McDonald’s is testing cold brew coffee in 74 locations in the San Diego market.
The chain announced Monday that it is exploring the beverage, which has been one of the hottest trends in the coffee sector for the past few years. Dunkin’ has had cold brew at its stores for two years. Starbucks launched cold brew nationwide in 2015.
McDonald’s said the San Diego stores are offering two versions of the cold brew: a classic black or marble. The latter is served mixed with creamy syrup and swirls of light cream.
“San Diego is a city full of coffee lovers, so it’s an ideal place to test our McCafé Cold Brew Coffee,” Jamie Straza, a San Diego County McDonald’s franchise owner, said in a statement. “We were first in the country to test All Day Breakfast and we’re thrilled to continue bringing menu innovations to our San Diego customers.”
The coffee is made with 100 percent Arabica coffee beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in Guatemala, McDonald’s said. The company did not immediately respond when asked if the cold brew was brewed in house or off-site.
“These farms meet stringent environmental and social standards that help ensure the wellbeing of farmers, employees, families, the environment and wildlife,” the company said.
The San Diego stores are among about 755 McDonald’s in the Bakersfield, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.
Since debuting in 2009, McCafé menus have largely been unchanged. Last year, McDonald’s promised to elevate its McCafé offerings by adding three new espresso drinks at the chain’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants. The new drinks included cappuccino, Americano and iced caramel macchiato. Earlier this year, the chain introduced two cold-brew frozen drinks as an LTO.
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