We taste-tested servo coffees to find out which one's the best for 2022
The way coffee fuels your car is just as important as the way petrol, diesel and electricity do.Yes technically coffee fuels the driver more than the vehicle, but it is a vital component of our anywhere, anytime long drive lifestyles.
Barista quality coffee is only a recent addition to Australia’s history with professionals with their big machines 100s of different blends of beans and types of milk now part of the daily ritual of millions of commuters and workers across the country. The humble servo is now the latest battleground for coffee with the stale and bitter brown liquid now replaced with high tech machines, the promise of quality barista-style coffee with only the best blends of beans all starting for $1 vying for our attention.
So, if you’re in a hurry, are on the road heading to your holiday destination or just can’t be bothered lining up at the busy local café, the servo coffee could be it. We’ve decided to once again put the tastebuds to the test and compare six of the most popular takeaway coffees you can get on the road.
Five are found in popular service station chains and one is from a popular fast-food chain that has drive-thru facilities and is often found on the highways of Australia, so we are counting them in for this test.
Servo coffee taste test 2022 outline
In our 2022 test, we tried six different servo coffees and scored them out of 20 across different categories for a total score out of 100. These categories include:
- Aroma - The smell of the brewed coffee
- Flavour - The taste of the coffee and its profile
- Drinkability - How easy it is to drink and finish off
- Acidity - Is the pleasant snap or crispness noticeable
- Aftertaste - Whether or not it has a pleasant or unpleasant taste once it's been consumed
We then ranked the coffees with their combined overall scores. The control coffee type across all brands tested was a small-sized latte with regular milk and no sugar.
Servo coffee taste test 2022 results
7-Eleven Coffee
What the judges said: "Sadly, not the best coffee I have ever had. While the aroma was promising, the coffee was nothing more than warm milk."
- Aroma - 12/20
- Flavour - 5/20
- Drinkability - 3/20
- Acidity - 0/20
- Aftertaste - 10/20
Total score: 30/100
Caffé Aurora - EG
What the judges said: "Just kinda… average across the board."
- Aroma - 10/20
- Flavour - 10/20
- Drinkability - 11/20
- Acidity - 3/20
- Aftertaste - 12/20
Total score 46/100
Wild Bean Cafe - BP
What the judges said: "This coffee had a really nice aroma, and it wasn’t too bad compared to some others but I didn’t feel like it gave me the coffee kick I craved."
- Aroma - 17/20
- Flavour - 13/20
- Drinkability - 12/20
- Acidity - 10/20
- Aftertaste - 7/20
Total score: 59/100
Urban Coffee Culture - Shell Coles Express
What the judges said: "This one was a pleasant surprise! Definitely not what I was expecting from a machine but great to know I can pop into a Coles Express for a coffee next road trip."
- Aroma - 15/20
- Flavour - 16/20
- Drinkability - 14/20
- Acidity - 9/20
- Aftertaste - 10/20
Total score: 64/100
Foodary - Ampol
What the judges said: "Another pleasant surprise! The coffee smelt and tasted great. Would recommend a Foodary pitstop next road trip for coffee."
- Aroma - 18/20
- Flavour - 17/20
- Drinkability - 17/20
- Acidity - 8/20
- Aftertaste - 6/20
Total score: 66/100
McCafé - McDonald's
What the judges said: "Macca’s always seems to come out on top. I guess another point with this coffee choice would be the variety of alternative milk you can have, if full/skim isn’t your vibe. And it is easy to get through the drive-thru these days."
- Aroma - 19/20
- Flavour - 15/20
- Drinkability - 16/20
- Acidity - 9/20
- Aftertaste - 10/20
Total score: 69/100
Servo coffee taste test 2022 winner...
Overall the winner is McCafé but only just! While not strictly a servo coffee, there are just as many accessible outlets of the restaurant as there are service stations on your daily commute or weekend road trip to get your coffee craving fix without having to leave your car.
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