# Tim Horton's enters the NYC donuts and coffee fray......so, what's good? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973 "2009-07-14T13:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/41 "2009-07-15T13:23:22Z")
> [@Billdo](#): > > The coffee I got seemed a little bit burned (though the Dunkin Donuts coffee that I prevously got in the same location was sometimes burned a bit as well–I think it was a problem of them not rotating the pots quickly enough). The flavor was OK but it didn’t knock my socks off. The donuts in the case looked tasty, but I wasn’t in the mood for an afternoon snack. I’ve gotten the occasional bad bitter coffee from Tims all over Canada. They are supposed to rotate the pots every 20 minutes or so. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/42 "2009-07-15T14:30:07Z")
The breakfast sandwiches are amazing. I could go for the sausage egg and cheese right now actually. They’re always tender and fluffy and not sickeningly greasy or sloppy like other breakfast chains I’ve tried. They let you swap any side for a healthy apple which lets me turn my guilty pleasure into just a pleasure. It’s already been said, but their Iced Capps really are an orgasm through a straw. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/43 "2009-07-15T14:34:18Z")
Do they stop selling breakfast sandwiches at a certain time? I was in there yesterday at about 11:15am and there was nothing on the menu about any kind of breakfasty food, just what looked like subway sandwiches for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/44 "2009-07-15T14:57:59Z")
Our local Tims stops breakfast at 11 weekdays, noon on weekends. Their iced coffee makes DD’s iced coffee taste like used road tar. The only issue is around here the large iced anything is in a 44oz styrofoam cup that fits in nothing in my car. I have to downsize, alas. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/45 "2009-07-15T15:03:58Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > Our local Tims stops breakfast at 11 weekdays, noon on weekends. ☹ Aw, I start work at noon each day and wanted to grab something on the way in. At least Dunkin has their breakfast menu all day. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/46 "2009-07-15T15:57:04Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 1. NYC didn’t have Tim Horntons before? Weird. I keep forgetting they are not a national chain here in America. None in NYC that I was aware of. If they’re wise they’ll move into NJ next. I noticed on their website they have no locations there. Get some drive-thrus going it’ll be a goldmine. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/47 "2009-07-15T18:21:32Z")
I’m not a coffee drinker, but when I go to Timmies, my favourite thing to get is a chocolate chip muffin and either a regular Ice Cap (in summer) or one of the Hot Smoothies, usually French Vanilla. (in winter) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/48 "2009-07-15T18:27:22Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Actually, it’s _ **Tim Hortons.** _ Not “Horntons”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/49 "2009-07-15T20:44:17Z")
> [@mack](#): > > None in NYC that I was aware of. If they’re wise they’ll move into NJ next. I noticed on their website they have no locations there. Get some drive-thrus going it’ll be a goldmine. They just opened the ones in Penn Station Monday, so I’m thinking this is in the way of an experiment and a very recent one at that. Maybe they plan to expand once they see if it takes off in their test locations? I keep thinking I should stop and try their breakfast sammiches one of these days, just to see how they are. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/50 "2009-07-15T22:55:10Z")
I love my Tim Hortons (no apostrophe anymore) coffee as much as anyone but I’m afraid there’s something different about it at U.S. locations. I find it tastes very similar to Dunkin’ Donuts coffee which I drank once in desperation of a coffee fix and will never touch again. I’ll try Tim’s again next trip to NYC but I’m expecting to be buying Americano Grandes from Starbucks by the end of the trip. I really hope my pessimism is proven wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/51 "2009-07-16T00:02:15Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > I love my Tim Hortons (no apostrophe anymore) coffee as much as anyone but I’m afraid there’s something different about it at U.S. locations. This is without a doubt true. It’s common for Canadian coffee to include chicory, and although I don’t know for a fact that Tim’s coffee has chicory, I always just assumed that it did. Still, their American blend is fantastic. I’m wondering, in fact, how they do it. Not too long ago, I was short on coffee (for home), and I saw a bag of whole bean, Tim Hortons coffee in the drive through window and bought it. It was simply horrible. I couldn’t figure out how to brew it properly before the whole bag of beans was gone. To be honest, at home, I prefer a French roast, and when made from whole beans and using the proper quantity, the store brand hopper stuff is truly great. I’m thinking maybe my home-brewed Tim’s wasn’t so bad, but the situational expectations skewed my perception of it. As for chicory coffee, I have to buy that in Sarnia when I want it. It’s nice, but not worth a special trip. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/52 "2009-07-16T05:43:49Z")
I have nothing substantial to add, but I feel I must comment. Tim Hortons is the fuel of the Canadian economy, particularly of shift workers. Seriously, most of my co workers will be late if its a choice of getting to work on time, or getting their Timmy fix. (I prefer [Robins,](http://robinsdonuts.com) coffee, but then again I am old school and Tim’s hadn’t infested my home town until the last 10 years or so.) Tim Hortons not only provides caffine, sugar and grease to millions of Canadians daily, it manufactures pseudo-emotion and nostalgia, with commercials that show people flying back home from all points of the world to get Maple danishes, (which are so addictive I believe they have a totally different Schedule number that doesnt go on the scale of Morphine or crack) or they show kids buying an old timer a coffee. Its on par with the “I am Canadian” beer commercials. My biggest annoyance with them right now is that the one nearest me has a very inconvienient drive-thru lane that requires a tight turn and it puts me several blocks out of my way. Of course Robins is a few blocks further and has a tiny parking lot and no drive-thru… ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/53 "2009-07-16T11:54:33Z")
Being a victim of the economy I presently work at Tim Hortons. Actually, I’d be there right now if I didn’t get a job with my old company. I have one shift left there, on Friday, so if anybody wants to ask some behind the scenes questions… ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/54 "2009-07-16T12:22:42Z")
> [@Juliefoolie](#): > > Tim Hortons not only provides caffeine, sugar and grease to millions of Canadians daily, it manufactures pseudo-emotion and nostalgia, with commercials that show people flying back home from all points of the world to get Maple Danishes, (which are so addictive I believe they have a totally different Schedule number that doesn’t go on the scale of Morphine or crack) or they show kids buying an old timer a coffee. Its on par with the “I am Canadian” beer commercials. What’s odd for people of my generation and older, is that Tim Hortons is relatively new, but the Canadian donut/coffee fetish is certainly _not_ new. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, going to Canada wasn’t like entering a foreign country; it was just part of my town on the other side of the river. And there were donut shops _everywhere_ compared to our side of the river, but there were no Tim Hortons (or at least, they were overshadowed by everything else). These days when I go to Sarnia, there are no more local donut shops; only Tim Hortons. As much as I like Tim’s, I’m a little saddened by the homogenization of the Canadian donut industry. In fact, it’s now _we_ in Michigan that have the fabulous variety available. And damnit, even though I tend towards Tim Hortons, I’m going to make it a point to go to one of the independents next time. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/55 "2009-07-16T23:27:35Z")
Thats sort of what I think too, Balthasar. I grew up in the home of Robins Donuts, and they were everywhere, and Tim’s had one store and one kiosk in the mall. Sometime between about '99 and 2003 they took on the local market, to the suffering of every other chain, and a few independant places. I usally buy my coffee elsewhere, but the takeout cups cluttering up the nursing station are usually 5:1 for Tims. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/56 "2009-07-17T14:17:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Now? When did it start in the Maritimes? We’ve had it for three or four years now. I was talking to the girls at Tims yesterday and they said that we have had steeped tea for between 6 and 7 years here in the Maritimes. It started here because that’s the way we drink our tea…usually brewed in one of these… [http://www.historyandnostalgia.com/glass/GL006554.htm](http://www.historyandnostalgia.com/glass/GL006554.htm) with four to six teabags, and left sitting on a stove half the day. We used to say it was thick enough to walk on…lol. there is no comparison between this method and dropping a bag in a cup of hot water. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/57 "2009-07-18T16:42:16Z")
Double double, honey cruller. On a warm day, replace double double with an Iced Capp. I really hope that the fledgling American locations do it right! Rotate the coffee pots, brew it the same way the Canadian chains do it, get it the way it’s supposed to be. Right now, that’s the painful part of trips to the States - no Timmy’s to keep me going from destination to destination. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/58 "2009-07-19T20:44:20Z")
> [@lolagranola](#): > > I really hope that the fledgling American locations do it right! … that’s the painful part of trips to the States - no Timmy’s to keep me going from destination to destination. It almost sounds like you think the NYC locations that inspired this thread are the only ones in the US. A big (or at least a very populous) portion of the country has had TH for some time. I’m not sure what parts you’re visiting, but they’re quite common around here. There are exactly 10 Tims within 10 miles of my house here in southwest Ohio. From the TH website: [QUOTE=Tim Hortons] Tim Hortons locations can presently be found in Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York… [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/59 "2009-07-20T03:19:06Z")
> [@Spezza](#): > > Being a victim of the economy I presently work at Tim Hortons. Actually, I’d be there right now if I didn’t get a job with my old company. I have one shift left there, on Friday, so if anybody wants to ask some behind the scenes questions… Yeah, actually. WTH is an Iced Cappuccino? Ice and foam? It just defies logic. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973/60 "2009-07-20T12:20:47Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Yeah, actually. WTH is an Iced Cappuccino? Ice and foam? It just defies logic. Poison. Delicious poison, but poison nonetheless. Actually, it is a simple mixture of “Java mix” and water. The Java mix comes in a 1 litre(?) bag which is poured into a bucket and mixed with about 4 times as much water. Without stirring or anything the mixture is poured straight into the top of the Ice Cap machine. Somewhat surprisingly the Java mix has a viscosity identical to water. To make an Ice Cap for a customer you simply add a disturbing amount of cream to the cup, pour on the slurp Ice Cap mix from the machine, and hold the cup as it is stirred at high speed by the whipper thingy. If you must consume this poison I would suggest having it made with milk or chocolate milk. Having it made with milk instead of cream saves around a 100 calories. If you’re having a normal large Ice Cap you have to realize you’re drinking _shurgs_ two ounces of cream. Also, regular Ice Cap drinkers will notice differences in the drink (some are more frothy than others). Essentially any difference is because either the temperature (and therefore consistency) of the Ice Cap mixture coming out of the machine or how well the employee manages the stirring of the mixture. Chocolate and regular milk froth better than cream. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-hortons-enters-the-nyc-donuts-and-coffee-fray-so-whats-good/502973.md?page=4)