10 Fast Food Chains With The Best Quality Coffee

There's little doubt that coffee holds a special place in the hearts of Americans. According to Drive Research, 73% of Americans enjoy a daily cup of Joe and 51% visit a coffee shop at least once a week to get their caffeine fix. While boutique coffee houses are favored by many for their premium blends and artisanal brewing methods, an increasing number of fast-food chains are catching on. To meet the rising demand for good coffee on the move, these restaurants are enhancing their coffee offerings by focusing on the quality of beans and brewing methods.

To compile a list of fast food restaurants that serve decent Java, we examined customer reviews and investigated each chain's bean-sourcing practices. It's important to keep in mind that these aren't boutique coffee houses, but rather fast food chains that are striving to provide their customers with quality brews at an affordable price. Also, the coffee experience can vary from store to store, with the consistency of flavors sometimes being a point of contention among customers. You can find a more detailed look at our selection criteria at the end of this article, but for now, let's take a look at 10 fast-food chains that offer the best coffee. 

In 1993, McDonald's branched into a new market sector with the launch of McCafé, a specialty outlet that offers a variety of espresso-based drinks, blending the traditional fast-food experience with that of a coffee shop. Today, McCafé offers around 20 different coffee options, ranging from the basic Americano and Iced Coffee to more niche choices such as the French Vanilla Latte and Iced Caramel Macchiato.

McCafe's coffee beans are sourced from Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, and are 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified, highlighting McDonald's commitment to sustainability. The beans are supplied by Gaviña Gourmet Coffee, a family-owned company with a deep passion for coffee and a focus on quality and environmental stewardship. Gaviña's partnership with McDonald's includes specialized training for employees to ensure that each cup of McCafé coffee is as good as the next.

McDonald's coffee has been a hit with customers, many of whom compliment the brew for its smooth taste and consistency. A former Starbucks barista who reviewed fast food coffee for Business Insider praised the coffee, saying that it has a "deep-chocolate nose and was on the sweet end of the sweet/bitter spectrum ... the blend had very low acidity and was well-extracted." One Reddit user agrees that McDonald's offers a decent cup of Joe, saying, "[It's] the most consistent cup of Joe in the business."

While Chick-fil-A's coffee range isn't extensive, the chain offers a pretty decent cup of Joe. The restaurant is also transparent about its sourcing practices, which is always a good sign when it comes to fast-food chain coffee. In the U.S., Chick-fil-A sources its coffee from Thrive Farmers, a certified B-Corporation that focuses on forming direct relationships with farmers to provide quality coffee and benefit local communities. This collaboration stands out because of its "revenue-sharing model," which promotes equitable farming practices.

As a venture that focuses on food, Chick-fil-A limits its standard coffee selection to just three basic brew varieties (they also sometimes have limited-time offerings). The restaurant's hot coffee blend, which is made from high-altitude Arabica beans, exhibits notes of caramel and a nutty finale. Chick-fil-A also serves iced coffee and vanilla iced coffee prepared with a special blend of cold-brewed coffee, 2% milk, and cane sugar, poured over ice.

Chick-fil-A's coffee has received a fair amount of positive feedback from customers. One coffee enthusiast said that they were pleasantly surprised by the brew, adding, "It's smooth and has a nice fruity tone, without being too acidic." Allmomdoes, which reviewed iced coffees from six fast food joints, ranked Chick-fil-A a close second behind Jack in the Box. "The coffee is strong enough that the flavor holds up despite the added syrup, but it's not a bitter-strong; it's a delicious-good-coffee strong. It was really creamy and the syrup had a great flavor," the website reports.

In contrast to many fast food chains where coffee is just an add-on, Starbucks is known primarily for its coffee rather than its food. As such, the chain places significant emphasis on the quality and variety of its brews. This means that regardless of your taste and coffee preferences, you're likely to find something that tickles your taste buds. The chain also offers plenty of customization options, including a range of powders, sauces, toppings, syrups, and sweeteners. Most Starbucks coffees are available in four distinct sizes: Short (8 oz), Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz), and Venti (20 oz).

The line of hot coffees at Starbucks includes brewed coffees in dark, medium, and blonde roasts, espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and flat whites. Meanwhile, some of the more unique options on the menu include Lavender Oat Milk Latte, Honey Almond Milk Flat White, and Espresso Con Panna. One of the most recent additions to the restaurant's menu is the olive oil coffee. The brew has received a mixed reception, with some calling it "damn delicious" and others struggling with its pronounced taste of olive oil.

Starbucks is dedicated to transforming coffee into "the world's first sustainable product" through ethical sourcing, investing over $100 million in coffee communities, and collaborating with Conservation International. In addition, as one of the founding members of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, Starbucks works with the project to secure the future availability of coffee, preserve the environment, and enhance the livelihood of coffee farmers.

Panera Bread sources its coffee from farmers in Central and South America, focusing on the quality and ripeness of the coffee cherries to produce the best-tasting coffee. The chain's beans are hand-sorted and roasted to different degrees to create a variety of flavors, including light roast and dark roast coffees. To make the most of every cup, Panera grinds its beans in-house and uses a sophisticated water purification system for brewing.

The chain offers customers a relatively wide range of coffee options, from standard choices such as hot and iced coffees to craft brews like the Madagascar Vanilla Latte. Unlike other fast food chains, Panera offers coffee lovers the MyPanera+ Coffee subscription, as a part of its Unlimited Sip Club, which provides "unlimited access" to hot and iced coffee for a monthly fee. This being said, the subscription doesn't include all the coffee variants on the chain's menu.

Customer feedback about Panera's light and dark roast coffees has been generally positive. Bold and flavorful, the chain's dark roast has earned accolades from one reviewer who says: "It just tastes good, smells good, and the coffee flavor lingers on my tongue, makes me want more." Similarly, the light roast has also been praised by a customer for its "smooth, delicious taste [that] helps get the day off to a good start."

In September 2018, Dunkin' announced it was dropping "Donuts" from its name in a rebranding strategy that aimed to highlight both classic coffee offerings and specialty beverages like nitro and cold brew. According to a Dunkin' press release issued at the time "the new branding conveys the company's focus on serving great coffee fast, while embracing Dunkin”s heritage by retaining its familiar pink and orange colors and iconic font, introduced in 1973."

Fast forward to 2024 and Dunkin' continues to deliver both classic and more out-of-the-box brews, including espressos, lattes, and macchiatos, as well as flavored iced coffees. The chain's coffees are made from 100% Arabica beans from Central and South America.

Furthermore, Dunkin' collaborates with the Rainforest Alliance and World Coffee Research to ensure the sustainability of coffee plantations and the well-being of coffee farmers. To guarantee product quality, Dunkin' follows the "Tree to Cup" program where beans are tested up to eight times at different stages of the production process.

So what's the word on the street? When Mashed surveyed over 600 individuals, more than half pointed to Dunkin' as their go-to fast food chain for coffee. Echoing this sentiment, more than 170 She Speaks reviewers have rated the chain's coffee 4.4 out of 5 stars, with one customer saying, "I love Dunkin'. If I'm not making my own coffee, Dunkin' is my go-to."

Wendy's coffee menu features a handful of options, catering to various tastes. They serve regular hot coffee, which is made from a blend of medium-roasted Arabica beans sourced from Central and South America. For those who prefer a colder option, Wendy's offers standard cold brew, which is slowly steeped and served over ice. Additionally, Wendy's serves flavored frosty cold brews in vanilla, chocolate, or caramel, providing a sweet twist to the traditional coffee experience.

As an agricultural product, Coffee falls within Wendy's "Top 10 Food Priority Categories" in terms of social and environmental sustainability. For its U.S. outlets, the chain sources its beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, which meet comprehensive standards for the protection of waterways and wildlife habitats, as well as the welfare of farm workers and their communities.

A former Starbucks barista, Dylan Clair, who reviewed fast food coffee for Business Insider, said that Wendy's brews were "worth coming back for." More specifically, Clair noted that the drink was very hot and tasted "delightful" with little acidity, as well as hints of floral and herbal flavors. David Landsel from the New York Post has also given Wendy's coffee the thumbs up, calling it "more than passable" and very hot thanks to the chain's special insulated cups.

Whataburger recently made headlines with the decision to test-run iced coffee at a number of its outlets, to make it available across all outlets in 2024. The move marks a significant shift for the chain, which until now had only offered regular hot coffee — a product it also recently updated. Whataburger's entire coffee line is made from an Arabica bean blend from Honduras, Colombia, and Nicaragua.

The chain's new iced coffee is available in three flavors: vanilla, mocha, and caramel. In an interview with QSR Magazine, Whataburger's chief administrative officer Alex Ivannikov said that the chain wanted to come up with a coffee "that our burger would be proud of," adding, "We went through dozens of different potential blends of roast levels and looked at different regions that play a complementary role in that taste."

Overall, Whataburger's new coffee offerings have received the green light from customers. One Reddit user seems impressed by the chain's decision to upgrade its hot coffee, saying, "I believe it's a higher quality as it smells better than the previous one." Another customer praises Whataburger's caramel iced coffee, noting, "It is on my must-have list and way cheaper than Starbucks or another small coffee shop I go to." Finally, the restaurant's mocha iced coffee has also received the seal of approval from one customer. "It's really good ... a little sweet for my taste but it's good, not too shabby guys," they say.

Jack in the Box offers a variety of coffee options that showcase their High Mountain Arabica coffee beans. This selection includes the robust black hot and iced coffee for those who prefer their beans unadulterated. For a more decadent experience, the chain offers Iced Coffee with Boba, featuring sweetened cream, vanilla, and brown sugar boba — chewy tapioca pearls added to sweetened teas and drinks. The chain's other brew options combine the same beans with a variety of flavored coffee syrups including mocha and caramel.

Once upon a time, Jack in the Box was known for serving Kona, a premium variety of coffee beans from Hawaii. While we can't be sure, this is unlikely to be the case today. High Mountain Arabica beans could technically include Kona coffee since Kona beans are a type of Arabica bean. However, since the Jack in the Box website is strangely quiet about this, we assume that probably isn't the case.

Despite the somewhat mysterious origins of its coffee, Jack in the Box's brews have done well with consumers. David Landsel, who reviewed the brew for the New York Post, says that he found his cup of Joe medium-bodied, fresh, pleasantly smoky, and without bitterness. Meanwhile, Allmomdoes rates Jack in the Box as her favorite fast food chain coffee, adding that she finds the brew creamy, not overly sweet, and consistently good.

Culver's Blue Spoon Blend coffee consists of 100% Arabica beans sourced from a mountain region in the Pacific Islands in Latin America. It is Rainforest Alliance-certified and roasted by Torke Family Coffee Roasters, a Wisconsin-based roaster that has been in business since 1941. The coffee blend derives its name from a more refined restaurant concept previously operated by Culver's in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, known as Blue Spoon Cafe. Like so many other businesses, the Blue Spoon Cafe ceased operations during the pandemic, permanently closing its doors in 2020.

Despite the limited coffee options on Culver's menu, the chain's brews have received praise from diners. The New York Post has called the restaurant's coffee smooth and delicious, adding that its cup of Joe hints at berries, fruit, and cocoa. One self-proclaimed coffee snob and Reddit user is also partial to the coffee, saying, "I grind my own beans at home, and Culver's has some of the only coffee outside of home I'll drink."

In 2023, Krispy Kreme introduced a new line of over 20 different types of coffee. Running from hot to iced and frozen, the brews are made with ethically sourced Arabica beans. The Global Chief Brand Officer for Krispy Kreme, Dave Skena, explained the move in a press release saying: "It's time we delivered coffee worthy of pairing with our iconic doughnuts." Alongside its new coffee lineup, Krispy Kreme has also added an oat milk option to its menu, catering to the growing demand for plant-based milk alternatives.

When it comes to Krispy Kreme's caffeinated beverage selection, coffee enthusiasts have plenty to be excited about. The chain's hot coffee range encompasses classics such as brewed coffee, latte, Americano, and cappuccino, as well as more decadent options like the Caramel Mocha Latte. Catering to diverse tastes and preferences, the restaurant also serves a range of iced coffees and frozen coffees like the Frozen Vanilla Latte and Iced Mocha Latte.

Generally, Krispy Kreme coffees are well-liked by customers. For instance, one satisfied patron praises the chain's brew, saying, "Believe it or not, this was a non-doughnut visit — strictly two Coffees only. No complaints with the drinks, prices, or customer service — all satisfactory and above board." A TikTok reviewer agrees, giving the restaurant's Caramel Vanilla Latte a high score of 9 out of 10 and saying, "It's sweet and has a really good flavor."

Coffee at many fast food chains may not live up to the standard set by boutique coffee houses that specialize in premium beans and expert brewing methods. However, an increasing number of quick service restaurants are stepping up their game by introducing higher quality, sustainably sourced beans, a wider range of brews, and more sophisticated brewing technology. It's precisely these improvements that played a key role in our assessment of fast food chains with the best coffee. In addition, we also considered online feedback, recognizing that customer satisfaction is essential for gauging how these improvements impact the consumer experience.