REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip

Marvo Reviews

McDonald's McCafe? Frappe? Chocolate Chip

For these armpit sweat staining months, McDonald’s has introduced their blended McCafe Frappé Chocolate Chip, which is pretty much a McDonald’s Frappé Caramel combined with a McDonald’s Frappé Mocha and chocolate chips.

Oh, I didn’t break it down enough for you?

Well then, here you go: The Frappé Chocolate Chip is made up of ice, a caramel coffee frappé base, a mocha coffee frappé base, and chocolate chips that’s topped with whipped cream and caramel and chocolate drizzles.

Oh, you want it broken down even more, food nerd?

Well, swallow this long list of ingredients in no particular order: Ice, sugar, milk, high fructose corn syrup, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, potassium citrate, disodium phosphate, carrageenan, carob bean gum, cocoa (processed with alkali), red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, nonfat milk, corn syrup, polysorbate 80, beta carotene, natural (dairy and vegetable source) and artificial flavor, mixed tocopherols, coffee extract, whipping propellant (nitrous oxide), semi-sweet chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, butter, salt, pectin, artificial flavor (vanillin, ethyl vanillin), caramel color (with sulfites), potassium sorbate (preservative), dextrose, water, glycerin, hydrogenated coconut oil, food starch-modified, cream, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor, gellan gum, potassium sorbate (preservative).

Happy now?

Although I’m as much of a fan of McDonald’s original Mocha and Caramel Frappés as I am of filling co-workers cubicles with balloons while they’re on vacation, I can’t say the same about the chocolate chip version.

Look, the Frappé Chocolate Chip is well-blended, sweet, and refreshing, if you find yourself in temperatures higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but the chocolate chips do two things that make this Frappé less appealing to me. One, they don’t help give the blended beverage a strong chocolate flavor to go along with the caramel flavor. The sweet caramel definitely wears the pants in the relationship. Two, they give the Frappé a weird texture.

If you’re one of those people who likes to crush the fine granules of ice between their molars, even though admitting so to your dentist would get you a proper verbal lashing about teeth enamel, sadly, the blended chocolate chips dampens the ice crushing, making it less satisfying for those of us who like to weaken our tooth enamel and pay for it later with dentists sticking drills into our mouths and filling the holes they made with metal or resin. But most of you probably don’t have the strange oral fixation of crushing ice with your teeth, so this issue won’t bother you.

Oh, but I do have good news if you’re one of those people who hates the taste of coffee, but wants a coffee drink. If that describes you, this Frappé is for you. Much like coffee being hard to find in the long paragraph of ingredients above, the coffee flavor in this Frappé is hard to taste. The chocolate, caramel, sugar, and cream hides the coffee as if it’s a flavor burka.

The McDonald’s McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip isn’t anything to get too excited about, unless you’ve just walked through 100 degree temperatures and are looking for anything to help cool you down.

(Nutrition Facts – Small Size/12 ounces – 530 calories, 220 calories from fat, 24 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 74 grams of carbohydrates, 66 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fiber, and 7 grams of protein.)

Other McDonald’s McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip reviews:
Brand Eating

Item: McDonald’s McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: Small/12 ounces
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: If you love coffee drinks, but hate the flavor of coffee, this is for you. Awesome if you love drizzles. Cool. Refreshing. Well blended.
Cons: Caramel wears the pants in this relationship. Will be sweet to some. Chocolate chips get in the way for us ice chewers. Summer heat. Weakened tooth enamel.

43 thoughts to “REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafé Frappé Chocolate Chip”

  1. I tried this last week and liked it, but I feel that if I told them to hold the caramel, I would definitely love it. About the closest I’ve gotten to my beloved, long lost good version of the old java chip frappucino from Starbucks.

  2. This review’s link to ” McDonald’s original Mocha and Caramel Frappés” is mess up, because of that comma type thing over the “e”. Serves you right for being all French and pretentious with that comma thing. Or maybe is it Greek. I forget who invented these frap things.

  3. Since you seem to know so much about the ingredients in the McCafe Frappe, I was wondering if you happened to know what brand base they use? I’d like to compare and contrast to my usual drink order. Thanks so much! Great article!

    1. I don’t know what brand base they use, but here are the ingredients for the two:

      Caramel Coffee Frappe Base

      Water, cream, sugar, milk, high fructose corn syrup, coffee extract, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, potassium citrate, disodium phosphate, carrageenan, carob bean gum.

      Mocha Coffee Frappe Base

      Water, cream, sugar, milk, high fructose corn syrup, coffee extract, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, cocoa (processed with alkali), mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, potassium citrate, disodium phosphate, carrageenan, carob bean gum, colored with (red 40, yellow 5, blue 1).

  4. I have tried and like both the caramel and the mocha frape, I have to say I like this one the least. The chocolate chips give it a really weird texture as explained in the article. I like the mocha on average but for something really sweet I go to the caramel, again this one doesn’t really fill either role. Just my 2 cents.

  5. I have an addiction to the Carmel Frappes.I buy at least 2 a week.But I have noticed lately that the flavor is much weaker,anyone else notice this..

  6. Hello, while I appreciate your review and respect your opinion I do humbly disagree. However some of my reasons for liking the chocolate chip frappe are the very ones you pointed out in your review so I suppose I should clarify; I agree with your review and understand your perspective of the drink, but have a differing opinion about how good it is. I enjoy it very much. I love the chips and their texture (Starbucks’ Java Chip is one of my favorites as well). I also don’t mind the sweetness of the mix overriding the coffee flavor. Just depends on what kind and how strong/sweet a coffee drink I am in the mood for at the time.

  7. I just got one and I thought I would love it. It is absolutely too strong. Way too much coffee and not much chocolate or caramel. I’d try it again cause I think they messed up. The chips definitely need to be blended because of the texture like everyone said. Those are my few cents 😛

  8. I beg to differ, I’m in love, and the more chips the better, ahhh.. As a couple of you mentioned above this is my new cheap version of the Java Chip from SB. I can have 2 for every 1 of SB’s, and it’s bigger. I thing SB’s made there cup smaller actually. Doesn’t say much for my waistline but hey I have to some vices.

    1. Calories – 530
      Calories From Fat – 220
      Fat – 24
      Saturated Fat – 15
      Carbohydrates – 74
      Sodium – 140
      Protein – 7

      I think I’ll skip this one!

  10. Tried it once. It’s OK, but the chocolate chips do not melt, ever. Tastes like they grated brown crayon into the mix for all the flavor they add.

    1. I absolutely agree with you,The chips in the Chocolate chip frappe taste like grated crayon or wax pieces.Not appealing to me at all.I will stay with the Carmel Frappe..

  11. How long is it going to be available? I’m pregnant & due 8/17. I’m not touching caffeine until the baby is born. I’d hate to miss it!!!

  12. I loooove the chocolate chip frappe! The key word is “chocolate chip”. I dont think it would be classified as different if it didnt stand up to its name. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ijs

    1. You’re so right. I go to this one place that loads it up with choc chips. I was actually mad when I went to another location and they were cheap with them. I’ll be sticking to the other location from now on.

  13. I’m not much of a coffee drinker myself and I especially don’t like the thought of coffee being cold. But, I tried this and I LOVE IT! I’m also a huge fan of chocolate as well (most women are).

  15. why does the ice particles never seem to melt when everything else has melted around it? Got me F…..D!

  16. OMG THIS IS SO EFFN GOOD!!! After I got my first one I have gotten at least 2 a week. I LOVE THIS, and SAD it has a LIMITED TIME ONLY stamp on it! Out of work now but if I was working I could see me getting this nearly if not every morning. I wonder how much caffeine is in this. I dink a couple cans of soda a day and this frappe seems to leave me feeling 2x as jettery as a can of soda, AWESOME!!! I would seriously replace a meal with one or two of these HAPPILY, LOL

    1. Solidus I agree but after reading the calories and fat content I had to cut it back to once a week. Man can’t anything taste that good and be good for you 🙁

  17. OHH and the chocolate chips, never seemed strange to me. Seemed more like a PERK! And your right does seem a bit like crayon, BUT DELICIOUS TO ME!!!

  18. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but I do like this drink a lot. I very much like the mix of chocolate chip and the ice granules. It’s perfect on a very hot day.

  20. Does anyone know if the Coffee Frappe Base is liquid or in powder ? Has anyone noticed when they make it?

  21. Does it positively have caffeine in it? Cause I asked once and they said it didn’t

  22. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. Your taste buds, dear sir, are WRONG. Drinking a chocolate chip frappe from McDonald’s is like drinking heaven. I absolutely love the texture that the chocolate chips give it. I drank it all winter long. I don’t only like it because it’s cold. I love it because it taste AMAZING. Go get your taste buds checked, please.
    Thank yoooouuuu.
    Sincerely,
    Someone who has gotten every one of her friends and family members addicted to chocolate chip frappes from McDonald’s.

    1. I agree. I just tried it and it tastes delicious! I do, however, find the texture of the chocolate chips a little annoying, but the taste more than makes up for it.

  23. As someone who detests coffee and loves sweet things, this is delicious, wonderful, and it literally makes me happy every time I have one. My mood literally goes up and I get the coffee without needing to taste it. I never like to get fast food, but these are so good, I will sin, God is merciful and forgives. 🙂

    1. So I was in love with these chocolate chip McCafes, UNTIL i realized that i was drinking like 300 calories for something that doesnt even have any real coffee in it to give me caffine for the day as I work in a big office. I guess you get some caffine from the chocolate chips. Disapointed McCafe drinker. 🙁

      1. The chocolate chips are the best part of it, I always ask for extra lol. When they first came out and they were offering them for a $1 I think I had one everyday, so bad. Now I just treat myself occasionally.Sometimes I’ll take one of those coffee shots from the gas station and throw one in to get some caffeine, because yeah this is more like dessert.

  24. I LOVE McDonald’s chocolate chip frappe!!! When I found out it was A LOT of calories I stopped drinking it for a LONG time!!! ???????????? I think the prices are a bit high though and I get really annoyed by the texture of the chocolate chips. Sometimes, McDonalds puts VERY little chocolate and caramel syrup and whipping cream and that gets on my nerve!!! ????????????
    Everything else is good though.

  25. I had a chocolate chip frappe last night and while it was going down it was heaven in a cup but the morning after, I feel sick and have a very bad headache, almost like a hang over? Makes me wonder just what they put into them to get you hooked because I didn’t have any alcohol last night and the only other thing I had was a portion of fries …
    also, directly afterwards, I had difficulty forming a sentence to the degree that my sister was finding it highly amusing.

    She would call it brain freeze, I’m not so sure? Anyone else experienced this?

    1. MJ I never had brain freeze that severe to the point of not being able to form a sentence. I would stay away from them sounds like some kind of food allergy to something that may be in there. Do you have any food allergies that you’re aware of? The worst I had after drinking one is a coughing attack but that’s because milk products so that to me when I have it in excess.

    2. I am having the same issues! I have tried this twice and I have gotten very sick with the same symptoms afterward. I also know I allergic to high alkine foods. I wonder if any ingredient is an issue

  26. Very disappointed with the new choc chip shake thing I had loads of ice in mine but hardly any choc chips it’s a big let down from mcdonalds

    1. I know how you feel I hate it when I get a bad one. When they first came out they were on point, now its hit or miss. I try to always go to the same one that makes it good when I’m in that neighborhood.

  27. Love the taste but every time I have one, I have to urgently shit in 30 minutes. Great laxative.

  28. i’m full on addicted and having like 3 a day…i’m becoming a fat bastard from these and the bacon mcdoubles

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