Why Coffee Lovers Should Be Wary Of Ordering McDonald's Frappes

Since being introduced in 1993, McDonald's signature McCafé beverages have provided millions of customers with a sweet taste of indulgence in real life and online in the Metaverse. However, for on-the-go coffee enthusiasts, not all McCafé beverages are created equal. While McDonald's boasts some of the best fast food coffee, the chain's beloved frappes don't actually contain any real coffee. 

In a TikTok post from July 2024, user @chimmminnie, who claimed she worked at McDonald's, said the chain's McCafé frappes were a "scam." She alleged that unlike Starbucks' Caramel Frappuccino, which features real coffee, the McCafé Caramel Frappe contains no actual coffee, despite being offered at a similar price.

This claim has merit, as according to McDonald's official ingredients lists, several flavors of McCafé Frappes are made with coffee extract, rather than real coffee. For example, the McCafé Caramel Frappe is made using "Caramel Coffee Frappe Base," which is primarily made of cream, skim milk, sugar, and coffee extract. Similarly, the McCafé Mocha Frappe is made with "Mocha Coffee Frappe Base," which contains — you guessed it — coffee extract.

Coffee extract is a powerful, concentrated flavoring made by infusing alcohol with crushed coffee beans, similar to how vanilla extract is made. While this extracts the coffee's essence, it often sacrifices depth and complexity in the process. For mega-chain restaurants like McDonald's, it's likely much easier to use the shelf-stable coffee extract to quickly mass produce McCafé beverages than it is to prepare fresh coffee for each frappe.

Coffee extract, by weight, is about 1 to 2% caffeine. This can vary, though, based on several different factors, such as the roast of the coffee beans, the extraction method being used, and the type of coffee bean. For example, robusta beans are known for their high caffeine content, compared to other types of coffee beans, such as Arabica. While coffee extract can be made with decaffeinated coffee beans, sometimes, coffee extract can actually contain up to two times the amount of caffeine as standard coffee.

Currently, it's unknown what type of coffee beans McDonald's uses in its coffee extract, or what roast the beans are. Also unknown is the drink's official caffeine content, as McDonald's does not publish any caffeine counts for its Frappes. Some sources estimate that a medium McCafé contains up to 125 milligrams of caffeine, which is roughly equivalent to a standard cup of coffee. When it comes to large frappes, you could potentially be consuming between 130 and 180 milligrams of caffeine. If you're still craving an extra jolt of caffeine in your morning frappe, you can always take advantage of a McDonald's milkshake hack by adding a shot of espresso to your milkshake.