Tim Hortons Piloting New Dark Roast in Select U.S. and Canada Markets

For the first time in its 49-year history, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons is diversifying its brewed coffee offerings, piloting a new dark roast. We recently profiled a new marketing put forth by the coffee-and-doughnut company that attempts for the first time to sell consumers on the “art” of its coffees, and the new dark roast seems to be a next step for Tim Hortons in trying to enhance the image of its coffee.

“Coffee drinkers have told us they enjoy variety when it comes to their coffee and according to our research, many of them consumed dark roast coffee in the past month,” Dave McKay, vice president of beverages for Tim Hortons, said in a company announcement. “Our new Dark Roast is a natural addition to our coffee portfolio.”

(more: Tim Hortons Shows Off 75,000-Square-Foot Roasting Facility)

The move also comes as independent research suggests Tim Horton’s might be slightly losing its traditionally powerful grip on the $4 billion-plus Canadian chain coffee market, where it has been around 76-78 percent. The new dark roast will soon be available in select stores in Columbus, Ohio, and London, Ontario, as a pilot program.

“We are piloting our new Dark Roast in markets in Canada and the U.S. to gauge our guests’ reactions and gain operations learnings before deciding on next steps,” said McKay. “We encourage guests in London and Columbus to try the new Dark Roast coffee and tell us what they think.”