The One Drink You Should Think Twice About Ordering at McDonald’s, According to an Employee

This is totally gross!

No matter where you are in the world, there’s nothing more reliable—nor more delicious!—than the cheap, fatty goodness of a burger and fries from McDonald’s. (And this is the secret ingredient that makes their fries tastes so good.) But when it comes to this famous fast-food chain, there’s one menu item you might want to think twice before ordering.

That one forbidden food? A McCafe coffee. And not because it’s unhealthy, nor because of its taste. Truth be told, it’s the machines making the coffee that you should be worried about, one McDonald’s employee revealed. That isn’t the only secret your fast food worker isn’t telling you.

“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 said on Reddit. “All McCafe beverages run through a horrifically dirty machine—we’re talking 5+ inches of uncleaned, liquid making up its inside parts.”

Sounds pretty gross, right? And not only does the staff lack the appropriate training to clean and maintain the McCafe machines, but the managers do too, the employee said.

That’s not the case for all McDonald’s locations, though. “We had to clean the McCafe [machines] nightly,” another employee said on Reddit. The staff uses a cleaning kit, which includes brushes and a food-safe, all-purpose cleaner, to scrub away the coffee grounds. All in all, the process takes around 30 to 45 minutes.

Still, the next time you’re in the mood for a quick caffeine fix, you might want to opt for a beverage from a less suspicious source (like Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts) instead. Just make sure to avoid the one coffee you should never, ever order at Starbucks.

As for us? We’ll be sticking to a plain old Coca-Cola at Mickey D’s from now on, thank you very much. By the way, this is why Coke tastes better at McDonald’s than anywhere else.

[Source: Huffington Post]

Brooke Nelson Alexander
Brooke is a tech and consumer products writer covering the latest in digital trends, product reviews, security and privacy, and other news and features for Reader's Digest. She's a two-time Emmy-nominated reporter with nearly 10 years of publishing experience, and her work has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.