Historicist: "The city that nobody loves"
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-Verse
The current issue of NOW may be focusing on coffee in general and where to get the best cup, but this is an informal grassroots study of Tim Hortons, which put "double-double" into the language ("A Canadian term used to describe how you take your coffee—two teaspoons of sugar and two creams. Preferably used in any Tim Hortons location," says Urban Dictionary).
If you want to play a cruel joke in a Mcfast-food joint, address the counterhand by the name on his or her badge and ask confidently for "the usual." Chances are you'll get a deer-in-the-headlights stare followed by a panicky: "Huh?" Do the same thing in a Tim Hortons (we've tried this in about half a dozen around the city) and there's more likely to be the briefest pause and then: "Medium double-double?"
We've noticed more and more people lately ordering a "triple-triple." In posher establishments, this would be classed as a latte, and you'd pay accordingly. Either way, if you’re in a car, rather than joining the drive-through line and spewing pollutants into the atmosphere as you idle, it’s usually quicker to park and buy your coffee-to-go at the counter. Less chance, too, of your muffin order getting mixed up with the guy behind’s cruller.
Meanwhile, from the other side of the border, a Toronto Star blogger reports that not only are there several Timmies in and around Detroit, but their medium cup is the same size as our large. Canadian consumers get screwed once again.
Photo by Bill Taylor/Torontoist
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A latte is made with milk. A double-double or a triple-triple is made with cream.
Also, a double-double can't be "the usual," because if you ask for a "medium regular" you get one sugar, one cream.
"American sized" portions are a bug, not a feature.
I sometimes use the drive through when with a friend, but all it does is save you the walk from your car which is pretty pointless. I agree that going in also greatly reduces the chance your order will be screwed up, so I tend to avoid the drive-throughs.
a triple-triple is a revolting concoction of cream and sugar--a latte is not.
I heard a rumor that before McDonalds started using higher quality coffee grounds, they were using 20 years worth of coffee grounds they bought all at once in bulk. I couldn't find any information leading to that rumor being true, but I did find this.
We had one lady that came through the drive through when I worked there years ago who routinely ordered an XL 5x5. That works out to 50% cream, 50% coffee and probably as much sugar as a can of coke *gag*.
We also had a guy who occasionally wanted us to sweeten his coffee with orange fountain drink.
I hate it when you go to order a triple-triple and somebody laughs at you. It happened to me the other day, apparently it's a "girl's drink".
What David Newland said: I think by "a usual" you mean "a regular", which is milk and cream.
in my opinion, if you need that much sugar in your coffee.. you're not a coffee drinker.
When I do have a coffee I have Double-Double with a medium or large, and just 1 cream 1 sugar for a small. I'm more of a tea drinker, and I put nothing in my tea.
I tend to go half hot chocolate, half coffee.
My boyfriend complains that the Tim's small is comically so, but I find it refreshing that that's even possible for a North American fast food outlet.
so much cream and sugar suggests you're drinking a pudding rather than a beverage.
I used to work at Tim's when I was a teenager, and some customers would actually be furious if I had to double-check what their "usual" was. Actually, I pretty much remembered what the regulars would order, but one customer would get LIVID if I asked him exactly what he wanted out of fear of screwing up his order. People take their coffee routine very seriously. And many treat the counter worker like shit when they're all grumpy in the morning before they have their java.
The other thing people often did was ask for coffee directly out of the stream as the pot was brewing, which threw a wrench into the flow and made a mess. No coffee pot in Tim's (at least when I worked there) was allowed to be more than 20-minutes old—the pots never lasted that long anyway—but people believed they could tell the difference between straight from the filter vs. sitting in a pot for eight minutes. I don't buy it. But whatever.
Right on, Marc.
When I worked at Second Cup, if anyone asked me for the usual, I'd ask if I was the one serving them last time. They'd inevitably say no. Then, I'd watch them as they made the connection that I'd have no clue what "the usual" was.
And coffee off the stream is all wrong for a drip-brew. The start of the stream is dilute and the end of the stream is concentrate. If someone pulls a cup off the end, it ruins the pot for everyone else.
Oops, there goes my coffee nerd flag. Up, up, and away!
I played in a band with a guy that actualy added sugar to his coke. Coca-Cola that is...
It's cool that the small is available, but don't make the mistake of ordering one during Roll-Up-The-Rim-To-Win season: they don't roll up, and you can't win. :-(
I'm so late to the party, but still.
David Newland and McKingford:
There's a difference between a 'regular' and 'usual' - and the author is well aware of that.
The usual is what you usually get. The author is pointing out that the servers are offering up a medium double double in the chance that that is how you take your coffee.
I remember the day my Starbucks crew asked if i wanted the usual, and then day they stopped asking and just started ringing it up when I walked in. I almost cried. Forget the nerd flag - I fly my junkie flag.