I’m posted before about how wonderful McDonald’s Premium Roast coffee tastes. I’ve also expressed how that seems to go against everything that’s right in the universe. I mean, really good coffee? From McDonald’s??!?!?!. But alas, it’s true.
That being said, while they may understand how to brew good coffee, they apparently haven’t figured out physics. Or perhaps they haven’t figured out Styrofoam. Let me explain.
In the photo above, you’ll see that McDonald’s has taken a regular Styrofoam cup, and covered it with paper. Perhaps so no one realizes they are still using Styrofoam, since it’s so environmentally taboo? Who knows. Anyway, you’ll see the mysterious coffee that happens to be under the paper. Anyone who drinks McDonald’s coffee very often has had a cup drip from the bottom. It’s very frustrating because you don’t expect a drip from the bottom, and since it’s dripping from underneath the paper sheath — there is no way to stop the drip. It stains your pants, your shirt, your desk, your paperwork, etc.
How does the coffee get there you might ask? Well, the answer is physics. Look at the following photo:
What starts as a small imperfection in the top of the Styrofoam cup, turns into a physics dynamo, which pumps coffee directly from under the lid onto your pants. If the paper weren’t there, you’d get an occasional drip, which your thumb would catch, at which point you’d simply adjust the lid so it no longer leaks. Thanks to the paper coating, however, the drip is quietly and sinisterly absorbed into the paper. It then wicks all the way down the cup, and begins randomly dripping from around the entire bottom of the cup.
The first few months of this were maddening. I thought I just kept getting leaky cups. It turns out it was much more complex. So my only suggestion to fellow McDonald’s coffee drinkers? Drink fast. Wicking is relatively slow. And the most frustrating part? Throw the cup away after you’re finished. I tended to use my McDonald’s cup all day, to save on disposables. If you keep using the flawed design, the dripping gets worse and worse.
So there you have it, your lunchtime physics lesson. 
Just to be sure one last time – this McDonald’s is THE McDonald’s, the one which sells burgers, wraps and shakes, has a signature yellow M logo on a red background, with Ronald McDonald as their mascot? THEY SELL COFFEE TOO? :-O
They don’t yet, here in India
There’s an easy solution to that Shawn–get a metal travel coffee mug. They’re insulated, they’re environmentally friendly, and some places (Starbucks is one) will give you a 5 cent discount on your coffee.
Where can I purchase paper covered styrofoam coffee
cups like the ones used in coffee vending machines at convenience stores.
Shawn,
I think that there is a very logical reason for this dilemma. The coffee cools on it’s way down the paper covering, thus protecting McDonalds from major lawsuits involving hot coffee. After all, you really don’t enjoy hot coffee, do you?
Steve