A Canadian First

Tim Hortons coffee popular in Afghanistan, but lingo still hard for some to master

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - It turns out the universal language isn't the language of love after all - at least not here at Kandahar Airfield.
"I'll have a large double-double and a regular," said a young soldier with an Australian accent, stopping in at the base Tim Hortons (TSX:THI).
"We call it Tim Hortonese - Tim Hortons lingo," laughs Kelly Taylor, 42, of Oromocto, N.B. who has been working at the base since July while her military husband is at home.
"The British will come up and ask us for a regular coffee, only 'regular' in Tim Hortons language is one milk, one sugar. Only to them it's not - it's white, whatever that means," she added.
Believe it or not, 1,300 customers per day file through the Kandahar Tim Hortons from 12 different countries stationed on the base. Whereas Canadians file in and out as if they are on a conveyor belt, it takes a lot longer for others.
"It takes a little while to pick up the lingo," said Air Engineering Technician Daniel Stace from Darbyshire, England, who is in the Royal Navy.
"A double-double? It took me a while to work that one out but normally I just stick to the bagels and the orange juice," he said.

Does anybody else think this is a great victory for Canadian culture that Tim Horton's beat Starbuck's into Afghanistan?

Now, they need to spearhead franchises into the areas still held by Afghan militants. Perhaps the only hope for peace in that region is the promise of coffee and donuts.

Okay, maybe not. But if nothing else has worked, why not give it a shot?

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