McDonald’s goes after Starbucks with caramel macchiato, holiday cups

McDonald’s is going after Starbucks, launching a new look and adding three upscale options, including caramel macchiato, cappuccino and Americano espresso.

And for a limited time, any small McCafé specialty beverage, including the new offerings, will be $2.

The new drinks go along with a new logo and packaging that will change with the seasons.

Sound familiar? Every year, customers hail or pan the holiday cup that competitor Starbucks brings out, reading political motivations into the designs — or the lack of design.

Early next year, McDonald’s (in partnership with Coca-Cola) is bringing out a retail line of bottled coffee drinks, too: the McCafé frappé, which comes in caramel, vanilla and mocha flavors.

The changes are part of the fast-food chain’s effort to capitalize on its popular all-day breakfast and, of course, the coffee, which has quite a following.

The new espresso drinks will be freshly brewed, as will the lattes and mochas.

The caramel macchiato is dark-roast espresso served with whole or nonfat milk, mixed with caramel syrup and topped with caramel drizzle; available hot or cold. The cappuccino is espresso with fluffy foam and choice of French vanilla, caramel or hazelnut flavor.

“Our new McCafé beverages really raise the bar on the coffee culture we’re creating for our customers,” Gist Heinrich, a McDonald’s owner/operator in the Lexington area, said in a statement.

What exactly makes McDonald’s coffee so popular? Theories range from the beans to the water, which is triple-filtered, to the price.

“People have a very close relationship with their coffee, especially in the mornings,” said Heinrich, who owns and operates 14 McDonald’s restaurants in the Bluegrass region. “The variety of great coffee tastes that we serve, paired with the quality of our 100 percent Arabica beans and the convenience and value that we provide, creates a brand-new experience that we think customers will love.”

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 9:51 AM with the headline "McDonald’s goes after Starbucks with caramel macchiato, holiday cups."