The Reason Your Vanilla Shake From McDonald's Might Taste A Little Off

McDonald's milkshakes have been the talk of the town in recent months, thanks to the Grimace Shake, which cast the franchise in a mysterious purple glow in June to celebrate the 52nd birthday of the elusive McDonaldland character of the same name. But as McDonald's fans know, the novelty of the shake isn't its only talking point. Customers can't seem to agree on its flavor, even after droves of them took to social media to try to get some answers on what the alleged "mixed berry" treat actually tastes like. 

At least customers can rely on good old vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to always taste the same, right? Well, according to some customer feedback, even the chain's standard flavors can occasionally taste like something else, a flavor you can't quite put your finger on. Unlike the Grimace conundrum, however, this mystery has been solved. 

According to a TikTok confession from former McDonald's employee Dessy Joseph, McDonald's shakes can take on syrup from other flavors that haven't been thoroughly cleared out of the machines. 

If you've ever ordered a chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake and thought it tasted like bananas, Froot Loops, or something else entirely, you might be getting a little taste of a limited-time flavor. "Why sometimes this happens is because the shake machine will pour out a little bit of the previous flavor before it pours the new flavor," explains former McDonald's employee Dessy Joseph in one of many TikTok videos that divulge the "secrets" she learned during her time at McDonald's. "Sometimes, you'll order a vanilla shake, and you'll see the bottom is a little bit green because it's Shamrock Shake season," she adds.

@jodessy

Reply to @shayaisthebest2 Milkshakes anyone? #mcdonalds #secrets #jodessy #jodessysecrets

♬ original sound – Dessy Joseph

Some TikTok users seem unphased by this newfound information. "I'll still be eating it," wrote one person in the comments. Others expressed concern, especially when it comes to allergies. "I'm allergic to strawberry," wrote another user. Joseph notes that if you're allergic to a specific flavor, "you have to mention it" to the McDonald's employee taking your order. 

It seems McDonald's has two issues with its ice cream machines. One is their tendency to stir up mystery flavors, and another is the fact that they break all the time. In fact, there's an entire website dedicated to the latter. It's called McBroken, and it features a comprehensive map of McDonald's locations around the country and the status of their ice cream machines. As of now, the site shows that 12.9% of shake machines at U.S. McDonald's locations are out for the count — 32.65% of which are in New York.

In a separate TikTok video on this topic, Josephs admits something that might surprise customers. "The ice cream machine is actually rarely broken," she says. "At least at my location, we just didn't want to change those heavy bags of shake mix." A commenter who also works at McDonald's wrote that, for them, a "broken" shake machine is code for "we are cleaning the machine and it takes 3ish hours." 

The moral of the story: The next time you're jonesing for a McDonald's shake, you might want to check the McBroken site first. As for the flavor of your shake, you might just have to accept a little mystery swirl.