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Tims Coffee House Opened Today! Here's What to Expect

ShanghaiWOWeng 2019-04-05



The day we've all been waiting for is finally upon us - hooray! Well, at least some of us. If you hadn't heard yet, Tims (Tim Hortons) is opening its first ever store in China today in Shanghai. Why is this big news one might ask? 




In all honesty, in a city as big as this it's hard to say whether or not Tims Coffee House will reverberate shockwaves of mass coffee consumerism or impact the paradigms of Shanghai's café culture. That said, they appear to believe that this is well within their grasp and here's why.



At Tims, they use 100% Arabica coffee beans, sourced from South and Central American regions such as Colombia and Guatemala, citing the importance of both high quality and ethically sourced coffee beans as two concepts close to the Tim Horton's ethos.



Hoping to also meet the particular needs of the Shanghai market, they believe to have implemented sufficient research into taste trends in China's biggest sprawling metropolis. As such, a couple of products unique to China have been added to the menu, such as their black pepper beef wrap (RMB 29), which is actually pretty good! 



Another way Tims hopes to stand out from the crowd and outshine its competition is through the fact that their warm food is prepared freshly in a real kitchen, unlike a lot of other cafés where your sandwich could've been gathering dust all day and going gray. We tried their hot shrimp, bacon and egg ciabatta and were pretty satisfied with the taste. At RMB 32, it's definitely not bad and for a relatively filling bite it doesn't seem overpriced.



Something else that rests at the heart of the Tims ideology, is that their stores ought to feel just like home and function as a place where anyone can feel welcome and comfortable. It's supposed to be a place that attracts the best sorts of people who just want to enjoy a cup of coffee at leisure. We're not exactly sure how they're going to implement the homey vibes into the hustle and bustle of People's Square's Central Plaza, but we sure are keen to find out how that turns out. 



Beyond that, with 55 years of history, plenty of investment and staunch support for growth in a city that seems to be developing more and more of a penchant for coffee, perhaps the stage is set for a Tims takeover. With their coffee starting at just RMB 15 a cup for a small americano, there's definitely a chance that it will become a franchise that the people of Shanghai could get used to.



At Tims, they believe that low price and high quality should be key to their strategy and it's definitely true that their coffee prices are a little more appealing than other big coffee brands in the city. Does the quality square up, though? We'll leave you to make your own decision about that, but the coffee here certainly does the job. 



Their specials like the maple macchiato (RMB 29) however with its quintessentially Canadian twist and the double double (RMB 17) are funky Tim's classics that people with a sweeter tooth should definitely try, especially the double double!



The Timbits (RMB 4 per Timbit) are also a quirky little specialty of theirs that are pretty good and worth trying. They come in six flavors such as maple, salted egg yolk, which is unique to China and surprisingly tasty if you can appreciate salty and sweet together and chocolate. You can mix and match them into boxes of six or twelve so they're perfect for sharing with friends!



They also serve a blueberry and strawberry yogurt iced smoothie (RMB 30) which is pretty good and will definitely be a popular item in the summer we think when it starts getting unbearably hot here. Knowing Shanghai summers though, it might melt before you can finish it.



Besides their menu, it definitely seems to retain an authentic Canadian ambiance in there somehow. Probably something to do with the red lumberjack shirts all the staff are wearing. In that respect, if you want to pretend you're sipping coffee in the North American wilderness surrounded by bears and lumberjacks, it could also fill that niche.



The Shanghai store is the 4850th Tims ever, and only three lucky coffee masters know the recipe in this city! For now, they hope to provide our city with a cozy venue and bring decent coffee and freshly prepared warm food to our tables. For the future, they're dreaming big and hope that with enough hardwork they'll get people all over China into coffee, specifically the Tims Coffee House style and open 1500 stores in the next decade or so. 



While it's true that with each passing day, coffee culture is spreading all over the world and more and more people seem to be hopping aboard that bandwagon, does Tim's Coffee House have what it takes to become a relevant force on the Shanghai scene, or will they just go unnoticed and fall into a caffeine-free abyss? Let us know what you think in the comments below!


Address: 277 Huangpi Bei Lu, Central Plaza, 1F





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