A bad cup of Tim Hortons? Is that Possible?
 

I had a bad cup of Tim Hortons' coffee the other day.
The coffee had a burnt flavor.

The wierd thing is that even if they did not want to stick to the 20 minute rule on a pot of coffee they would not be able to do it as the stuff goes so quickly in the mornings.

Have any of you ever had a bad cup of Tim Hortons?


I never really believed in the Tim Hortons mini-outlet inside the Esso Gas Stations, but this one is directly on my way to work. I have bought there before many times and never had a problem but I don't know if I am going to buy there again.
I think I may start going out of the way to another one again. the added benefit of doing this is being able to go through the drive through - winter is coming folks.

I don't drink Coffee so every cup is bad to me... even if its from Timmys.

I got through a mini outlet at an Esso every day, I find the line up is more manageable than the regular store and they have a drive through.

Other than them occasionally screwing up my order (forgetting to put cream or sugar) I havnt really had an issue with the coffee quality.

If it was just the once I'd give them another chance.


On another note I went into my first Starbucks last week, man, that was awkward, I felt stupid trying to order. Really pricy too! I didnt think the taste was any better than Tims.

It is comepletely different. Starbucks is much closer to Second Cup then Tim Hortons.
Ya, and why is a Grande the small one and not the big one?

Bat cup? ;)

Bleh, Tim's coffee is so watered down and bland, I don't know why it's so popular. I notice that most freinds of mine that love the stuff drink it with cream and sugar while I drink my coffee black no sugar. Maybe people that like double doubles don't know what good coffee should taste like? Trust me, Tim's coffee served black with no sugar tasts like crap compared to decent coffee shops.

Does this make me a bad Canadian??

no it just makes you American

;)

anyone try the new breakfast sandwich?

I think it may be considered treason to say it, but every cup of Tim's is a bad cup of coffee. Like splck said, the shit is so watered down and bland that you have no choice but to drown it in cream and sugar.
I'm more of a Bridgehead fan myself, I may pay $0.40 more for my daily coffee (it'd be $0.50, but I bring my own mug, which is something that Timmy's won't do, unless it's a Tim's mug), but their idea of fair trade coffee involves encouraging growers to grow a product that is worth the extra money, as opposed to some other coffeeshops who'll call a coffee 'fair trade' just because they're charging you too much.
If Timmy's ever decided to offer some sort of premium coffee, a dark roast with some actual flavour, I'd give it a shot. But I would still sooner eat out a dumpster than eat any of their food (including the parbaked and frozen donuts).

Yea not a coffee drinker here so they all taste bad. And I tried their breakfast sandwiches today Aro23, they were pretty tasty.

well, yesterday I was in the Tim Horton's across from Maple Leaf Gardens, when I noticed the customer at the counter ahead of me had a dog in his arms. A mid-sized Akita style pet.

Holding it over the counter as he ordered. Fuck. I've noticed a trend where people are bringing their mini dogs into all the stores they go to a la Paris Hilton style. But really, a restaurant???? and the cashier did nothing. There were dog hairs and paw prints on the counter. What's up with that?

Leto, that's just gross.

I am not a fan of Tim's but will drink it on a road trip. If I have my choice, I will make my own coffee with my stove top espresso maker. Here in Singapore, there used to be Tim's but no longer. So now, I drink the local coffee. It's good and strong.

The only time I ever get a bad cup is occasionally in the gas station with the mini-tim's set ups, usually in the middle of the night. They are remarkably consistent from store to store.

Now Starbucks and Second Cup is ALWAYS a bad cup of coffee!

Timothy's makes a nice cup of coffee, something for everyone there.

My wife thinks the new breakfast sandwich is Manna from heaven. It's pretty greasy, but at least as good as any other fast food breakfast sandwich.

I don't drink coffee. My Tims usual is an Everything Bagel, toasted with butter and Chedder cheese, with an apple juice and a peanut butter cookie. Mmm mm. Sometimes I have tea and that's fine.

whats in the breakfast sandwich? I've not heard of it, I'll have to look into it.

I don't drink coffee, however, there is a HUGE difference in quality and service between Tim Hortons stores.

For example, the Tim Hortons on Jane north of St. Claire is the WORST for service and quality of any Tim Hortons I have ever been to. A close second for terrible quality and piss poor service is Major Mackenzie and Jane up in Boondock land of Richmond Hill (or whatever that is up there)

TERRIBLE, stale, dirty, disgusting washrooms, get your order wrong, you name it, it's happened to me at those locations.

Now the Tims at Renforth south of Eglinton is very very good.

It all comes down to who the owners hire and whether or not they have enough staff.

I have personally had a non-Tim's travel mug filled at 4 seperate locations. At least 100 times, probably dozens of employees. On occasion, they ask me or another employee what to charge. Never been denied or looked at funny.

And yes, I've had a bad cup there. But the percentage of bad tims to the percentage of bad second cup or timothys or starbucks. I've had hundreds of Tims, had 3 or 4 "off" ones. I've had way less from the other stores, but had more burnt or 'off' cups. As I've mentioned in other Tims related threads, I chalk it up to the mass production factor; they've had enough quantity and staff training to get it right more often than other shops.


Best Tim's I've had was in Halifax. Worst was a tie in (London and or Toronto) Had a bad two in a row from Salmon Arm then Kelowna on day when I was driving.

Maybe it was just the one time then, nobody wanted to decide if they were allowed to do it, so I just paid the 5 or 10 cents. I never tried anywhere else though.

Okay, I'm going to weigh in on this one:

Over the years, I've become a bit of a connaisseur of coffee. I consider it a beverage that can be held with similar esteem as other types of beverages, including wine and whiskey. The reason is because of the complexity involved in the production and preparation of the drink from the earth to the cup.

In my years of obsessively seeking the perfect cup of coffee, I've come to the conclusion that you really have to take matters into your own hands. My best coffees are the ones that I make at home with my French press and on-the-spot ground beans that were freshly roasted within a few days. There is a number of variables that go into what we simply call a "coffee." This is why there is such variation between Tim Horton's, Second Cup, Starbucks, etc. I've found that if I want the best, I need to do it myself.

Most chains just can't do it right for a number of reasons, including cost (Tim Hortons) and corporate ignorance (Starbucks). For starters, Starbucks overroasts their beans to give it that "burnt" flavour people seem to enjoy. (Bleh.) Tim Hortons customers are so price sensitive that they can't expect to get a decent cup of coffee, just one that "tastes good." I've had Tim Hortons coffee on a number of occasions, but as I've developed my tastes, I've lost all appreciation for their product.

Ordering a double double to me makes the drink taste like liquid coffee candy. So I had decided to start ordering a "regular," but even this was too sweet, so then I started to order "half-a-cream, half-a-sugar," but this would short circuit the employees' minds, so I had to resort to ordering only extra-large "regulars."

I then did a fateful thing: I ordered a small black coffee... Where in hell do they get their beans?! My conclusion is that Tim Hortons coffee tastes like ass. I will never order it black ever again... the cream and sugar is necessary to mask just how terrible it is. From that day forward, I only get Tim Hortons if I'm desperate.

Hard to argue with Baraka, and indeed I tend to go to him when I have any questions about coffee. I sure got in trouble once when he came over to find my grinder was dirty. I've also been reprimanded for keeping my beans in the freezer. Although I will drink Tim's from time to time, it's more to feed my addiction than to truly enjoy the taste, which I tend to mask by asking for "regular."

In keeping with the original thread, I am not in the least bit surprised by a bad cup of coffee from Tim's since, well, their coffee is bad!!

I've heard there are 3 grades of Tim's beans.

Each store can't change the price, but they can pick which grade of bean they serve. The higher grade beans reduce their profit margins but are higher quality.

Take this with a single cream, single sugar -- it is just hearsay.

i didn't know about the grade of beans, but I know that Wendy's had control of Timmy's for a while, and they were quite often paired together. So when I saw a line 10 deep for Tim's coffee, and nobody at the Wendy's half of the store, I would just go over to the Wendy's a get a coffee.

Tasted the same.

Some coffee kiosk operator in Sudbury told me that he gets his beans from the same supplier as Tim's called Mother Parker's.

Take that with cream only. Please.

this happened at my store the other day

fuckin keep your dog outside, it doesn't belong in the store... and especially not on the counter

I've had a few questionable Timmy Ho Ho coffees in my time but even a bad one is like crack anyway. It's one of the things I miss the most about not living in Canada anymore. Every time I get back from the US Tim's is my first stop for comfort then the night it's off for an ice cold Keiths

The point was not which coffee is generally a good coffee (that is a whole other thread - and a side conversation we get into on any thread discussing Tim Hortons) but maybe i could have phrased it better.

I could have said that I went into Tim's bought a coffe and found that it was way below the standard that they usually keep.
Has that ever happened to you that you go to a place for coffee and one day the coffee just does not meet the standard that you have come to expect.

And I asked this question becuase Tim's (whether you like it or not) is supposed to keep a standard in stores and across all stores. It is kind of like MacDonald's - the fries will look and taste the same no matter where you go.

This is why at Tim's they have that speacial machine that measures out the amount of cream and surgar based on the cup size - so that a double double (or single single or whatever) tastes the same everytime no matter what size you choose.

When you put it that way, I have to say, all my coffee from Timmy's has been consistant. And I don't mind drinking it, even though I prefer a bolder, stronger flavour.

i am glad to hear that everyone seems to be getting for the most part a good cup of coffee at tim hortons. I drink about 2 cups a week of the stuff and find a huge different of taste at each location. I go back to one more often due to the taste difference. bitter or too sweet, burnt tasting...etc

Funny you mention it. I've worked with a few Canucks here in Arizona over the past few years and they sometimes bring a pack of Tim Horton's brew-your-own. It never tasted quite like the ones I had in Canada. My colleague said she thinks that Tim's lines the inside of the paper cup with cocaine to make you addicted to it and keep coming back. Silly, I know, but why does the coffee taste different when you buy it at the shop?

I do enjoy a Starbuck's as a treat from time to time, but Tim Horton's far out performs Dunkin' Donuts or any fast food outlet coffee. It's the first purchase I make when I get into Michigan or cross the border into Canuckistan.:lol:

P.S. I really miss Sleeman Cream Ale!

i love the Sleemans. we even have a dog named sleeman.

Sleeman's is no longer owned by a Canadian company... that kind of sucks.

My first purchase when I cross the border isn't Tim's...it's a real live Coke, with real sugar instead of HCFS.

Mmm.

The Tim's comes later.

Huh?? what's that about Coke and HCFS?? what is HCFS, and why is America messin around with coke???

High fructose corn syrup. Coke in Canada and Mexico and abroad is not made with HCFS. It's made with cane sugar. Coca-Cola contends that the HCFS creates a flavor profile that Americans are used to--one with more pow! versus the lasting flavor profile that real sugar creates. Personally, I prefer the real sugar version.

HFCS exists because of a large US government subsities to the (damn it, forgot what plant they use to generate mass fructose) industry. In effect, almost everywhere else HFCS isn't much cheaper than sugar -- but in the USA, it is LOTS cheaper than sugar.

So they use the cheap stuff in your Coke!

tim hortons coffee has nicotene in it, when i found that out i haven't been back. just an addiction thing for them i guess...

Yep. That's the real reason they use it, but the soda manufacturers contend that they use it because Americans prefer the flavor profile of soda made with HCFS.

This is one of the reasons I buy natural soda made with cane syrup and avoid products with HCFS. I do not want to support the corn lobby in any way, shape, or form.

This is a complete falsehood.

Kinda off topic but...
Yeah it does kinda suck that Sleeman's was sold but believe me it was sold to the best possible option in my opinion.
Molson/Coors or Labatt would have closed down the brewery, let most of the employees go (here's one of the places I'm totally biased :lol: ) and killed most of the brands save for the best selling ones.
Sleeman's and Sapporo have been working together for quite some time now, and a buy out was going to happen one way or the other and atleast this way it goes to a corporation that has very similar interests.

Anyway as far as Tim's goes...
I've had many a burnt coffee at Tim's but not at the stores I usually go to. Really I think it just comes down to the individual stores hires.
Good workers = better coffee.

didn't Molson's purchase Creemore?

(oh yes, good workers = better coffee - I've been having a tough time getting my order straight these days at the tim hortons. seems the staff has some language issues)

As a pack-a-day smoker who finds Tim's coffee to be repulsive, I have a hard time believing that.

Tims coffee definitely does not have nicotine in it. As for home brewed time coffee tasting differently than the stores coffee, I would expect such. Different coffee brewers, freshness and quality of the product, different amount of sugar/cream being measured etc. could all play a role in the taste difference.

I find quite a difference in coffee among stores in my area (Halifax). But I found a store I like and the consistency at that store is great.