn't offer a slushy to compete with the frozen offerings from QuikTrip -- which, in truth, seem closer to the Freezonis (QT's Slurpee equivalent) than actual coffee.
Likewise, QuikTrip doesn't have iced coffee or a non-flavored cappuccino. In fact, they encourage you to make bad choices via a flavor center that dispenses a stunning range of syrups and non-dairy creamers (french vanilla, butter pecan, chocolate, Irish cream, cinnamon hazelnut and amaretto). So, I asked the clerk what was the most popular flavor. Surprisingly, she said mocha. (Really? Not chai latte? Shocker.) So a mocha cappuccino is what I got.
Thus, today's is a battle of quick-serve cappuccinos. The McDonald's cappuccino comes in at $2.29 for a 12 oz. cup. The 16 oz. QuikTrip mocha cappuccino was a paltry $1.09. So QuikTrip wins the first round. Beyond that, I'm judging these drinks on appearance, smell and taste -- first cup to claim two categories wins the battle.
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The foam on the mocha cappuccino from Quik Trip was deep brown in color. It was more of a layer on the surface than foam, something that would seem difficult to adjust via the button-based dispenser from which it comes. The liquid beneath it was the same color.
Edge: McDonald's cappuccino.
Smell: The McDonald's cappuccino smells like a nice mix of coffee and milk. There is no bitterness or freezer-burn quality to the aroma. Nothing sharp, just a mildness that you wish the taste would mirror. QuikTrip's mocha cappuccino smells like burnt hot chocolate. If you didn't know it was coffee, you would think this was a cup of hot cocoa.
Edge: They were both more pleasant than expected; each gets a pass.
Flavor: The closest I've ever had to this flavor was rest stop to-go coffee off a highway in France. The McDonald's cappuccino was initially pleasant -- a mild flavor that made it obvious that beans had been used in the making of this cup. It ran into trouble with the finish, which was surprisingly flat. At first I thought it had an aftertaste, but after several sips it seemed that I was looking to ascribe some taste to something that wasn't there. It was like the liquid equivalent of the aerosol sprays meant to impart the essence of a flavor.
QT's mocha cappucino doesn't taste at all like coffee unless you hold it in your mouth and search. That said, it's delightfully reminiscent of cheapy hot cocoa -- the kind you get from vending machines in older buildings, which also offer coffee and hot soup. It also makes you want to drink more, although halfway through the cup my stomach began to ache slightly.
Edge: Dirty hot cocoa always trumps mild coffee.
In this unbalanced contest, QuikTrip takes it just for sheer drinkability (thanks, Budweiser, for ruining my vocabulary) and value. But despite QT's claims, I have to believe the secret of cappuccino still lies undiscovered. Are you listening Nicholas Cage? Because I think we've got a real plot possibility for National Treasure 3.
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