Starbucks doesn't need the sort of business that Tim Horton's gets. The markup that they have on their drinks is greater than that of Tim Horton's and there is usually a line of people at many locations. In fact I think that Starbucks would crumble if they ever did have the lineups that Tims has, due to the fact that drinks need to be made to order often times and the time required is greater than pressing a button and having sugar and cream come out of a machine. If they did have the long lineups it would quickly turn into a situation in which people would be waiting for 10-15 minutes for a cup of coffee and the number of customers would dwindle as a result. I am sure that someone has put together a study of the optimal line length for different coffee shops...
The bolded part in your post very aptly describes virtually every Starbucks location in every major US city. I travel to conferences once or twice each year in the States. There are always a few Starbucks at the downtown convention centres, and the lines are persistent and unceasing. It is not at all unusual to wait for 25–30 minutes to place and receive your order, regardless of the time of day.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
And yet, Tim Hortons has managed to convince an entire nation that their coffee somehow represents Canadian culture, and is engrained in Canadian identity. They hijacked an already very fragile collective grasp on what it means to be Canadian, and they filled it with ... filler. Its shallow, meaningless and somewhat offensive, and THAT's what bothers me.
It is smart advertising. An American corporation wrapping themselves in the Canadian flag and selling the point that Tim Hortons is a part of Canadian culture - there is the convenience factor and then pushing the franchises hard in order to develop a market due to the relative commonality of Tim Hortons locations, which are seemingly everywhere. If someone was to ask you where the nearest non-Tims coffee and donut shop was, I don't think many people would be able to tell you something other than more upscale shops like Second Cup and Starbucks.
Never could understand the point of de-caff, same with non-alcoholic beer.
It's a matter of enjoying the flavour/experience rather than the drug it contains. I drink almost exclusively decaf now because I've acquired a taste for coffee but don't want the addiction it comes with. I'll also drink nonalcoholic beer from time to time when I want the experience of having a cold beer without the drug effect.
I really think most regular coffee drinkers are likely just drug addicts.
When our Brit friends moved back to Canada last fall, TH at the airport was the first stop they wanted to make after they cleared customs/immigration. I have no yardstick to measure it by, because I've not been to the UK, but they aren't the first British friends of ours who claim that TH is better than anything they'd ever manage to get in the UK. Eh, it made them happy, so we stopped before taking them to their new home.
The bolded part in your post very aptly describes virtually every Starbucks location in every major US city. I travel to conferences once or twice each year in the States. There are always a few Starbucks at the downtown convention centres, and the lines are persistent and unceasing. It is not at all unusual to wait for 25–30 minutes to place and receive your order, regardless of the time of day.
I have never experienced that - but I know when I see a lineup for coffee that I knew I would have to wait in for over 5-10 minutes, I would just turn around or go to another place with a shorter lineup. I though that I would be in the majority in that sentiment. I can't imagine waiting for half an hour for a cup of coffee.
When our Brit friends moved back to Canada last fall, TH at the airport was the first stop they wanted to make after they cleared customs/immigration. I have no yardstick to measure it by, because I've not been to the UK, but they aren't the first British friends of ours who claim that TH is better than anything they'd ever manage to get in the UK. Eh, it made them happy, so we stopped before taking them to their new home.
I have never been to the UK, but coffee in continental Europe puts to shame anything we have here. I don't even consider them the same thing.
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When our Brit friends moved back to Canada last fall, TH at the airport was the first stop they wanted to make after they cleared customs/immigration. I have no yardstick to measure it by, because I've not been to the UK, but they aren't the first British friends of ours who claim that TH is better than anything they'd ever manage to get in the UK. Eh, it made them happy, so we stopped before taking them to their new home.
Costa is pretty good and those are every where in the UK.
When our Brit friends moved back to Canada last fall, TH at the airport was the first stop they wanted to make after they cleared customs/immigration. I have no yardstick to measure it by, because I've not been to the UK, but they aren't the first British friends of ours who claim that TH is better than anything they'd ever manage to get in the UK. Eh, it made them happy, so we stopped before taking them to their new home.
Weird. I went to school in the UK and generally found the coffee very good. Not continental Europe good, but definitely better than the average NA coffee stop.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
It's a matter of enjoying the flavour/experience rather than the drug it contains. I drink almost exclusively decaf now because I've acquired a taste for coffee but don't want the addiction it comes with. I'll also drink nonalcoholic beer from time to time when I want the experience of having a cold beer without the drug effect.
I really think most regular coffee drinkers are likely just drug addicts.
I often get a de-caf TH in the evening. Again because I like the taste of it. I think there are a lot of assumptions being made by those that dislike TH as to why people go there.
When trying to determine why someone likes something, I would tend to listen to the people that like it, as opposed to the people that don't.
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The bolded part in your post very aptly describes virtually every Starbucks location in every major US city. I travel to conferences once or twice each year in the States. There are always a few Starbucks at the downtown convention centres, and the lines are persistent and unceasing. It is not at all unusual to wait for 25–30 minutes to place and receive your order, regardless of the time of day.
This is how I see it. I thought Starbucks had a larger groupie customer base then Tim Hortons....
I mean, just look at this thread. The only Tim Hortons groupie is Matty.
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Coffee really tastes gross, objectively. People only drink it because it delivers a caffeine fix. Bitter ground up beans in hot water - yum! Your teeth are yellow, and your breath stinks.
Yeah but beer and a lot of alcohols taste gross if you really get down to it. Heck Coke/Pepsi tastes gross unless you like the taste of tablespoons of sugar in carbonated water. It's what we have been accustomed to. Comfort food so to speak that we have adapted to liking or in some cases addicted to.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 08-01-2013 at 10:00 AM.
I drink quite a bit of decaf coffee. I can only tolerate 2-3 cups of caffeinated coffee a day, so i switch to decaf coffee around noon. I enjoy the taste and the routine.
I like the caffeine kick in the morning but if I drink more then one Large or XL coffee a day, I get really jittery and uncomfortable so I switch to decaf too.
I genuinely love the taste of a Regular at Tims. If it's 30 degrees out, I'll still probably get the regular over an ice cap, even if it's decaf. Perfect mix of bitterness and sweetness. Once again though, anything besides that combination and I won't even drink it for free. I think a double double is the most disgusting thing in the world.
Weird. I went to school in the UK and generally found the coffee very good. Not continental Europe good, but definitely better than the average NA coffee stop.
Try Africa.
The best coffee I have ever had was at a seedy gas station in Cape Town. In fact every gas station in SA, had a full coffee bar with a barista.
Huzzah for third world pay!
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The bolded part in your post very aptly describes virtually every Starbucks location in every major US city. I travel to conferences once or twice each year in the States. There are always a few Starbucks at the downtown convention centres, and the lines are persistent and unceasing. It is not at all unusual to wait for 25–30 minutes to place and receive your order, regardless of the time of day.
Really? Wow. I've never had that experience anywhere, 5 minutes most of the time, maybe 10 if I go right at 9.
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I have no yardstick to measure it by, because I've not been to the UK, but they aren't the first British friends of ours who claim that TH is better than anything they'd ever manage to get in the UK. Eh, it made them happy, so we stopped before taking them to their new home.
