9 Tim Hortons Cold Drinks, Ranked Worst To Best

As a Canadian, there are plenty of coffee chains I love, but there's arguably none more iconic than Tim Hortons. I've previously ranked a dozen of the chain's donuts from worst to best, while another Tasting Table writer reviewed the company's new summer drinks. Now, I took on the challenge of ranking some of its most popular cold drinks based on their flavor.

With a Tim Hortons on almost every corner (seriously), it was easy for me to select cold drinks that are offered on both Canadian and American menus. From the caffeine-laden to the caffeine-free, there was plenty for me to taste – and I have the coffee jitters to prove it. Some of the drinks I reviewed were recent menu additions at the time of writing, while others have been around for years. If you happen to be located near your own neighborhood Tim Hortons or simply want to plan ahead for your next trip up north, let this ranking guide you as to what you should –– and shouldn't –– order.

The first knock against the Iced Chai Latte is that it lacked ice. This made me worry that the flavor wouldn't be refreshing, since it couldn't possibly be as cold as the other beverages I sampled, which were either blended with ice or served with ice as advertised. Nevertheless, I took a sip to see if this particular book matched its cover.

Unfortunately, what I saw was what I got. When I spied it sitting on the counter for me to pick up, I noticed how pale and milky it was. Sure, there was a layer of bronze-colored syrup on the bottom, but the rest of the drink looked like a plastic cup of milk. As it turned out, that carried over into the taste as well. The Iced Chai Latte is made with milk and a chai syrup, which contains cane sugar, chai tea concentrate, and natural flavor. The chai tea concentrate is said to include brewed tea and chai spice, but I couldn't pick that up in my taste test (even though I detected a whiff of it when I gave the drink a sniff). I suggest making your own iced chai latte at home instead, using the best chai concentrate we sampled in a previous taste test.

My local Tim Hortons offers a lot of different seasonal and year-round cold brew flavors, including Toasted Marshmallow, Roasted Hazelnut, Caramel Churro, and Chocolate Pistachio. I decided to stick with one of the most common and evergreen options: Vanilla Cream Cold Brew.

Coffee, cream, and vanilla syrup are the sole ingredients in this beverage, and I thought it might be something I'd enjoy. I expected a drink that would be sweet, creamy, and decadent, but still refreshing. Instead, as you can likely tell from its placement near the bottom, this drink was a letdown. In fact, it had me wondering if the staff had mixed up this order with another drink, as it offered zero vanilla smell or flavor. Instead, it tasted bitter and watery — a far cry from how cold brew is supposed to taste. This cold drink only made it past the Iced Chai Latte because it had enough ice, whereas the Iced Chai Latte had no ice and very little chai.

I was looking forward to trying the Strawberry Frozen Lemonade from my local Tim Hortons, as I assumed it would be a palate cleanser after all the coffee. However, while I may have traded in caffeine when trying this drink, I got walloped with a truckload of sugar. And boy, could I taste it.

When I think of strawberry lemonade, I expect sweetness, but I also want the contrast of the tartness from the lemonade. I got none of that here, which meant there was no sour bite to combat the tooth-aching sweetness. My drink was served with a spritz of whipped cream, but since it doesn't normally come on the drink, I avoided it during this taste test (and to bypass the additional sugar).

This is a drink that goes down easily because it has a lively slushy texture, but if you have any care for your taste buds (and the sugar headache that will inevitably follow), it's not worth buying. The artificial strawberry is overwhelming, and it falls flat because there is nothing to balance it. It's not necessarily a bad drink like the previous two, but it's also not a lemonade, so seventh place seems fair.

Another super sweet treat on Tim Hortons' cold drink menu is the Oreo Iced Capp. It's the first Iced Capp to make it on this list, and it was the first one that I sampled for this taste test. Tim Hortons advertises its "creamy, vanilla taste" and Oreo crumbles. Since Oreos and milk are such a classic combo (one you should freeze for a warm-weather treat), I expected this beverage to be a slam-dunk. It certainly smelled like the Iced Capp I know and love, but did the taste measure up?

Well, kind of. While the original Iced Capp is rich and creamy — more on it later — this one was a little too sweet. Although the sweetness is par for the course for blended beverages, it came at the expense of the advertised flavor profile. Namely, I didn't detect much chocolate, vanilla, or Oreo itself (beyond the crumbles on top, of course). Where was the coffee? What I got instead was a very sweet, very rich drink that was too heavy to take more than a few sips of. This wasn't a bad drink in the strictest sense of the word — I could certainly drink it over a few hours — but it was extremely one-note and simply not good enough to be worth buying.

As a rule, I tend to take my coffee with just milk, rather than cream or any sweetener, so I can get a sweet treat with my morning coffee without overloading my palate with sugar. However, for the purposes of this taste test, I ordered everything the standard way and without any modifications. That meant my iced coffee came with cream and cane sugar syrup.

When I looked at this iced coffee, I found it quite milky-looking, likely because of the cream. When I smelled it, there was a slight coffee scent, but there was nothing overpowering or too strong. I was fortunate enough to get all my drinks freshly made, which meant that the beverages weren't diluted by the time I got around to tasting them. That being said, this Tim Hortons iced coffee still tasted kind of watery. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it was not as robust or bold as I was expecting. This could be a result of the brew used or the cream, but it did knock this drink down a couple spots. It was a fine cold drink and one I could see a lot of people enjoying. It wasn't too sweet or too heavy, and I could sip it despite being cream-averse. The middle of the pack is where this drink belongs because there are much tastier beverages ahead.

Coffee and chocolate are a natural pairing, so why wouldn't an Iced Mocha Latte be a hit? I was hoping that this drink would be just sweet enough, with a caffeinated edge to dial down the sugar and a refreshing flavor. And, fortunately for me, I mostly got that.

This drink smelled lovely and chocolatey from the jump, likely because of the chocolate-flavored syrup mixed into it. However, it didn't taste quite as chocolatey as I would've liked. The drink's smell primed me for that flavor, but the taste didn't quite match up to it. This cold drink was indeed refreshing and not nearly as sweet as previous beverages mentioned, which helped it earn a spot in the middle of this ranking. I could see myself drinking it and enjoying it, but I would know next time not to expect too much chocolate beyond the smell. Even when I stirred it for any chocolate syrup that had settled on the bottom, I still couldn't taste much chocolate. Overall, this was a fine drink, but not good enough to crack the top three.

Both the Iced Mocha Latte and the Oreo Iced Capp failed to deliver on the chocolate front, so I tempered my expectations when I first sipped this Mocha Iced Capp. After all, I didn't want to get burned (or iced?) again. The only difference between the Mocha Iced Capp and the Original Iced Capp is the addition of whipped cream and chocolate flavored syrup, but I could swear mine was made with chocolate milk as its base — it was just that chocolatey.

The Mocha Iced Capp tasted like a chocolate milkshake, with the coffee acting more as a flavor enhancer than the dominant note. There were deep, dark chocolate notes, a rich creaminess, and a wonderfully slushy texture. Could I taste coffee? Not really, and not even when I stirred it, assuming that the coffee had settled toward the bottom. The bigger question: Did I mind that its coffee flavor was lacking? Nope. While this Mocha Iced Capp isn't really what I think of when I think of "mocha," I still really enjoyed it. This cold Tim Hortons drink would be enjoyable as either a dessert or treat. It's not something I would indulge in every time I hit up the drive-thru, but I certainly would order one for a pick-me-up when I feel the need to treat myself.

Beyond the dressed-up, seasonal Iced Capps that Tim Hortons offers, you can also order this standard Iced Capp and customize it. When I usually order an Iced Capp, I get it with milk to taste those coffee flavors more and avoid a drink that's too heavy. However, as previously mentioned, I made no modifications to any of my orders and so sampled an Iced Capp made the way nature — and Tim Hortons — intended, which is to say, with cream.

The result was a blended beverage that was creamy and rich, and not nearly so sweet as the two other Iced Capp flavors I sampled. Prior to this tasting, I had always considered Iced Capps to be sweet, but the contrast between the Original Iced Capp and the Mocha and Oreo versions was stark. This drink wasn't comparatively sweet at all. Instead, it was wonderfully refreshing and creamy without being too heavy. The iconic frozen beverage has been in Canadian stores since 1999, and its second place standing in this tasting proves that sometimes you just don't mess with a good thing.

When I sampled the abysmal Vanilla Cream Cold Brew, I was disheartened to detect zero vanilla flavor. Would I finally find it here in the Iced Vanilla Latte? When I popped open my lid, I was relieved to experience the strong scent of vanilla. Looking at my cup, I also noticed a nice frothiness, proving that the "latte" part of the name wasn't just a marketing gimmick. When it came time to taste, I took a tentative sip and rejoiced.

Vanilla was here! Beyond a boring, one-note sweetness, there was an actual floral vanilla flavor. This is a lighter drink, made with milk rather than cream (which is usually how I like my coffee). The flavor works extremely well here, allowing the coffee and vanilla flavors to shine without being bogged down by heavy cream. This drink was delicious, refreshing, and easily one I would happily order again. While I liked the Original and Mocha Iced Capps, they wouldn't be an everyday order for me, as their sugar and cream makes them too heavy. This Iced Vanilla Latte, however? I could see myself going out of my way to pick one up.

For this taste test, I chose Tim Hortons cold drinks that are available at both American and Canadian locations (although offerings may vary based on location). I ordered each drink as a medium and without any modifications.

I ranked each drink based on how much I enjoyed it, as well as how true it was to its description and the likelihood I might order it again. All drinks were ordered online and picked up in-store shortly after to ensure that each drink was as ordered and not watered down.