Canadian Coffee

So, when I lived in Durham, the only thing we didn’t need more of other than Italian restaurants were more coffee shops.  That can be said of even more so about coffee shops in Toronto.  If there is any conclusion to be drawn from this, it is that Canadians love coffee.

Just at work alone, I can think of at least six coffee shops all within a quick walk from the office.  I’ve also found it not uncommon to wander the streets of Toronto and see green signs approximately every block.  Compare that to the decades it took Durham to just get one Starbucks. 

And many of these coffee shops are chain shops, but Toronto also boasts a plethora of indie coffee shops.  There’s one in Cabbagetown that caught my interest (pictured below).

‘Jet fuel’ anyone?

This little shop caught my interest purely because of its name, ‘Jet Fuel’.  When I lived in Roosy Road last year, my coffee was described as ‘Daz’s Diesel’ on account of its put-hairs-on-your-chest kind of strength.  I guess it was just my Canadian roots coming through in my cuisine!

When talking about coffee shops in Canada, it is impossible to not mention the Canadian establishment Tim Horton’s, or Timmy’s.

Tim Horton’s is where Canadians get their coffee and is very much a part of Canadian culture and heritage.  And it has its own culture and eccentricities associated with it.  For example, you will often hear someone order a ‘large double-double’, which is a large coffee with two sugars and double cream.  Timmy’s also run a very Canadian marketing scheme known as ‘Roll up the rim to win!’  Simply, when you’re finished with your coffee, you roll up the rim of the paper cup to reveal if you have one a prize or not.

Coffee and a donut, the ‘elevenses’ of champions.

This contest is actually frustrating me and boggling me at the moment.  There are many different prizes available, the top being a new car, but they offer 47 million free food prizes.  Given that the population of Canada is around 33 million, everyone should be able to get a free food prize.  But in the last five coffees I had, I have yet to win anything, which is frustrating.  But here’s the boggling part, the statistics are that 1 in 6 cups wins, which means they are expecting to sell well over 280 million cups of coffee during this promotion!  That’s a lot of coffee.

And you can’t talk about Tim Horton’s without mentioning the donuts.  So I will, but only briefly.  They have donuts, and my favourite is the Canadian maple.  It’s like a Boston crème, filled with custard, and is glazed with a sugary maple glaze.  Mmmmmm….

What’s your favourite donut?  Remember comments put you in the running for a prize!