The new scottish coffee place

That's right, McDonald's has done it right once again. I am talking about their new gourmet coffee line. I have been the beneficiary of 3 free cups of their coffee (two capps and a latte). I must say that I am impressed with this foray into an elitist genre of imbibements.

Here's what they get right, and why it works: Primarily, they make coffee accessible. No need to be intimidated by all the options and slang used in a regular coffee place. Confused about the difference between a cappuccino and a latte? Look on their handy (and well written) bookmarks they give out. In fact, let's start there.

Inside the store, there is a bookmark that isn't tacky. Sure it's not the nicest bookmark ever, but it is high quality, not ugly, and useable. They have a scale from sweet to bold, showing that an iced mocha is much sweeter than a cappuccino. THis makes coffee buying a snap. Had a capp and want to try something sweeter, but not super sweet? How bout a nice latte? The novice to coffee can understand the basics of the business. And they are all explicitly described on the signage.

The back of the bookmark shows what the actual difference in mixture is between the different beverages.

Secondly, they have regular sizes. not tall or grande, but large medium and small. Enough said.

Thirdly, they use nice coffee. It isn't the best coffee I've had, but it's far superior to St. Arbuck's. The roast is a nice medium to light roast, and incredibly smooth. While not my favorite (I prefer a boisterous dark roast), anybody can enjoy it. Their machines roast it well, and you can count on every cup being the same because the only thing the employee does is stir the syrup into it.

Their syrups are a very nice version too, not too sweet.

Finally, the price is unbeatable. Instead of paying 3.50-4.00 for a small drink, try 2.50

McDonald's is definitely onto something here, I applaud them for their efforts in both marketing and bringing a quality product at a cheap price. Now if they could just work on the rest of their menu.

Now go out and buy what shall hereafter be described as "the usual", a small nonfat capp. with sugar-free vanilla.