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).
Where to Buy Now: St. Lawrence, because everything an urbanite needs is within a five-minute walk
Established in 1803, St. Lawrence isn’t exactly a scrappy young upstart. But what it’s done exceptionally well on the urban-planning front, particularly since the ’80s and ’90s, is supply condo stock—spacious units made for empty nesters (80 George Street, Old Yorke Place) and young professionals (buildings on the Esplanade). Today, new towers are going up, including the Berczy and Backstage on the Esplanade, and realtors are pushing the neighbourhood’s boundaries as far north as Richmond and Queen, where the Post House and Vu condos are up and running. It makes for one of the city’s best car-ditching zones—here is a walking tour to prove it.
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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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Gawker gotchas: a roundup of Toronto’s most embarrassing moments according to the gossip giant
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Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail’s “Caption Writing Person” set off an online frenzy with a series of epic one-liners mocking Hollywood excess in the age of the Occupy Everywhere movement. But it wasn’t long before people began wondering—for no good reason, really—whether the Globe had been hacked. For its part, Gawker published a post saying the caption writer had gone “rogue” (an adjective we think remains best reserved for failed vice-presidential candidates). Of course, we’re just grateful that this Can Con moment was far less embarrassing than the usual appearances. Nonetheless, some Toronto Gawker headline highlights, after the jump.
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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A four-page essay may have helped a 22-year old avoid jail time for participating in Toronto’s G20 riots. Robin Henry’s essay, delivered to the court, was his attempt at explaining his actions, which included smashing the doors of a Starbucks and a Bell store (he also travelled to Botswana work with orphans). The implications of the ruling weren’t lost on his lawyer, who said his client would be heading to prison if Stephen Harper’s crime bill passes. But you’re not alone if you think the man’s sentence—12 months’ house arrest and 24 months’ probation—is a touch too light. Matt Galloway’s interview with the offender’s lawyer was a little tougher than usual. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
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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David’s Tea comes closer to world domination, but can it survive in the coffee-loving Annex?
The Annex loves its coffee (Image: John Vetterli)
Last weekend, a new David’s Tea location opened in the old Alex Cuts space along the Annex’s busy Bloor Street strip ($20 haircut lovers can breathe easy; Alex just moved a couple blocks away). After witnessing the recent closing of two tea shops on the two-block stretch from Brunswick to Albany, we can’t help but wonder: does David’s Tea have what it takes to avoid suffering the same fate as the late T-Café and All Things Tea?
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Starbucks’ Toronto recycling pilot program a success
(Image: Quinn Dumbrowski)
Starbucks has finally proven that its paper cups are recyclable. Turns out that most paper drinking receptacles from Starbucks end up in the garbage—recyclers usually don’t accept them. The coffee behemoth wanted to demonstrate that recycling its paper cups is feasible, so it looked to the GTA, of all places, where it collected 6,000 pounds of used paper cups and sent them to a pulp mill in Mississippi as part of a six-week pilot project. We always knew Torontonian latte sippers were good for something.
Apparently, the project was a success. Old paper cups were turned into new ones without any special kind of wizardry, although the Mississippi paper mill that successfully recycled them is the only mill in the U.S. that produces recycled paper fibre that’s sufficiently high quality to be used for eating and drinking purposes. The whole thing was part of Starbucks’ latest commitment to ensure that 100 per cent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015. Still, it seems to us this whole thing should have been looked into a while ago. Like 1991, maybe.
• Where Does That Starbucks Cup Go? [New York Times]
• Starbucks and International Paper Demonstrate Viability of Recycling Used Cups into New Cups [Businesswire]
Introducing: The Big Guy’s Coffee Shop, Queen West’s latest coffeemonger
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With a name like The Big Guy’s Coffee Shop, it’s tempting to think of Parkdale’s latest café as some kind of ironic jab at Starbucks and Tim Hortons. It’s named after the owner, Steven Turner, who earned the moniker during a managing stint at Second Cup because, well, he’s a pretty big guy. The South African expat has had a fairly successful run with The Big Guy’s Little Coffee Shop in New Toronto and decided a new venture closer to downtown was the next step.
Not even Starbucks could have saved George Smitherman’s campaign
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According to the Globe, which actually studied this, the availability of Starbucks in any given riding offers no indication of which direction on the political spectrum the inhabitants will vote. And that includes the latte-sipping, laptop-toting set from downtown Toronto that was so mocked around the time of the municipal election.
Phase two of Starbucks’ world domination plan: get baristas to slow down their beverage-making
Starbucking the trend: a location of the famed chain at College and Dovercourt
Mark our words: this will not end well.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks has instructed its baristas to slow down their latte-slinging in order to ensure better drink quality. That’s a noble goal, but anyone who’s watched the espresso bar at a Yorkville Starbucks on a Saturday morning could be forgiven for thinking these reforms aren’t likely to last long.
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