Debate: Starbucks has the best variety all around
It’s better to focus on one area of a product than be average on everything
Coffee is not just any beverage: it’s a survival drink for many post-secondary students. Either heading to class, studying for exams, or pulling an all-nighter on an assignment you forgot about, we all need a caffeine boost every now and then, and everyone has a favourite spot to go to.
Starbucks and Tim Hortons are two of the most popular places to get your cup of java or tea. From a simple cup of their Pike Place Roast coffee to the Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Shaken Espresso, Starbucks offers a variety of drinks for everyone. No offence to Tim’s lovers, but Starbies is the way to go for your coffee or caffeine pick me up.
The massive coffee chain started in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1971, and in 1987 it rebranded and expanded around the world to what we know it as today — coffee quality.
The coffee I find at Tim Hortons can be a bit watery, which affects the quality and overall taste of the drink. Although drinks at Starbucks can be pricier, I would rather pay more for a cup of coffee if it meant it tasted better.
Starbucks also offers a variety of drinks compared to Tim Hortons. From hot drinks like lattes, London Fog, and steamed apple juice, to iced shaken espressos, cold brew, and refreshers, the options are almost endless. You can also customize a drink to your taste, like adding salted caramel cold foam or no sugar or switching out the two per cent milk for oat milk.
I believe it’s better to focus on one area of a product like drinks and excel at it, than focus on everything like bakery and meals and being average.
They also offer seasonal drinks like their Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Apple Crisp Oat Macchiato, and Pumpkin Spiced Latte in the fall, and a Caramel Brulée Latte, Sugar Cookie Oat Latte, and Peppermint Mocha in the winter, making it more special to go to your local Starbucks and try something new. While Tim Hortons also offers festive drinks too, it’s not the same feeling as Starbucks’ variety.
Starbucks also offers a coffeehouse experience, which Tim Hortons lacks. From my experience, most Starbucks shops have art on the wall, café music, and comfy seats that make a nice environment to study in.
Tim Hortons doesn’t have that same feeling, as it’s more wooden chairs than booths at some locations. Starbucks also feels more personalized, as they have been known for putting your name on the drink. Tim Hortons only does this on the mobile app, which loses that personal touch.
In addition to mobile ordering, Starbucks Rewards is better than Tim Hortons due to the value you’re getting.
When ordering on the Starbucks app, a customer will get two stars for every $1, and when paying with cash or at the counter with the rewards they get one star for every $1 spent. Twenty-five stars will let you customize your drink with an add-on or substitute for free, 50 stars gets a brewed coffee or tea, 150 stars a handcrafted drink or breakfast item, and 250 stars a lunch sandwich. You also get a free drink on your birthday with the rewards program, so it’s a win-win.
But at Tim Hortons you get 10 points for every $1 spent. It’s 340 points for a cookie or donut, 440 points for a brewed coffee or tea, and 620 points for a regular iced coffee, French Vanilla, or hot chocolate. It’s also 820 points for an Iced Capp and hot or cold latte, 1,050 points for a breakfast sandwich or wrap, and 1,250 points for a sandwich or chicken wrap. This means that if two donuts are roughly $1.49 each, that equals one handcrafted drink ranging $5 to $7 at Starbucks and getting more out of the points than Tim Hortons.
Overall, Starbucks is better than Tim Hortons for its coffee quality, variety of drinks, and their rewards program. If you want more stars for your bucks, go to Starbucks.
