Coffee Snob: Really?

This week’s rant/essay touches on the subject of what defines a coffee snob. I’ve been called one at times, and I cannot understand why: I just like a good cup of coffee. Thanks to my very good friend Logan Gamble for giving me a starting point for this essay.

Tim Hortons is regarded an essential symbol of Canada, and I know many people who “can’t start a day without my Timmy’s.” You’ll hear fans often degree that TH’s coffee is the height of a delicious cup of java... But when you stop and taste it for a minute, how much does it actually resemble coffee proper? It’s lacking the essential sharpness of coffee, its taste is smoothed-over and muted, and the flavour turns further south if it’s allowed to cool. It may bear a pleasing taste to the palate, but the taste is barely coffee.

I’ve had TH aficionados insist that I overpay for the coffee I home with fresh, Fair Trade, often locally-roasted, beans. Let’s do some math:

I win on cost and quality. Plus, I don’t have to make the coffee: my fiancée awesomely does that for me. I don’t have to queue up or put in an order: it’s right every time.

This isn't an attack against Tim Hortons as a corporation, or against its customers. Many simply enjoy a stop there from time to time and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm talking about the folks who create a false essentiality to their daily TH run, dramatising it as though it's on the same level as insulin to a Diabetic. I'm sick and tired of it, frankly.

I’d like to wrap up this essay by pointing out that there are folks who might call me a coffee snob for my preferences and in the next breath say: “I only drink Timmy’s.” If I drink different roasts and beans from all over the world and you only drink a single brand, who’s the real snob?