McDonald's Premium Coffee Shops

Just what the world needs, another place to buy a trendy cup of luxury coffee. Enter McCafe.

Although McDonald's has been testing a handful of the gourmet coffee and snack bars in the U.S. since 2001, the real market is overseas, in 33 countries so far. McCafes are all over Australia, ramping up fast in Germany and just starting in Japan, where McDonald's has 3,300 restaurants. McDonald's opened the first 15 McCafes around Tokyo in late August, with menu items including green tea and red-bean shaved ice.

Interestingly, McCafes are beating Starbucks in Germany, however, McCafes are not expected to make a splash in the U.S. since customers associate the McDonald's name with low prices, a characteristic not quite consistent with menu items at fancy-schmancy coffee shoppes.