New "Premium Roast" coffee is much better than the older version…

McDonald’s has introduced a new, premium-priced coffee, advertised as having "100 percent Arabica beans." In an apparent attempt to cash in on the coffee bar craze, the company is also experimenting with a coffee bistro concept, offering light snacks to go with the brew.

Food critics at the Chicago Tribune, not far from McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, IL, have found the new "Premium Roast" coffee better than the old version, as well as competitive with other fast-food varieties.

The three anonymous tasters ranked coffees from Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, and McDonald's on a scale from 1 to 5 (with "5" being Starbucks' regular coffee).

All agreed that of the three fast food varieties they tested, Dunkin Donuts' came first (with an average score of 3.5), McDonald's new brew second (average score of 3),er King came in third (average score of 2).

The testers agreed that this was an improvement for McDonald's, two of them confessing that they wouldn’t have touched the coffee previously offered by McDonald's, not if they could possibly avoid it. One even felt the new McDonald's coffee was competitive with Starbucks'.

Although one of the reviewers found the new coffee too weak, one called it a pleasant surprise, less bitter than Starbucks. Another stated, "It’s like real coffee now."

The small McDonald’s coffee costs $1.20 (30 cents cheaper than a small coffee from Starbucks). While McDonald’s touts the new coffee's "Arabica beans," it is not clear that this is a rare quality for standard American coffees.

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