What Does the McCafé Coffee Powder Case Say About How to Make Coffee from Coffee Powder?

Customers reported that some McDonald's McCafé outlets use pre-ground coffee powder instead of grinding fresh, contradicting the brand's freshly ground positioning. In one case a barista scooped powder from a lidless box, poured it into the portafilter, tamped it, and extracted the shot. The same customer saw the practice repeated a week later.

Employees say McDonald's removed the dedicated barista role, so all staff must learn coffee preparation, but training is limited and operating the machines is difficult, which makes output inconsistent. The chain launched a 15-yuan freshly ground coffee breakfast combo. Consumers expect stable quality rather than a variable result each visit.

McDonald's launch of a 15-yuan freshly ground coffee breakfast combo has attracted many consumers, but recently customers exposed that some stores use pre-ground coffee powder to make coffee, which does not match the brand's advertised freshly ground positioning. This phenomenon has sparked widespread discussion. Employees revealed that McDonald's has abolished the dedicated barista position, and all staff are required to learn coffee preparation, but due to insufficient training and the difficulty of operating equipment, the quality of the output varies. Consumers expect a stable, high-value coffee experience, not a game of chance.

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Since McDonald's launched the "15-yuan freshly ground coffee breakfast combo," many McDonald's fans buy a breakfast on their way to work, enjoying the alertness brought by affordable freshly ground coffee.

However, not long ago, a customer who bought coffee at McDonald's witnessed the entire coffee-making process at the counter and was greatly shocked. The barista scooped ground coffee powder from a lidless box, poured it into the portafilter, tamped it, and then directly locked the portafilter onto the machine to extract the coffee liquid.

After hearing about this customer's experience, many netizens who frequent McDonald's mostly guessed that the grinder might have malfunctioned, so the staff ground the coffee beans in advance for making coffee, and this customer just happened to encounter a special situation. But a week later, when this customer visited the same McDonald's again, the staff was still scooping pre-ground coffee powder from an unsealed plastic box to make coffee.

Seeing it with his own eyes twice made this customer greatly disappointed with McDonald's. Previously, McCafe publicly promoted that its stores' coffee was freshly ground, and that it was equipped with trained baristas and had a set of operating procedures to strictly control product quality. But the actual situation encountered by nearby customers clearly did not match McCafe's promotion—the coffee served was all made with pre-ground powder.

The repeated occurrence of such practices not only shocked McDonald's fans, but also confused McDonald's workers. Many employees spoke up, saying that coffee preparation in their stores follows standard procedures and that such violations would not occur. But some also explained that if the grinder needs cleaning, staff may grind the beans in advance so as not to waste the remaining coffee beans in the hopper, and then use up that batch of ground coffee according to order demand.

In addition, according to employees, McDonald's has now abolished the barista position and no longer has "dedicated staff for dedicated posts." All store employees are required to learn coffee-making procedures, learn to use the coffee machine, and be able to make coffee proficiently.

But in reality, because some stores are equipped with semi-automatic coffee machines that are somewhat difficult to operate, and some employees have not received professional coffee knowledge training, making coffee may seem to them similar to frying French fries: just load the raw materials as required, catch the coffee liquid, heat the milk, and pour it in. Therefore, people often report improper operation by McDonald's employees and inconsistent quality control.

In the view of most netizens, McDonald's is becoming increasingly perfunctory in its coffee business, and product quality is like opening a blind box. If you encounter a serious and responsible employee, you may get a latte with beautiful latte art; if you encounter a perfunctory employee, you will probably get a black coffee so bitter it makes you doubt life.

This lottery-like experience may seem interesting, but consumers are not willing to accept it. They would rather have coffee products with stable quality control and high cost performance, rather than having to rely on luck every time to buy a good cup of coffee at McDonald's.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.