During the trial it was revealed that McDonald’s knew that heating their coffee to this temperature would be dangerous, but they did it anyways because it would save them money. When you serve coffee that is too hot to drink, it will take much longer for a person to drink their coffee, which means that McDonald’s will not have to give out as many free refills of coffee. This policy by the fast food chain is the reason the jury awarded $2.7 million dollars in punitive damages in the McDonald’s hot coffee case. Punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant for their inappropriate business practice.
My home coffee setup is quite frankly obscene and I used to be a snob about it. It took me a while to realize I was just being an asshole and that every cup of coffee doesn’t need to be an “experience” or masterpiece.
So to answer your question: people that aren’t snobs. It’s cheap, convenient, and inoffensive drip coffee – and sometimes that’s all someone wants.