Newsstand: February 9, 2010
Duly Quoted: Adam Giambrone
Bob Kinnear isn't Greg Kinnear
Newsstand: February 8, 2010
Scale Model City, Actual-Size Grime
Someone at Maxwell House's marketing department must be catching on to some of the hints we've been dropping lately, because on the morning of Wednesday, March 26th, they'll be giving out free coffee to TTC riders at Eglinton Station. Get this—they're also giving free subway rides to the first 10,000 subway riders. It's a pretty awesome random act of kindness. And for good PR measure, Maxwell House is donating $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity.
Of course, this is likely going to raise cries from people who are against any kind of corporate presence on the TTC. Sure, this is a blatant marketing ploy—in the end, the people putting it on just want to sell more of their cheap and effective coffee. But there's little need to get up in arms. Free coffee isn't part of a big, evil endeavour to slowly commercialize the TTC.
Saving three-or-so dollars on a fare won't make any sort of substantive difference in the lives of the TTC's ridership. But at the same time, free coffee and a free fare are likely going to brighten the day of a lot of the people who take the often-dreary morning commute to work or school in some minute way.
Who knows? Ever have an inexplicably bad or ridiculously sluggish start to day? Getting a free coffee could be the sort of gesture that helps turn that all around. At the very least, it could caffeinate someone enough so they don't awkwardly fall asleep on your shoulder by the time you get to St. Clair. Besides, free coffee always tastes better.
Also, some singer named Chantal Kreviasomething will be busking there as well.
Photo by robannz from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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lol @ Maxwell House & Coffee being used in the same sentence.
Anybody that drinks that kind of crap should be proud that they support the deforestation of many 3rd world nations. Good to the last drop is right.
This is newsworthy because this is Canada.
This sort of thing is far more frequent in the US.
That's the difference between Americans and Canadians. Americans spend money; Canadians merely count it.
Does Chantel's publicist ever take a break? um, oh its for charity.
"Americans spend money; Canadians merely count it."
Hence the problems we have now: - )
Come on, Goldsbie, where's the anti-corporate rant?!
Why is there something wrong with being anti-corporate? I don't understand people who defend institutions who wouldn't give you the time of day if you weren't buying something from them.
where can I get a cup of fair trade coffee in this city? Other than Coffee Time finding fair trade tea and coffee has been tricky. I was spoilt for choice in the UK.
One of the few promising coffee shops in Toronto, Far Coast (at Bloor, a block west of Bay) recently shut down. Good thing we still have Maxwell house!
fair trade and organic beans
Moonbeam - kensington village is the one I usually recommend.
You can also get a brand called Kicking Horse, which is actually now available at many major supermarkets in Ontario. It comes in a black bag and is def. my favorite.
Alternative Grounds on Roncesvalles does fair trade, but it's just the one location. Don't know of any city-wide chains that do fair trade.
ked
I believe Timothy's is fair trade. They're usually pretty easy to find.
Thanks guys!
Just Us! just opened on Queen... and they even roast on premise! (or, at least in Nova Scotia they do..)
Even Starbucks has Fair Trade coffee. It's called Estima and it's pretty good.
And I'm not sure why I capitalized fair trade...
@paigesix
Good call! I totally forgot about how awesome their coffee and muffins are!
Second Cup and Timothy's both have fair trade options, as do a lot of other small non-chain cafes (Dundas and McCaul comes to mind).
Then there's Merchants of Green Coffee, north of Queen on the first street east of the DVP. They've recently set up a full cafe. They roast on site and are VERY picky about quality of coffee. It's all fair trade. Plus, you can buy your own green beans to roast and whatever tools and accessories you may need.
As long as Ms.K isn't singing or talking about hair colour, I'll gofercawfee.
One of the big problems is that you'll always be a hypocrite. Unless you live on your own means, you hunt you gather etc, you'll always bow down to a 'corporation' of some sort.
Secondly, what good could come out of being 'anti' anything? Unless of course you paint everything else with a really broad paint brush, you're stereotyping and being prejudice, plain and simple. Where do you draw the line? MEC? Are they worth being 'anti corporate' over?
99.9% of humans are like that too. What makes an 'institution' created and run by humans any different? Unless of course you feel corporations should be held in a higher regard, to which you would than be giving them far too much credit.
Thirdly, if you are 'anti-corporation' what alternatives are you proposing? Communal living (lol, yea right). A totalitarian state? 2 employee Mom and Pop shoppes all around?
@Astin. I did not realize Merchants set up a cafe :O
Thanks for the info :)