This has been a really great thread. Thanks guys and gals.

Well, we have determined that coffee sure is a personal taste! ;)

With all the talk about Tim Horton's, I spent some time actually sitting in a few of their "Remodeled" locations. Some have fireplaces and "comfy" chairs by the fire - with a large screen LCD television mounted above the fireplace. I'd never seen that before. Must be a new look. To me, their coffee was fine. Actually a bit strong. I ordered "Extra Skim" in mine to tone it down. Did the trick.

When I lived in the Northeast, you couldn't swing an empty coffee cup and not hit a Dunkin Donuts. They had a huge following, and I was one of them.

I do spend a fair amount of time in Canada, so I'm becoming more prone to stopping into a Tim Horton's for lunch. And I grab a coffee there. In the US, they all seem to have a huge issue with customer service. The drive through lines are SO BUSY, you sometimes stand at the counter for 5 minutes before getting service.

When I was in Germany many moons ago, I discovered Jabobs Kronung. I have a box or two at home for weekends. That's great stuff IMO. Again, coffee is so personal. I've got friends that SWEAR by MAXWELL HOUSE and you can't convince them that there is anything better!

Jacobs is 'Germany's most loved coffee'. It is a solid prodoct both for home and commericial use, and in fact the facility in Neukölln (Berlin neighbourhood normally more well known for social issues and poverty) is the largest which Kraft owns. (Yes, yet another product of globalisation) :(

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaf...5607522-2.html

Tchibo has become rather variable (or my tastebuds have changed) for home use. Their commercial product is still fine, but they have developed and reformulated some of their product lines for new markets over the years. The yellow package popular in central and eastern Europe for instance I find tastes rather stale, and a recent new product flat and bitter.

Question for you OP about Tim Hortons:

1) Do they also have chinaware for their non 'to go' orders? If as you say they are developing a concept with fireplaces, etc I would think that it would encourage use of non-paper product. Starbucks used to offer this up but I find it more difficult nowadays (in Germany the reverse is true; often getting coffee 'to go' is a novelty)

2) Do they charge less for 'to go' vs 'for here'? In parts of Europe and even in some of the micro-chains I have tried in Canada there is a price reduction for not taking a paper cup. In France as well as some other areas it is the reverse - 'to go' may cost less than taking a seat and staying.

3) What is that smell?! A few posters have mentioned the smell of Tim Hortons, and not in a positive way. This week I actually got out of a car, was hit with an unpleasant smell, and looked up to find myself outside a Tim Hortons. In airports I have to give them a wide berth. The usual smell to me is stale cooking oil combined with cheap roasted coffee, but sometimes it smells like they are disposing of their (overused) oil. I'm genuinely curious, because I notice an unpleasant odour around Kamps, the cheap bakery chain which is taking over much of Germany and destroying the quality of baked goods. Kamps smells very different, but still has an odour I associate with poor quality ingredients and/or lack of cleanliness. The Tim Hortons odour is very different, but I still find it extremely unpleasant.

Timmy has china mugs in standard size, not the surpesized. You can ask for your coffee to be served that way. Same with SB, at least around the GTA area.

If you bring in your own refillable mug then it is $0.10 off. They rinse the mug out before adding new coffee. Someone tried it with a used Timmy paper cup and was told they do not refill used paper cups.

Aroma: I believe that is part of the reworking of the baked goods workflow where instead of making them with shipped in dough inhouse the goods are semi-baked and frozen. Just a reheat from frozen state to serving. I find that any oil that has been frozen in food and reheated in high heat commercial ovens give off that smell.

I agree on Jacobs. I used to favor their company when they were Jacobs Suchard, before the Kraft takeover. Globalization indeed! But I truly do like Jacobs Kronung. Just had a cup a few hours ago. Very smooth, flavorful, and a decent "kick" without wiring me through the roof. I used to enjoy Tobler, Milka, C'ote D'or, and other Jacobs Suchard treats when I visited Europe. Many stores in Canada have C'ote D'or. One of my favorite dark Belgium Chocolates.

Horton's. Hmmm. I really can't recall any china or flatware (silverware). I think it was plastic still, but I may be wrong. I just did not pay attention when I was in their recent "UPSCALE" restaurant.

The smell you describe. To me, it's frying donuts. I don't eat that stuff... well, 99 percent of the time. Once in a blue moon I'll have a donut, but it's a VERY rare treat. I try and stay healthy. In the US there are many Wendy's and Horton's in one building, so you have fryers going big time.

Their coffee, to me, is decent. I like it. It's actually a bit too strong. But perhaps that's the way the T.H. establishments I've been in have brewed it. Although you'd think it would be standardized.

When I'm cruising the QEW in Ontario, I frequently stop at the rest areas and enjoy some Horton's brew.

These weren't Wendy's/Tim Hortons, they were TH standalone ones, so can't blame Wendy for the smell. :D

I avoid doughnuts in North America; never understood the craze for Tim Hortons, Dunkin' Donuts, or Krispy Kreme. I suppose that it is taste and what people are used to.

Re doughnuts, I mentioned Kamps upthread. I blame them (and the other bakery chain Müller) for the rapid decline in Krapfen ('Berliner', the yeast jam filled doughnut found in central Europe). It is almost impossible these days to find a real Krapfen, with that distinctive yeasty taste, texture, and with plum butter inside and granulated sugar on top of a deep brown crust. These days they are flat, light golden, with 'apricot' filling ie some sort of lightish sugary liquid, and topped with powder sugar. Even my old standby in Salzburg has moved away from the original. This change started around 1989 and has spread rapidly with globalisation and the disappearance of independent bakers.

The best 'chain' version I have found is actually the French chain, Paul. They are pretty consistent around the world, with the exception of the US and Chinese locations (and in fact the Chinese ones closed). The UK stores have a very limited selection, too.

Paul has decent coffee, as well, and I don't mind them as an option.

I'm not usually near one in India, but this is a good standby as well: http://www.cafecoffeeday.com/

Sadly, globalisation has brought poor eating habits, obesity, and diabetes to the wealthy in India, and this chain is now very popular: http://www.madoverdonuts.com/

Good comments! Agreed on "Paul"! I had forgotten about them. Thanks.
Ad I appreciate the links.
You guys are great.

Oh, and I still think the Horton's smell, especially to those of us that don't do doughnuts is the doughnut FRYERS and that grease bilking up the air. Can't think what else it could be.

Cafe' Du Monde' and Similar?
 

Just wanted to revisit something.

How about "Specialty Coffee" shops like Cafe Du Monde?

I have a can of this in my freezer. To me, that's a really funky taste, that is best left to visits to their restaurant in New Orleans munching on Beignets. I only can drink this there, or when I'm having some cake or sweets, which I really don't do very often. The heavy smokey Chicory taste needs to be cut (IMO) by something sweet.

I'm wondering if anyone has a really "special" coffee they will go out of their way to get? The trend so far is coffee shops that have "standard" coffee.

The Amway hotel in GRR has a Julius Meinl coffee shop, oddly enough. It is a Viennese company, but there are a lot of Germans travelling to GRR, so I assumed that is why it is there?

I wasn't staying there, but I did buy a few packets to take with me.

Coffee at Cafe du Monde at the French Market is wonderful. Years ago there was an outpost at Underground Atlanta, not as wonderful.

There are several coffees worth seeking out--Jamaican Blue Mountain, Kona, Sumatra Mandheling are amazing. Others will have favorites.

The link here is a quick read. Please look at the Nota Bene which explains a lot. I don't find that freezing or refrigerating is a friend to coffee. But then I think most people, my DH included, drink stale coffee. And yes, I'm a tea snob, too. :p

http://www.martinezfinecoffees.com/c...ne-coffee.html

Everyone needs to remember.. Tim Horton's isn't just coffee.. Its donuts, muffins, pastries, sandwiches, soups, etc.. My draw there isn't coffee.. its the latter..

We hear you, Maestro. I really have been enjoying their food. Soup and sandwich combos are great, IMO. Even tried a doughnut or two. All good! But as a coffee drinker, I've truly been slurping a bunch of their coffee too. To my taste, it's fine. Not gourmet, but nice drinking everyday wake-me-up coffee.

Just be careful if you are concerned about nutrition or eat there on a regular basis, because their sodium content is actually higher than many 'typical' fast food places (and of course the reason why so many like the doughnuts is that doughnuts are mostly the two delicious things - fat and sugar :D )

It's like Panera Bread; I know a lot of people think that going there instead of McDonalds for instance is a 'healthy' switch, but if you look at their nutrition listings it is pretty shocking.

AM, I know that you said a few times now that you are trying to eat healthier foods, so you may want to look up their nutrition charts. One sandwich (just the sandwich, not including the soup) can be more than your daily allowance of sodium, FYI.

And then there is that rumour that the whole reason WHY Tim Hortons has so many people addicted to their coffee is that they add salt to the beans (or the brew). :eek: Salt has traditionally been used to cut the bitterness of some coffee.

That's interesting, Orchids. Also, I have been "freezing" coffee at home for years. I used to do whole bean and grind it just before brewing. I've become lazy, or cheap, or both, and now just buy ground coffee. But I still freeze it. I'm wondering if that's helping or hurting?

Thanks for the link.

I feel the same way about the coffee from Cafe du Monde; it really can only be eaten with those delicious and always messy beignets.

When you first posted about them, I had a flashback to a very sticky spring day, sitting with friends, watching the first signs of life returning to make the French Quarter somewhat 'normal'. For months after Katrina MSY was a ghost town, then slowly populated by military, then contractors and aid workers, and finally the first few tentative visitors came back. It was easy to find a table that Sunday morning, but it was a good memory of things starting to improve. :)