00:00So how often do you do this? Do you do this multiple times a day? I spend most of my day here.
00:06Mornings would be so hard without my coffee. Hi there can I please get a small
00:11regular double-cupped? So good. For so many Canadians, Tim Hortons is a part of
00:20their daily routine. It's cheap, it tastes good, and you can find one in basically
00:24every corner of the country. But did you know that all Tim Hortons coffee in
00:28Canada is produced in a small town just outside of Toronto? I was recently
00:32invited to take a tour of Tim Hortons roastery in Ancaster, Ontario. The
00:36warehouse stores and ships 1.5 million pounds of coffee a week and produces
00:40enough coffee to make 270,000 cups an hour. When I first stepped into the
00:45warehouse I got a big waft of that familiar Tim's coffee smell. The plant
00:49manager started the tour and showed us how Tim Hortons coffee goes from bean to
00:52brew. They really have their process down to a T. Their beans are shipped in from
00:57Central and South America from countries like Guatemala, Brazil, and
01:00Colombia. Tim Hortons is a blend of five bean types. Side note, did you know coffee
01:05beans are green in color and only turn brown before they get roasted? I'd never
01:09seen a raw coffee bean before. So the process starts with inspecting beans for
01:13defects and cleaning them to remove any sticks, stones, and metal. Then they move
01:17to the blending and roasting process. Tim's uses the Neptune 3000 roasters
01:21which according to them are the world's most advanced roasters. 10,000 pounds of
01:25coffee is roasted per hour and it takes approximately 12 minutes to roast a
01:29batch. After being cooled for two hours the beans head to the grinders and then
01:32move to the degassing stage to keep them fresh. Finally it's on to packing. The
01:36equivalent of 975 pots of Tim Hortons coffee are packaged every minute. And
01:41then you can see here where it's flickering it's adding 16 pouches on a
01:46layer to 144 pouches in a case. So we're doing about seven and a half cases per
01:52minute. Then a very cool-looking robot automatically stacks 64 boxes on each
01:57pallet. The plant manager called it one of the best employees because it works
02:0124 hours a day it doesn't go for a break. Then the boxes are put in storage and
02:05shipped within two days. The plant manager says they rarely have any issues with
02:09their process and if they do they're easily able to backtrack to which bag it
02:13came from. Which brings me to my next point. Something else that really amazed
02:17me about the roaster was quality control. They go through such great lengths to
02:20get that signature coffee taste profile. How would you describe the flavor notes
02:24of Tim Hortons coffee?
02:28Medium or dark? Medium.
02:30Medium coffee is all-urban.
02:32It's all mass.
02:34It's kind of medium range.
02:36Sweetness, acidity, quality.
02:38Everything is medium range.
02:40Sweet, caramel, nutty notes.
02:42Citrus, a touch of spiciness.
02:44Nothing is overpowering.
02:46While on tour
02:48Tim Hortons
02:50While on tour I learned this new term called cupping. Basically it's another
02:53word for sampling coffee. Tim's taste their coffee multiple times throughout
02:56the process to ensure it maintains the same taste and quality. Some employees
03:00that work at the plant actually cup coffee all day long. It's wild.
03:04So how often do you do this?
03:06Do you do this multiple times a day?
03:08Yes, actually.
03:10I spend most of my day here.
03:14In the morning I roast coffee
03:16and then cup
03:19for five tables.
03:21It's full of cups.
03:23So we cup 250-300 cups a day.
03:25As I mentioned, Tim Hortons coffee beans come from Central and South America.
03:29By the time they reach the warehouse
03:31they've already been sampled three times
03:33to ensure their quality has remained uncompromised
03:35throughout their journey.
03:37What percentage do you think is a bad match?
03:41We reach out to about 10% of coffee.
03:45Then the coffee is tested again
03:47after it's roasted and packed.
03:49Every hour we keep three pouches
03:51of the finished goods.
03:53Every fifth batch, which is every hour
03:55on each roaster,
03:57we take a sample and we cup that
03:59to make sure it's our standard.
04:01The other two pouches are kept in storage until their expiration date
04:03so the team can go back
04:05if there's ever an issue at store level.
04:07Does everyone work here have the exact smell memorized?
04:11How do you know what a bad batch is?
04:13You sip Tim Hortons coffee long enough,
04:15you get to find the fine notes, right?
04:17And you get to know them.
04:19And you can pick out defects very quickly.
04:21Now, how do you cup?
04:23Well, Tim's gave us a chance to blend her own coffee
04:25then taught us how to cup properly
04:27starting with smelling the coffee.
04:29I bring my notes, toast the cup,
04:31break the crust,
04:33stir coffee grounds,
04:35inhale the aroma.
04:37Then you go in for a taste.
04:45I made my own blend mixing the five types of beans available
04:47from Guatemala, Nicaragua,
04:49Brazil, Indonesia, and Colombia.
04:51Guatemalan coffee is known to have more nuttier notes
04:53whereas Indonesian coffee is stronger
04:55and has notes of chocolate.
04:57Okay, moment of truth.
04:59Let's taste my coffee.
05:05Let's just say I was right.
05:07I was right.
05:09I was right.
05:11I was right.
05:14Let's just say I will not be working
05:16at Tim Hortons anytime soon.
05:18My coffee tasted so bad.
05:20But I couldn't believe how meticulous
05:22the team at Tim Hortons was
05:24at ensuring that every cup of coffee
05:26that came out of that plant tasted just right.
05:28So it got me thinking.
05:30Now we know where Tim Hortons coffee beans come from.
05:32We know how the process works.
05:34But what actually goes into the blend
05:36that makes the recipe so unique?
05:38I've been here for 11 and a half years
05:40and I don't know the recipe.
05:42The identity group will be cupping
05:44the green beans
05:46and then they put in the formula.
05:48The formula will go into it
05:50in the background in the computer system.
05:52Then they'll send me an email
05:54saying here's the number
05:56that you're going to use today
05:58to use in recipe 419.
06:00We put in 419 and in the background
06:02it starts drawing the amounts of coffee for the roast.
06:08You know,
06:11I don't know what is in the blend.
06:13There's only a select few of us
06:15that can tell you what that is.
06:17No one on the tour can actually tell me
06:19what goes into the Tim Hortons recipe
06:21because no one actually knows.
06:23Clearly a highly guarded company secret.
06:25I have to say, the Tim Hortons
06:27roastery tour was exceptional.
06:29It really gave me insight into everything
06:31that goes into making this beloved Canadian drink.
06:33What surprised you most about the tour?
06:35Let us know in the comments.
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