Like us, you’ve probably pondered Starbucks’ complete and total domination by asking, rhetorically, “What’ll they serve next, beer and wine?” And the answer is yes—that’s exactly what they’ll serve next (in limited markets in the States). But while Starbucks is expanding into booze, Tim Hortons has been muscling into the Starbucks market with outlandishly sized coffees and espresso-based drinks. Sure, their espresso might “smell like aluminum” and their latte might taste “tinny,” but the move is a clear encroachment on Starbucks’ turf. Not to be outdone, Starbucks seems to be trying to woo some of Tim Hortons’ customers with its new blonde roast. In a promotional video, one of their roasters says the new offering is perfect “for the person who always wished that Starbucks had a roast like this.” In other words, writes Jessica Allen at Maclean’s, it’s perfect for the typical Tim Hortons customer. It’s a subtle play, but if Starbucks tries to sign Sidney Crosby or appeal to sleepy Canadian nationalism, we’ll know what’s going on. Read the entire story [Macleans] »
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With its new blonde roast, Starbucks ups the ante in its simmering coffee war with Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons adds new extra-large cup, outguns Starbucks
Starbucks vs. Tim Hortons cup sizes (N.B.: Starbucks’s trenta size not included, since it’s only for cold drinks)
In news that’s already sending shock waves across the nation, Tim Hortons announced today that it’s introducing a new, larger coffee size: the mammoth, 24-ounce extra large, which will appear in stores January 23. To accommodate the new name, the old 20-ounce extra large has been renamed large, the old 14-ounce large is now a medium, the old 10-ounce medium is now small and the old eight-ounce small is extra small. If this is a cash grab, it’s not a blatant one: consumers will pay the same price for the same amount of coffee (e.g. a new small will cost what an old medium used to cost). No word yet on retaliatory measures from Starbucks, whose puny 20-ounce venti has now been definitively outclassed (and no, its trenta doesn’t count; it’s only for cold drinks).
When we first reported on the arrival of debit machines at Tim Hortons in 2010, we didn’t think it would come to this. Sure, we worried about the lines that would form as customers stabbed at the Interac terminals to pay for their double-doubles. But this is something else: last night, two men allegedly went on something of a PIN pad shopping spree, making off with the hand-held terminals from nine Tim Hortons drive-throughs in the GTA. Their M.O.? Distract the clerk, cut the cord connecting the device to the cash register and then speed off. Police finally nabbed the pair—clearly not criminal masterminds—as they were going for PIN pad number 10 at the Timmy’s in the east end at Kingston and Markham roads. As for the motive, Constable Tony Vella of the Toronto Police told reporters he couldn’t speculate on the case, but noted that some criminals have used stolen and altered PIN pads to collect sensitive banking data. We wonder whether these guys weren’t just hoping to move the lines along faster. Read the entire story [CBC] »
Sam James to open up shop in the Path
Coming soon to the Path: latte art (Image: Zack Simone from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)
In this season of giving, it’s only fitting that Toronto’s favourite coffee son, Sam James, would announce he’s taking pity on the poor downtown cubicle jockeys who’ve had to shuttle between Starbucks, Timmie’s, Second Cup and Timothy’s to get their fix. Starting February or March of next year, he’ll be opening up a second Sam James Coffee Bar in the Path beneath the Sun Life Financial Building at 150 King Street West. He first expanded from his original Harbord Street location with last year’s tiny Coffee Pocket on Bloor. Yesterday he told Post City that the new downtown location would preserve his signature bare-bones, no-seats vibe, and would be equipped with a pair of customized La Marzocco Lineas to handle the volume of traffic he’s expecting. He also took the opportunity to vent a little about the sterility of the financial district’s retail landscape: “The financial district in New York City is crammed with businesses; in Chicago, Intelligentsia has locked down the financial core. And Toronto’s financial district has nothing, but there are a ton of people who are looking for something good.” Read the entire story [Post City] »
Taste testing the new Tim Hortons espresso drinks with Bulldog Coffee’s Stuart Ross
Bulldog owner Stuart Ross at his downtown coffee shop (Image: Meaghan Binstock)
Monday marked the arrival of the new line of Tim Hortons “premium espresso”–based drinks we told you about a couple weeks back. Nestled in next to the iced cappuccino machine at Ontario locations is a new spaceship-like contraption that spits out everything from a simple espresso ($1.19) to cappuccinos ($2) and fancy-flavoured lattes ($2) using powdered milk. With one press of the appropriate button, the drink comes out, coffee, milk and all (there’s also a happy face made out of sprinkled cocoa on top of each beverage). To mark the occasion—and satisfy our curiosity about the stuff—we asked Stuart Ross, the owner of Bulldog Coffee and a champion barista, for his professional’s opinion on Timmy’s latest creation. What followed was a lot of confusion and some less-than-smiley faces, starting with the espresso. »
Latte sippers rejoice: Starbucks just started taking mobile payments in Canada
Screen shot of the app’s home screen
Starting today, Toronto’s latte-sipping elite will be able to get their caffeine fix that much more quickly with the Canadian release of Starbucks’ new iPhone app. The app works in concert with the coffee chain’s Starbucks Cards, allowing users to load the card’s value into the phone and then tap the phone at stores to make payments. It’s also possible to reload the balance using a credit card, practise building a “virtual beverage” (presumably to allay front-of-the-line anxiety) and search for jobs at nearby branches. The service was rolled out in the U.S. earlier this year and will be available on Android and BlackBerry phones in the future. And while we have our doubts about whether mobile payments will actually be any faster, at least the new app might cut back on customers prattling away on their phones while at the front of the line.
Tim Hortons to bring espresso to the 99 per cent
See you latte; Tim Hortons executive chairman, president and CEO Paul House (Image: CNW Group/Tim Hortons Inc.)
Tim Hortons, that Canadian bastion of par-baked doughnuts and extreme folksiness, announced yesterday that it will soon be making espresso-based coffees available in 2,500 locations across Canada. The drinks, which include lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, will be selling for significantly less than at their competitors: a 10-ounce latte is priced at just $2, compared to $2.95 for 8-ounces at Starbucks.
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With news of price hikes at Starbucks, we called around to see what indie shops are charging for their coffee
The coffee display at Manic Coffee (Image: Renée Suen from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)
On Tuesday, the Toronto Star reported that Starbucks had raised its prices for coffee and other beverages across the country by anywhere from 10 to 15 cents for a grande bold (16 ounces). This comes after Tim Hortons raised its prices back in April, which interim CEO Paul House attributed to the increasing cost of coffee thanks to a fungus that destroys coffee plants in Colombia. We decided to survey several local coffee retailers to see how a shift in the market is affecting their business. Check out whose prices went up, whose stayed the same and what innovative measures are being taken to offset costs, after the jump.
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“Stuff of Canadian legend”: locals and expats react to the new Dubai Tim Hortons
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We’re pretty sure that Tim Hortons brass were excited to set up shop in Dubai last weekend, but going by initial reports, that’s nothing compared to the joy of expats who’ve discovered a tiny oasis of Canadiana away from home. Sure, we’re used to getting our fix at any of three locations within spitting distance, but Canadians living in the Middle East have had to live Timbit-free since leaving home. We decided to poke around the Emirati blogosphere to see how locals and blissfully re-caffeinated Canucks have taken the big news.
Tim Hortons opens first Dubai shop, begins new era of coffee and doughnut colonialism
(Image: Tim Hortons)
After fulfilling its mission to open three stores for every library in Canada, this weekend Tim Hortons went ahead and set up shop in Dubai. According to a story in The National, Canadian expats swarmed the “Tim Hortons Café and Bake Shop” on opening day, rejoicing that the coffee and doughnuts taste exactly the same—which is not surprising, coming from the company with the infamous finely tuned par-bake then freeze process. The Dubai location has the same menu we’re used to—sadly no fun McArabia Kofta equivalent—and the staff has been fully educated on what that whole “double double” thing means.
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Toronto espresso hero Sam James is celebrating his tiny Harbord Street coffee bar’s second anniversary this Sunday, when he’ll be dispensing free lattes and other drinks to all comers (if it’s anything like last year’s celebration, expect a line). Over at Post City, Jon Sufrin has written a coffee geek’s guide to what makes the place special. Some of it is standard issue bean-nerdery: James is picky about his portafilters and he treats his tap water before using it in his espresso machines. But some of it is definitely next-level: apparently he’s been taking sommelier training courses to help “realize my potential for tasting coffee.” That’s dedication. Read the whole story [Post City] »
Why you should choose the medium roast (hint: it’s good for you)
Probably too dark to be healthy (Image: Nate Steiner)
Good news for over-caffeinated java junkies: a new study out of UBC has found that roasting coffee beans helps create stable antioxidants, the latest fad compound believed to help protect human cells from damage and premature aging. The research provides long-sought answers as to why roasting produces creates such potent antioxidants, and even suggests which roasts are best for a maximum dose. After the jump, four interesting things we learned from the study.
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Starbucks announces new supersized drink; stomachs shudder
A puny grande
The Internet was aflutter a couple days ago on the announcement that, starting yesterday, U.S. Starbucks customers will be able to order the 31-ounce (917 mL) Trenta, an enormous drink that makes Starbucks’ current largest size, the Venti, feel puny. The Trenta is so big it’s almost Big Gulp–sized: it is a whole seven ounces, or 207 mL, larger and costs 50 cents more than the Venti, but is exclusively for iced coffee, iced tea and lemonade.
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The rise of the indie coffee mini-empire
Dark Horse's new Queen and Euclid location keeps it real (Image: Jon Sufrin)
For Toronto coffee lovers, 2011 started in much the same way that 2010 finished: with further proof that the indie coffee craze shows no signs of slowing down. A third incarnation of Dark Horse opened at Queen and Euclid on January 2nd, joining Lit and Crema B Espresso as burgeoning mini-empires, with three locations each (a third Crema location is in the works). All of this, of course, raises the question: with indie cafés thriving due to their personal touch and attention to quality, will expansion mean selling out?
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Foam craft: seven baristas show us their best latte art
Mercury’s co-owner Matthew Taylor pours a fire-breathing dragon in a cup (Image: Jon Sufrin)
Ten years ago, latte art was virtually unheard of in Toronto. Today, finding a rosetta, heart or tulip swirled into a latte is as common as, well, an indie coffee shop on Queen West or College. While latte art is essentially just a garnish, it’s also telling of a barista’s competence. As Bulldog’s Stuart Ross—who helped bring the craft to the city—notes, it just won’t work unless the espresso and the milk are done right. And as the city’s coffee scene broadens, so does the complexity of coffee presentation. We hit the streets to find some of the more unusual, intricate and interesting examples of this culinary art. Click here to start the show »
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