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Friday, May 22, 2009

BrewHaHa



It wasn't over. It still isn't over. I was delighted to drive by our local coffee shop and see a new battle brewing.

Then, a few days later, this:


McDonald's


Strange Brew

Unfortunately for Strange Brew, so did we.

My coexperimenters, Amy and Tori (not pictured)


We finally did it. The taste test of the century. Strange Brew vs. McDonald's. The little guy vs the corporate giant. A modern day David and Goliath, if you will.



It was all very scientific, I assure you. The samples were marked A and B. Unfortunately, our new friend and fellow experimenter Tori escaped the camera, mostly because in all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures of the actual taste test. But she was totally there.

We sampled the mocha and vanilla lattes, because those sounded good to us. And we thought it would be much more scientific to test more than one product before declaring one place to be better than the other.


One sample was delicious. The others, not so much.

The first test was the vanilla latte. To be fair, these two tasted pretty similar, but all 3 respondents chose sample A. The winner? Mickey D's.

Test two was not so simple. Mocha Sample A was SOOO sweet, it was almost undrinkable. Sample B was so awful, it was almost undrinkable. It tasted like burned day old coffee, without a hint of mocha. Why would you offer a mocha drink that doesn't taste like mocha?

Amy chose Sample A, but insisted that I indicate on her response form that neither sample was preferred. Tori and I both marked Sample B as our preference, although Tori also indicated that neither was preferred.

The winner in the mocha category was technically neither preferred, although Strange Brew got 2 reluctant votes over McDonald's 1 reluctant vote.

Amy's 4-year-old wanted to taste too, and who better to judge coffee than a 4-year-old? It seemed like a great idea at the time... He chose Sample A in both categories. No surprise there that the kid liked McDonald's drink. It was the one that was loaded with sugary sweetener.

Our summary notes show the number one choice of all the samples was the McDonald's vanilla latte. I'm sorry all of you Brew lovers, but don't blame me. Blame science. Another strike against the Brew is longer wait times and higher prices. And finally, if you're looking for a mocha drink, get a milkshake.

The owner of Strange Brew could not be reached for comment.

6 comments:

LT (and Max) said...

i loved everything about this post. i only wish i had been part of this experiment. keep up the god work em.

LT (and Max) said...

umm....that's "good" work...oops

Tori Higa said...

it was such an honor to be able to partake in this experiment - i normally hate science. thanks so much for the detailed report - i hope we were able to help a lot of people. :)

Laura @ Our Messy Messy Life said...

HA!!! I live here in town and that cracks me up!

Amy Jordon said...

Tori and I tried the iced mocha yesterday and it didn't taste nearly as sweet as the hot mocha. I think I like the hot sweet McD mocha the best. (:

Thanks for allowing me and my 4-year-old to be a part of your experiment! Want to try pizzas next?

ps did you really try to reach strange brew for comment?

Unknown said...

As a Mississippi State graduate with an Anthropology degree and a true follower of the scientific method I must indeed protest the shenanigans and results of the Brewhaha experiment! Our cushy cushions, groovy music, chill atmosphere, genuine smiles and lack of Angus burger french fry latte were never included. I invite you ladies back for a re-taste on me and although you are welcome to try a real Mocha or Vanilla Latte I'll show you how we are really different with a Caramel Macchiato, Albino Squirrel or Frozen Hot Chocolate. Also, even though cheap doesn't mean better when it comes to coffee, we make up the difference in low gas prices! Love your coverage of the signs and hope to brew for you soon!

Shane,
Owner of the Brew

Strangebrewcoffeehouse@gmail.com

ps Your sister loves us! ;)

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