Where Does McDonald's Get Its Coffee From, Anyway?

Despite McDonald's hinting that it's bringing back all-day breakfast, the sorely missed all-day offering remains in the past. But there are some morning comforts the Golden Arches does offer all day long — like coffee. McDonald's very first McCafé concept was opened in 1993 in Melbourne, Australia, and the café menu has gone through some transformations over the years in terms of its offerings. As for the coffee, it's supplied by a company called Gaviña Gourmet Coffee, located in California. 

Gaviña Gourmet Coffee has a massive 240,000 square foot roasting facility in Vernon, California, and sources its beans from various farms throughout Central and South America as well as Southeast Asia and East Africa. The coffee company was first established by a Spanish family that uprooted to Cuba and eventually settled in California in 1963, setting up the roasting business F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc in 1967. With over 150 years of growing and roasting experience, it remains a family business today. 

Gaviña's partnership with McDonald's began on a small scale back in 1983, and its roasting and distribution has grown to be so successful that the brand also supplies coffee to other major chains, such as Costco and 7-Eleven. Let's find out a little more about the beans and roasters that make your frappé (and even your classy menu-hacked McAffogato) the fresh jolt you crave from McDonald's.

Two brothers, José María and Ramón Gaviña, laid the foundation for Gaviña Coffee when they chose to leave Spain in 1870 and start a business growing coffee beans in Cuba. Later on, Francisco Gaviña, or Don Francisco as he was known, brought the family business to California in the 1960s and began roasting and selling to the local community.

Over time, the business grew, and shifted from producing coffee beans to roasting and distribution. "We sold $1,000 worth of coffee in our first year," José Gaviña, son of Don Francisco, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview. But the key success point was the fact that the family focused on diversifying its coffee, and tailoring to different communities. Now, the Gaviña Gourmet Coffee company is responsible for a number of coffee brands including Don Francisco's Coffee and Cafe la Llave Espresso.

The Gaviña brand is committed to supplying high quality coffee to McDonald's. So, the next time you order a cup — perhaps with a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which will be rolling into more stores as one of the big changes you'll see at McDonald's in 2025 – you'll know that you can get the tasty roast you're looking for thanks to this successful family-run business.