Consumer Reports' Highest-Rated Fast Food Coffee Blend Isn't Dunkin' Or Starbucks

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Coffee blends are an easy way to achieve a consistent morning cup. Blends are made with beans from various regions of the world and sometimes different roast levels, bringing their own flavor and body to your cup for a coffee that can be recreated time and again. Fast food restaurants use blends to ensure that, whatever location you're at and whatever time of year it is, the coffee will always taste the same. Some chains have acquired a following for their coffee, and now sell their beans in grocery stores for you to have the experience of dining out right from your own home. Consumer Reports, the long-running consumer advocacy nonprofit, tasted and compared 27 coffee blends. One blend from a fast-food restaurant was close to the top: Tim Horton's Original Blend.

The two above Tim Horton's were longtime stalwarts of the craft coffee scene: Counter Culture's Big Trouble, and Consumer Reports' favorite Intelligentsia House Blend. The group found the Tim Horton's beans complex, full-bodied, chocolatey, and nutty. The bag says it is a medium roast, though the reviewers compared it to a dark roast (just less bitter). Keep in mind that taste is subjective, so if you're looking for a new brew to wake up to, try other bags to find what you like. The panel found that the Intelligentsia is more citrusy and the Counter Culture is light and floral. The next fast food options were the Dunkin' Original Blend (mild, one sample was burnt) which was much further down the ranking, and Starbucks Pike Place Roast (bitter, burnt, and smoky) close to the bottom.

"Tims-At-Home whole bean is actually good," wrote a poster on Reddit. They went on to say that it's better than what you get at an actual Tim Horton's these days, where it tastes more stale. One commenter went into detail on why this might be, which boils down to you having full control of all the factors when you brew at home. Bad filters, bad tap water, machines acting up, machines not getting cleaned — all contribute to bad coffee, according to the commenter. To get the most out of your beans, try any of these four pour-over coffee makers that will help you brew a cup you want to drink in the morning.

Reviewers on Amazon enjoy Tim Horton's Original Blend, giving it 4.5 stars with over 1,000 ratings. "Apparently these [are] good beans as we used [a lot] of them in our espresso machine when our family was over for Christmas and they kept complimenting the coffee," wrote one reviewer. Most appreciated the simplicity of the beans. "It's good. It's coffee. Not bitter. I like," wrote one drinker. Another praised its low acidity. If you see bags of beans that have notes of citrus, that means the coffee has some acidity to it. New to coffee? Dive into our guide to the wide world of coffee beans to learn more!