Double-Double forever

A person whose face is covered with bandages drinks a Tim Hortons coffee in profile.

I live in a premium coffee house. My partner insists on stocking beans from his favourite independent roaster, so I start nearly every day with home-brewed espresso. Last summer, I spent the better part of a month in the cloud forests of Panama learning about organic growing practices from a local coffee farmer and sipping on batches of beans I watched him micro roast. My point is that my palette is no stranger to a quality cup of café. Yet, almost every time I come across its grammatically incorrect sign, I can’t help but slip into a Tim Hortons to order a drink so popular it has its own Canadian Oxford Dictionary entry: the doubledouble.

What makes this sweet milky drink so irresistible? The company’s secret recipe is carefully guarded. According to Tims, only three people know the full process of blending and roasting its Arabica beans. Still, one can’t imagine the procedure being all that unusual: Tims even works with the same supplier (Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee) McDonalds uses. The result is slightly sour—a strangely satisfying taste that has inspired all sorts of theories about what secret ingredient could make it so addictive. In fact, the corporate giant has even gone to some lengths to dispel some of the more sinister urban myths about its recipe, stating on its website that it uses “NO ADDITIVES whatsoever”—specifically ruling out nicotine and MSG—in its blends. So, it’s probably not the physical properties of what most Canadians will generally agree is a mediocre-tasting cup of coffee (in my opinion, best watered down with cream and sugar) that keeps us coming back for more.

In Canada, Tim Hortons are as common as apologies. As of September 2016, there were nearly 5,000 franchise restaurants spread across the continent. Its prevalence, and the fact the chain dates back to 1964, is likely why its coffee features prominently in the memory of many Canadians. I’m no exception. Those long drives to the cottage, the smell of my mother’s cigarette mixing with the steam from her red cup—it all comes flooding back to me in a swell of patriotic nostalgia whenever I drink Tims.

But, after learning about Douglas Hunter’s Double Double (yes, there are entire books about the coffee shop’s impact), I wondered how much of my pride in the brand was merely amplified by clever marketing. Tim Hortons didn’t become the pop icon it is today until the early 2000s, having spent much of its history in competition with numerous chains. Many of these folded during the recession. In 2002, Tims surpassed McDonald’s as the biggest fast food retailer in Canada. The company also implemented an astute marketing strategy, positioning itself as the country’s coffee of choice. By now, we’re all used to commercials featuring middle-class “average” families enjoying the brand while doing stereotypically Canadian activities (like, say, watching a hockey game). And don’t forget Tims’ “True Stories” campaign, which showed the role the coffee plays in real Canadians’ lives (for example: “Lillian”). Tims encouraged us to feel national pride, and many of us obliged. When the company merged with Burger King in 2014, there was outcry from across the land.

So why am I still drinking the stuff? The answer is simple and the main reason I started going to Tims in the first place: It’s cheap. I can drink a lot more of it for less than I would spend on other brands. With its low price comes an attainability and unpretentiousness other coffee shops struggle to mimic. Tims employees won’t treat you like a ghost the way some Starbucks baristas do or unintentionally intimidate you the way hipster coffee places can. Watch the commercials, and Tims will lead you to believe it’s meant for the average Canadian. Visit a store, and know that is accessible to every one of us.

This story first appeared in Passport2017, a Strategic Content Labs and Heritage Canada project.

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