Coffee. The elixir of life. Over the last few years I’ve come to love this aromatic brown liquid: especially for its ability to get me through a day of fish mongering back when I worked at the ole’ grocery store. Now, I love coffee as much for the entire ritual as much as anything else: there’s nothing more eagerly anticipated than a Saturday morning spent roasting, grinding, and slowly brewing a cup of coffee in a vacuum brewer or French press. During the weekdays I tend to enjoy an espresso before I get to work. Once there, Starbucks is my supplier of choice: partly for its location (though the BCE Place location has to be one of the busiest in Canada, the service is blindingly fast and efficient), and partly for other reasons. My affection for Starbucks and, well—the perception of my attitude in general—has unfairly pegged me as a “coffee snob”. (Okay. Maybe I am. A bit.) Certainly I can drink no coffee better than the cup I make at home: high quality green beans, fresh roasted, etc. etc., but the truth of it is that I will drink any coffee, anywhere, and as long as it tastes good then who cares? (And, in fact, even if it tastes awful, bad coffee is better than no coffee.

The main point of this little article, though, is to clear up some general misconceptions about Starbucks and Tim Hortons—especially since people seem to have especially strong loyalties for one over the other. I find it slightly amusing the way we identify with things: from the music we listen to (when we’re younger) to the cars we drive (when we get older), to the coffee we drink—the fact is identify plays as much a factor in our daily choice as anything else. On then, to the blow-by-blow comparison:

Identity

Tim Hortons and Starbucks are both American-owned conglomerates. Tim Hortons does, in fact, have some Canadian heritage behind it—although Tim Horton himself was not much more than a figure-head, and his original partner is no longer event part of the operation. (Though he remains very, very rich.) Realistically, however, even though Timmy’s has a “down-home, working-class-type-guy” image this is because it is as carefully cultivated as the Starbucks image (evidently the “yuppie, white-collar-type-guy image”), and paid for and reinforced with very large marketing budgets. There is nothing “down-home” about a chain as big as Tim Hortons or Starbucks, period. If you feel that way, then the marketing machine is working as it should.

The common lamentation, “Starbucks is so expensive compared to Timmy’s!” is often shouted to mountains. This is based on the fact that a Large Timmy’s costs $1.29, and a Grande (“Large”) Starbucks costs $1.85. But one must keep in mind that the cup size is 12 oz. versus 16 oz. (or 10.75 cents an ounce versus 11.56 cents an ounce). In other words, if Starbucks sold a 12 oz. cup of coffee then it would be less than 10 cents more. Yippee.

Service

This is the biggie for me. A Timmy’s with good service is a rare find—especially in the city. Cold indifference is the rule du jour, with occasional down-right hostility. I could never understand why people would line up for miles at the Rideau Centre Tim Hortons to be rewarded with a snarl. Do people like contempt with their coffee? On the other hand, Starbucks lines tend to move much quicker and the service is nearly always smiley wherever you go. Could this be because they’re paid a lot more? I don’t mind paying 10 more cents for service-with-a-smile, especially if that dime goes towards better salaries.

Taste

There’s little point of “which coffee is better” comparisons because, for the most part, it’s entirely subjective. Is Starbucks coffee better than Tim Hortons? Nobody can make that decision but you: you’re the only one who knows what you like. And a lot of people don’t like the taste of Starbucks coffee: commonly, the complaint is that it tastes too burnt or bitter. Or, in my case, I think it tastes more rich or flavourful. I like the stronger flavour better. (And, contrary to popular belief—darker coffees have less caffeine as the longer roasting time eliminates more of it.) Personally, I suspect there’s also less coffee in a Timmy’s coffee, but that’s just speculation on my part.

Specialty Drinks

There’s no comparison here. A Timmys powdered “cappuccino” concoction is just disgusting; ditto with their version of “iced coffees”, whatever they’re called. What the heck is in those anyhow? My guess is that they’re consumed by the same crowd of folks that can actually stomach a McDonald’s “milkshake”. Frankly, the best reason to go to Starbucks is their yummy, quality specialty drinks like Frappucinos, Eggnog Lattes and Tazo Chai Lattes (there you have it—three of my favourites). Yes, they’re expensive. But they’re slightly cheaper than crack, not quite as addictive, and taste ever-so-good.

Food

Okay, Starbucks sandwiches suck; Timmy’s, on the other hand, serves a tasty lunch. Then again, Timmy’s “fresh-from-frozen” doughnuts suck sewer-water through party straws. For the love of god—a doughnut is not supposed to be that heavy and chewy! (Also, Timbits are sub-par compared to Dunkin’ Donuts. Does anybody remember them? If not, drive to Montreal—you can still find them.) The new Timmy’s breakfast sandwich is not quite up to the level of Harvey’s or A&W—though it might be if they ditched the scone-like bread—but Starbucks has their own in the works. But anyhow—this is supposed to be about coffee, right? So enough about this… time for another coffee.

Readers have left 9 comments.

 No.9  Untitled

Hi, you should check out the sites www.timhortonslies.wordpress.com and www.thetdlgroupltd.com and see what this company is all about. How does someone else own the corporate name?? You can contact me if you would like more info.

Guest (Unregistered) • 2010-06-10 11:54:25

 No.8  One more thing...

Oh, and I love how everyone that leaves a negative comment doesn't leave their name...

Tissty (Unregistered) • 2009-05-29 14:37:37

 No.7  Ah, my coffee soulmate!

I could not agree with you more.
As for the taste of the coffee- Tim Horton's is the one that's always burnt tasting. I often refer to it as dirty dish water. How can you drink that garbage if you truly appreciate a good cup of coffee. I tried an iced coffee from Timmys last week, just to see, I swear it was a glass of sugar with a splash of milk. I spit it out, and dumped the rest down the sink. Iced coffee is coffee over ice. I guess the concept is too hard to grasp.
You forgot to mention Starbucks breakfast sandwiches (or maybe they don't have them at your location). I think they're quite good. They aren't previously frozen, and the egg actually tastes like egg. The bacon actually tastes like bacon. Crazy!

Tissty (Unregistered) • 2009-05-29 14:35:33

 No.6  Re: get to the point....

So tell us how you really feel.... where is the comparison you know the pros ans cons, good and bad. Prove your Work. back it with stats.

— Guest

Huh? What I am proving? Pros and cons of what, precisely? What statistic should I be presenting? Please help.

Eric Mathurin (Super Administrator) • 2008-10-19 16:54:51

 No.5  get to the point....

So tell us how you really feel.... where is the comparison you know the pros ans cons, good and bad. Prove your Work. back it with stats.

Guest (Unregistered) • 2008-10-19 13:19:21

 No.4  Re: ...

You have not compared, you gave us your opinion; as strong as it might be, follow up with facts.

— Guest

I'm puzzled. This is a blog -- of COURSE it's my opinion. What facts or evidence might you expect to see when it comes to matters of personal taste? If I say, "Your hat is uglier than mine", what facts may I offer to back up the statement, other than that it is simply my opinion? Maybe you should have started reading from the beginning.

Eric Mathurin (Super Administrator) • 2008-06-03 14:02:07

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