Tim Hortons! I never expected to find this Canadian institution listed as an Epinions category. Then again, I do recall hearing that the chain has expanded into the United States, so that would probably explain the inclusion.

Those of you who live in Canada (and particularly southern Ontario) will probably already understand the importance of Tim Hortons in this area. For the rest of you, I will attempt to describe some reasons for the almost religious dedication that we folks have for this otherwise unremarkable food chain.

Note: for some strange reason Tim Hortons does not use an apostrophe in it's own name. Therefore, I will also respectfully refer to it as "Tim Hortons", not "Tim Horton's".

THE HISTORY

The original Tim Hortons donut store was opened in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario. The restaurant was partly owned by it's namesake, NHL player Tim Horton. Tim Horton played professional hockey for 22 years with several teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs. To obtain more money to invest into his expanding donut chain, Tim Horton returned from retirement in 1973 to play hockey for one more year with the Buffalo Sabres. Tragically, in February 1974, Tim Horton died in a car accident while driving home to Buffalo after a game in Toronto.

The donut chain continued to grow after Tim Horton's death. There are currently over 1600 Tim Hortons in Canada, and over 100 in the United States. In 1995 Tim Hortons merged with Wendy's to help ease it's expansion into the United States.

THE COFFEE

Enough about ancient history. The story alone doesn't make Tim Hortons so popular: the coffee does! Quite simply, Tim Hortons coffee is by far the best tasting coffee you can find anywhere. The flavour is smooth and rich with almost no aftertaste, unlike those strong burnt-tasting coffees you get from Starbucks and Second Cup. The coffee is always hot, and they claim that it is freshly brewed every 20 minutes. If you've ever had a cup of coffee from McDonald's or Burger King that's been sitting in the pot for hours then you'll know what I mean: fresh coffee is better coffee.

Unlike Starbucks where you are forced to choose from an ever-changing selection of coffee types from a variety of tongue-twisting exotic names (Maltan-Peruvian-what?) at Tim Hortons there is just "coffee". Amazingly, you can easily walk up to the counter and say "I'd like a black coffee, please", and they will hand you one. No funny looks, no confusion, and you won't end up with decaf by mistake when you were trying to stay awake during a late-night exam cram session.

Well, actually, let me clarify things a little more. In recent years Tim Hortons has added some newer flavours of specialty coffees, such as the Cafe Mocha French Vanilla. These are quite tasty, but kept separate from the main coffee product. No confusion here!

In summers, Tim Hortons also offers Iced Cappuccinos, something between a coffee and a milkshake. I suspect this is a nod to the trendier coffee joints--but, despite the misguided intention, they taste pretty darned good especially when it's too hot outside to drink normal coffee.

A final comment on the coffee: it is reasonably priced. A small coffee costs around $1.00 CAN, and a large costs under $1.50. Not too bad, compared to Starbucks where I've paid close to $2.00 for a small lousy cup of bitterness.

THE FOOD

Well, it's a donut shop, isn't it? The donuts at Tim Hortons are also excellent. The varieties are innumerable, and they are pretty much always fresh unless you are very unlucky and arrive at a strange time.

Tim Hortons is also known for it's "Tim Bits", small round balls of donut material similar to the "donut holes" sold elsewhere. You can pick up a snack pack of Tim Bits for around $2.00. This is a lot more filling than a single donut, and you can sample all the varieties (good for when you can't decide). You can also pick up a huge bucket of Tim Bits quite cheaply--a common solution for those of us who need to bring snacks to a party or bake sale and can't cook worth a damn.

The late 1990's saw the addition of deli sandwiches, soups, and bagels to most Tim Hortons locations. They are a little more pricey than I'd like, but very fresh and extremely tasty. The only complaint I have about these new menu additions is that they slow down the lines. When I want to run in and grab a quick coffee I don't like to be held up in line behind someone trying to decide what they want on a sandwich. Happily, that's only happened to me once or twice so I suppose I'll let it slide.

THE ATMOSPHERE

In recent years all the Tim Hortons I've visited have switched to a nonsmoking policy. I can't say whether this is the case everywhere or just a symptom of Ontario's new tougher anti-smoking laws, but I like the change. In other donut stores the coffee and donuts always taste like smoke--disgusting. And I can't enjoy my coffee when I can't breathe.

In general, the atmosphere at Tim Hortons is quite nice. They've recently renovated most of them to replace the old orangey-brown interiors with a modern tasteful "cafe" decor. The seats are far enough apart that you can have a conversation without feeling that everyone is overhearing your oh-so-private words. Unless it's lunch hour you can linger and chat without feeling pressured to finish up and free the table.

THE SERVICE

The service at Tim Hortons is usually very quick and competent, though it does vary from location to location. A few times I've gone late at night and the teenage staff was more busy socializing with friends than serving customers. This is not a good thing, but thankfully rare.

Most larger Tim Hortons now have drive-through windows, and some locations are now being built as only drive-throughs, with no seating areas. Driving through is generally faster than going inside with the exception of those damn sandwiches again.

ROLL UP THE RIM!

Every winter, after the excitement of Christmas has passed and the novelty of the icy Canadian weather has worn off, Tim Hortons launches it's annual "Roll up the Rim to Win" contest. Basically, after you're done your coffee you can roll up the edge of your paper cup and win prizes ranging from a free donut to a free 4x4 truck. It always adds a bit of excitement to your coffee drinking experience, even if the odds do seem to get worse with each passing year. How the heck can I drink 100 coffees during the course of the contest and only win one cookie? Gimme a break!

Still, the contest is hugely popular and has been copied numerous times. This year I noticed Burger King was running a similar promotion. If I was Tim Hortons, I'd sue. But I'll leave that to the lawyers.

CONCLUSION

Everyone I know, no matter where I meet them, seems to like Tim Hortons the best. An aggressive pro-Canadian advertising campaign with lots of hockey tie-ins helps. Sometimes the commercials can be a little nauseatingly heartwarming, but in general Tim Hortons knows what they are doing.

If you're looking for good, fast, hot, affordable coffee and donuts then try Tim Hortons. We Canadians don't worship just anyone! This place is immensely popular for a good reason.


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