Word is getting out about McDonald's coffee. In March, Consumer Reports magazine reported a taste test of basic black coffee found McDonald's stronger blend beat brew from Starbucks, Burger King Holdings Inc. and Dunkin' Donuts Inc.Consumer Reports' "trained tasters" visited two stores of each company. McDonald's coffee was "decent and moderately strong," while Starbucks was "strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water," the magazine said.
Athena Gallins, a widow in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, found Starbucks coffee so "strong and bitter" that she took it back to be diluted. "It's not worth the money," said Gallins, who meets friends at McDonald's at least three times a week.
In the U.S., McDonald's coffee sales climbed 20 percent through June from the February 2006 debut of the stronger blend. Sales that include hot, iced and specialty blends are up 34 percent this year, it said.
I recommend McDonald's in my Blue Chip Growth Letter. I was very happy to see that the company just raised its dividend by 50%.
MarketWatch notes: "McDonald's has raised it dividend every year since it started paying one in 1976 and that pace has accelerated, and it's now six times the 2002 level."
