Why You Should Think Twice Before Ordering a McCafe Coffee? McDonald’s Employee Weighs In

Fast food chains are booming but their food quality standards remain questionable. Popular outlets like McDonald's are packed with the latest technologies but maintaining them can be a task. An anonymous Reddit user u/Envirometh claiming to be an employee warned the internet to avoid ordering the McCafe coffee at McDonald's. They revealed that the coffee that comes out of the McCafe machine is unfit for consumption because of its highly unhygienic state. “I work for Mcdonald's and make sure everyone that matters to me never orders anything that comes out of the "McCafe" machine as these are routinely neglected, in practically all the McDonalds,” the employee disclosed. 

The McDonalds employee informed people that the staff are not properly trained for cleaning and maintenance of the McCafe machine. Surprisingly, even the managers in charge of the training barely have any knowledge of the same. Detailing their experience, the user shared that a designated compartment to hold the coffee and espresso grounds is complicated to clean. “Very dark, can't be taken apart without someone specialized in servicing it coming it, and normally needs special brushes to be cleaned,” the employee said, adding that none of the McDonalds they have worked in until now had the proper brush for effective cleaning. 

The employee reportedly tried to clean it themselves and stuck their hand in it. The result was awry. The employee recalled, “I stuck my hand in the machine to pull out a literal fistful of black soot to show to the managers that it's not in proper condition, and nothing has come of it.” The insides of the machine were said to be “caked” with the leftover soot in addition to the lines expelling the coffee. Besides the coffee machine, the employee pointed out that the smoothie machine in many of the McDonalds was cleaned with glass cleaner, a major health risk for unaware customers. 

In an attempt to protect the customers, the user claimed that they try to prevent customers from ordering smoothies or coffees from the improperly maintained machines out of concern. They speculated the detrimental effects the unhygienic conditions could have on the paying customers. “I work nights so unless I really hate the person coming in, I try to play it off like these machines are in their ‘automatic cleaning cycles’ and can't be used but really I can't morally justify serving people this (dangerously) shitty stuff,” they elucidated. To summarize the post, the employee stated that the McCafe beverages run through about 5+ inches of “uncleaned liquid bullsh*t” lining the inside parts of the hardware.

The Reddit post was part of a bigger thread that encouraged all fast food workers on Reddit to reveal food items people should not order at restaurants. One user u/XxDrPownMonkyxX spoke of a different experience with Mcdonald's in Ontario. “Our McCafè machine is thoroughly cleaned every night, we have a cleaning kit for it and every night the first thing the overnight manager does is clean the McCafè machine,” the comment read. The cleaning process reportedly takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Another user u/imonlyhalfazn joked that the glass cleaner probably “gives my routine chocolate chip frappe extra flavor.” They apparently had no idea about the ill practice and were disappointed with their favorite beverage at the outlet.