This McDonald’s worker called frappes a “scam” and claimed the fast food chain’s icy beverage doesn’t actually have any coffee in it. Is she right?
Since launching frappes nearly 15 years ago, to keep up with competition from Starbucks, the creamy drink has become hugely popular. That’s in part because of it’s taste, ease of access (there are McDonald’s locations everywhere), and relative affordability compared to specialty coffee chains.
But now, an employee is claiming the beverage isn’t all it claims to be.
“Tell me why I just found out the frappes do not have coffee,” McDonald’s worker Lauren (@chimmminnie) says in a viral video.
In the TikTok, Lauren points out that in the age-old debate between Starbucks vs. McDonald’s caramel frappes, there wasn’t much that distinguished the two in recent years, especially since the prices were comparable in her area. (Though The Daily Dot noted about a $2 price difference on DoorDash in NYC, with the McDonald’s frappe being on the cheaper end than the Starbucks one.)
But she just found out one possible huge differentiation.
“McDonald’s has coffee flavoring. Starbucks actually has coffee,” Lauren claims.
“So all you b*tches coming to McDonald’s for you frappes for your morning coffee to get you through the day, go to Starbucks. Just go to Starbucks. Girl, there ain’t no coffee in that sh*t,” Lauren claimed.
To be clear, the McDonald’s worker is directing customers to a competitor while filming at work.
Let’s dig into this.
Do McDonald’s Frappes contain coffee?
McDonald’s describes its Caramel Frappé as having a “hint of coffee.” In the drink’s ingredient list, the only mention of coffee is “coffee extract.”
Now, don’t panic just yet. Coffee extract is essentially a coffee concentrate. To create the extract, crushed coffee beans sit in alcohol for a period of time, and the alcohol extracts the coffee essence (like flavor, aroma, and caffeine), Drink Trade reported.
Starbucks, on the other hand, lists plain coffee as an ingredient in its caramel frappuccino.
And when it comes to caffeine, rest assured that both brands can give you a hit of caffeine. According to the Caffeine Informer site, a medium frappe at McDonald’s has 90mg of caffeine, while the same size at Starbucks has 100mg.
@chimmminnie guys does it have coffee or not? Why is everyone giving me mixed answers 😭 my manager said no but google said yes and now people are fighting in my comments. don’t cancel me, tney hired me on the spot i am trying to save for a car…. not going so well but anyways…… the beeping in the bg stressing me out lol #mcdonalds #caramelfrappe #frappe #frappuccino #mcds #mcdonaldsemployee #scam #coffee ♬ original sound – you nice, keep going
The TikToker who origianlly made such a bold claim seemed confused in her caption as she got a ton of mixed messages in the comments section.
“Guys does it have coffee or not? Why is everyone giving me mixed answers,” the caption read. “My manager said no but google said yes and now people are fighting in my comments. don’t cancel me, tney hired me on the spot i am trying to save for a car…. not going so well.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Lauren for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to McDonald’s via email.
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