McDonalds McCafe Caramel Latte

McDonald's recently started a nationwide launch of they're McCafe coffeehouse style coffee's
In my area in the last month or so the local McDonald's have been doing a serious push, even offering times when they are sampling the coffee's.
I have somehow managed to avoid each of this events- mostly because I work an obscene amount of hours. I also can't do caffeine after 4:00 P.M. or so and the McCafe line is not available in decaf.
The other reason is I have never been a fan of McDonald's coffee. I prefer my coffee to be roasted so deep it could be considered burnt (which is one of the reasons I love Starbucks) and I always felt that McCoffee was weaker then I liked. But, even with that said I could not resist the urge to have a whole new set of items to review soooo...

Since it was something to the tune of 20 degree's hotter then normal here in Southern California I decided to start my McOdyssey with the Iced Caramel Latte. I was not smart enough to take a few photo's but I assure you that it looked just like the stock photo.

I ordered a large and I was presented with a huge 32 oz's of iced coffee. On outside appearances if I hadn't know for a fact I ordered the caramel latte there was no way to guess it was anything beyond plain iced coffee. There is no whipped topping and no visible caramel swirl. I could live with that, I personally have to be in the mood for whipped cream on my coffee- and on a super hot day such as today I would have opted out anyway. Just like in the picture it is pretty light from the amount of dairy already in the drink anyway.

Flavor.
In the first few sips what really stood out was the caramel flavor. It was the type of caramel flavor that is super fake. Sweet to the point it is cloying. I gave the coffee a good stir but it didn't matter. What's interesting though is that as the ice melts and the coffee gets more diluted the caramel seems to taste better, it gets less sweet, a little more buttery. Perhaps that's a sign that they used too much syrup in this drink- or maybe the chemical's just get spread farther.
The coffee it's self is still what I consider weak. It's diner coffee on a good day- but it's not bad. It's not the deepest roasted or the most complex coffee you will ever have but it is satisfying. Not bitter and even though there is a large amount of milk (and that caramel) to compete with it holds it's own. I think I would actually really like just the plain iced coffee.

Truthfully I would never pick this over an Iced Latte from Starbucks but it was pretty good. I do have to say it is a fantastic bargain ringing in at barely over $2.00 for 32 ounces.



PURCHASED FROM:
McDonalds