Tim Hortons is home to Canada’s favourite coffee and is a destination for millions of Canadians every day from coast to coast to coast. At Tims, we’ve used the same top-secret recipe for our Original Blend roast since 1964 – and there are only 3 people who know that Canadian-made recipe!

Those are some Tims coffee facts – now it’s time to dispel some coffee myths!

Did Tim Hortons ever sell its coffee recipe to McDonald’s Canada?

We have no idea how this rumour got started but let's be clear: Tim Hortons never sold or shared its coffee recipes with McDonald's Canada (nor did any of our suppliers). 

Coffee is at the heart of our history and we’re proud of how it brings millions of Canadians together every day. Our Original Blend coffee is a taste of Canada, it’s our most closely guarded secret – and it’s priceless.

 

Did Tims ever lose its coffee supplier to a competitor?

No!

Our iconic Original Blend recipe that delivers our signature taste is controlled by Tim Hortons. Part of that recipe is how we source the raw unroasted coffee ingredients. We travel to some of the most renowned coffee growing regions, such as Colombia, partnering with long-term suppliers to source our 100% premium Arabica beans.

But it’s more than just using 100% premium Arabica beans in our blend, it’s also our in-house coffee expertise and our process of roasting coffee that fully expresses the unique taste that has made us Canada’s favourite coffee.

Our coffee team is led by Kevin West, Vice President of Coffee Operations, a 2^nd generation coffee professional with 28 years of experience working for Tims. His team has a combined 165-plus years of experience in coffee sourcing, quality management, roasting and manufacturing.

To control every aspect of our coffee-making process, we began investing in our own roasting facilities in 2001. Today, our flagship state-of-the-art Roastery is located in Ancaster, Ontario, not too far from the home of the very first Tims restaurant ever opened in 1964.  

As part of our Responsibly Sourced efforts, we are also proud to partner with Enveritas to assess 100% of our coffee bean purchases each year under a set of social, economic and environmental indicators. 

Has Tim Hortons coffee changed over the years?

We’ve used the same top-secret recipe for our Original Blend roast since 1964 but we’re always exploring ways we can keep improving our quality. We took a big step forward in 2019 by developing and investing in the latest brewing technology and we began launching our FreshBrewer™ machines in all standard Tims restaurants, along with improved water filtration technology. Together, these technology improvements helped ensure every cup of Tim Hortons coffee would be consistently great, every time.

And as coffee trends and preferences evolve, so do we. For those who prefer espresso to coffee, we have a wide range of handcrafted beverage options to choose from, hot and iced, which can be customized with different flavours or non-dairy alternatives. Just like our coffee, our espresso is brewed with 100% premium Arabica beans, as is our Cold Brew, which we launched in 2021. Our Cold Brew is steeped for 16 hours to create a rich and incredibly smooth flavour experience.​

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_{Canada’s favourite brewed coffee based on consumer survey of QSR/coffee shops (Q3/2024) and market share data (Q3/2024).}