{"id":14499,"date":"2013-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=14499"},"modified":"2023-09-04T21:27:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T07:27:27","slug":"review-burger-king-smooth-roast-coffee-from-seattles-best-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/01\/review-burger-king-smooth-roast-coffee-from-seattles-best-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Burger King Smooth Roast Coffee from Seattle’s Best Coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Burger<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many Americans, I consider myself completely incapable of functioning without the glorious benefits of caffeine. I\u2019ll kick around a couple Coke Zeros a day and maybe even an energy drink now and then, but by far, my shaking, yet functioning, hands rely on a strong cup\u00a0of coffee every morning to get me through the work day.<\/p>\n

Being that coffee seems to be one of the few beverages left that science says can actually lengthen my life<\/a> and not just send me to an early, morbidly obese (if not cancerous) grave, I don\u2019t feel too bad about this otherwise breath-killing addiction. <\/p>\n

Embracing this habit, I figure I might as well be drinking something reasonably good and affordable too. I fancy myself something of an everyman when it comes to coffee, mind you, but I do recognize an objective hierarchy in the kinds of roasted beans I want to ingest. And no, I\u2019m not just talking about Jelly Belly Cappuccino jelly beans.<\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t think about Burger King when it comes to coffee. At least, I haven’t thought about it much since that one time when I actually had their coffee. Perhaps slightly better than stale DMV coffee but not quite up to the level of West Virginia roadside truckstop brews, Burger King\u2019s previous BK Joe<\/a> was, at best, a black substance that was (sometimes) hot. <\/p>\n

But with the chain deciding to take one step closer towards becoming McDonald\u2019s by ditching its traditional burgers and fries only lineup in place of something bordering on vaguely caf\u00e9-ish, I couldn\u2019t pass up the opportunity to see if the new Seattle Best Smooth Roast Coffee could take the bitter taste (pun completely and egregiously intended) of my past experience from my mouth.<\/p>\n

\"Burger<\/a><\/p>\n

Seeing that my local Burger King just happens to be right next to my local McDonald\u2019s, I figured a side-by-side comparison was in order. I\u2019ve never been wowed by the “100% Arabica beans” of the Premium Roast from the Golden Arches, but it seems popular enough amongst those who frequent fast food for breakfast. <\/p>\n

The first thing I noticed about Burger King\u2019s coffee was, like McDonald\u2019s, the lack of control you have over flavoring. True, ask for a few creamers (thankfully of the real variety) and sweeteners of your choice and each chain is happy to provide them, but when it comes to spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla (like Starbucks or Einstein Brothers provides) you\u2019re out of luck. You\u2019re also out of luck for multiple cream\/milk options, although I guess you could always purchase a kid\u2019s meal milk separately. <\/p>\n

Advantage? It\u2019s a draw, with both chains clearly not catering to the consummate coffee drinker.<\/p>\n

\"Burger<\/a><\/p>\n

While both chains serve iced coffee with a variety of flavors, when it comes to keeping coffee hot, and not just lukewarm, both did the trick. But where McDonald\u2019s coffee was served in a scalding hot manner that left a nasty little burn bump on my upper lip, Burger King\u2019s was just right. It really doesn\u2019t help that the McCafe cups come with an awkward lid that doesn\u2019t funnel hot beverages so much as it releases liquid in the coffee equivalent to a surging river. It\u2019s a point I probably wouldn\u2019t have noticed had it not been for Burger King\u2019s more drinker-friendly lid, which funneled the just-right Smooth Roast Coffee into my sleep deprived system. <\/p>\n

Advantage? This one goes to Burger King.<\/p>\n

Now, on to flavor. The Seattle\u2019s Best Coffee is indeed smooth, especially when compared to McDonald\u2019s “Premium” McCafe blend. Taking initial sips from each chain\u2019s coffee, I find the McCafe coffee bland, bitter, and a touch watery, with no substantial flavor notes or earthy characteristics. Burger King\u2019s blend is naturally a bit sweeter, slightly nutty, and noticeably less bitter, and has a higher drinkability factor all on its own. I didn\u2019t pick up any of the advertised “chocolaty,” notes, but on its own it came across as sharper and better tasting than McDonald\u2019s blend. <\/p>\n

After initially tasting both coffees black, I added the prerequisite cream and sweetener (Splenda). Here again I enjoyed the Seattle Best Coffee more, and felt like the smooth and light flavor complimented the cream better than McDonald\u2019s coffee, which still came off as watery and underwhelming to me. <\/p>\n

Advantage? Clearly, the King did something right here.<\/p>\n

\"Burger<\/a><\/p>\n

Is Burger King\u2019s coffee something that a serious coffee drinker should seek out? Only if you\u2019re a serious coffee drinker in a town full of truckstops offering stale tasting coffee. But even though I wouldn\u2019t take the Smooth Roast over chains like Starbucks or even my own favorite, Einstein\u2019s Brothers, Burger King’s Smooth Roast Coffee from Seattle’s Best Coffee is a real improvement over Burger King\u2019s previous java attempts.<\/p>\n

(NOTE: For a limited time, you can get a small cup for just a quarter and, according to the worker taking my order, you can get a shot of flavor for free.)<\/small><\/p>\n

(Nutritional Facts: 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, 0 gram dietary fiber, and 0 grams of protein.) <\/small><\/p>\n

Other BK Smooth Roast Coffee reviews:<\/b>
\nBrand Eating<\/a>
\nMan Reviews Food (Iced Mocha version)<\/a><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> Burger King Smooth Roast Coffee from Seattle’s Best Coffee
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> .25 cents (limited time only price)
\nSize:<\/b> 12 ounces
\nPurchased at:<\/b> Burger King
\nRating:<\/b> 6 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Caffeine! Better than McDonald\u2019s “Premium” coffee. Not watered down. Mellow and slightly sweet flavor. Not overly bitter. User-friendly lid. Free flavor shot.
\nCons:<\/b> Won\u2019t appease serious coffee drinkers. Only comes in one flavor. Not very bold or complex. Add-ins like cinnamon or cocoa not available. Costs extra for whipped cream. Not as tasty as Jelly Belly Cappuccino jelly beans. Contemplating burger and coffee pairings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like many Americans, I consider myself completely incapable of functioning without the glorious benefits of caffeine. I\u2019ll kick around a couple Coke Zeros a day and maybe even an energy drink now and then, but by far, my shaking, yet functioning, hands rely on a strong cup\u00a0of coffee every morning to get me through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1534,1477],"class_list":["post-14499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-burger-king","tag-fast-food"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21117,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2017\/01\/12\/fast-food-news-burger-kings-bk-joe-is-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":0},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Burger King’s BK Joe is Back","author":"Marvo","date":"January 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, the name BK Joe is back. The coffee is different than what was offered back in 2007. If you're one of those people keeping track of Burger King's coffee offerings, you'll know they have seen a number of changes over the past decade. First, it was BK Joe. Then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BK Joe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BK-Joe.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BK-Joe.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BK-Joe.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11807,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/04\/09\/review-burger-king-frappe-caramel-and-mocha\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":1},"title":"REVIEW: Burger King Frapp\u00e9 (Caramel and Mocha)","author":"Marvo","date":"April 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"McDonald's Frapp\u00e9 is a photocopy of Starbucks' Frappuccino. So Burger King's Frapp\u00e9 is a photocopy of a photocopy. Although, if I were to include Cinnabon's Mochalatta and Dunkin' Donuts' Coolatta, then Burger King's Frapp\u00e9 is a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Do you know what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burger King Frappes (Caramel and Mocha)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7201\/6906850908_64e9eb2f0d.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":71240,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2025\/07\/28\/burger-king-iced-coffee-with-cold-foam-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":2},"title":"REVIEW: Burger King Iced Coffee with Cold Foam","author":"Marvo","date":"July 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s not surprising to see Burger King offer cold foam with its iced coffees. After all, it plopped a cold foam layer on top of a slush last year. What\u2019s surprising is how long it took for said cold foam to eventually end up on BK\u2019s iced coffee. Has it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bkicedcf1-600x600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bkicedcf1-600x600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bkicedcf1-600x600.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":512,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2007\/08\/05\/mocha-bk-joe-iced-coffee\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":3},"title":"Mocha BK JOE Iced Coffee","author":"Marvo","date":"August 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm frickin' tired of The King sneaking up on me. Doesn't he have anything better to do? He's a king. Shouldn't he be running a kingdom, causing oppression somewhere, or at least being a powerless figurehead? If I had a nickel for every time The King snuck up on me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61906,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2024\/04\/26\/burger-king-frozen-cotton-candy-cloud-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":4},"title":"REVIEW: Burger King Frozen Cotton Candy Cloud","author":"Vin","date":"April 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Am I the only one noticing weird weather in the forecast? It\u2019s almost May, and my weather app says it\u2019s gonna be ice-cold and cloudy. Not only does it say Wednesday is gonna be, what I can only assume is some kind of crazy weather phenomenon, a \u201cWhopper?\u201d Is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/bkcccloud1-480x800.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4151,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/30\/review-wendys-coffee-toffee-twisted-frosty\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":5},"title":"REVIEW: Wendy’s Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty","author":"Kayla","date":"June 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Out of the Big (or Fat Ass) Three in fast food burger joints, Wendy's has always gone against the grain. Sure, Mickey D's invented the Happy Meal (aka Here's some food kid, mommy has a headache Meal\u009d) which has been aiding in childhood obesity for thirty years; Burger King prides\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}