What’s the Best Timbit Flavour at Tim Hortons? (We Tried Them All)
Tiny Dough, Huge Debate
Walk into any Canadian office at 9 a.m. and chances are a red‑and‑brown 40‑pack of Timbits is already half‑empty. Hockey practices, baby showers, late‑night road trips—“bite‑sized dough” is our national social currency. Yet every break‑room circle devolves into the same argument: which flavour actually rules? Chocolate Glazed die‑hards trash Birthday Cake fans; Sour Cream loyalists scoff at Fruit Explosion newbies.
To end the squabble, we assembled a fearless five‑person tasting panel (two lifelong Tims addicts, one pastry chef, one American expat, one self‑proclaimed “donut agnostic”) and bought every flavour available across three Ottawa restaurants in April 2025. That yielded fifteen permanent or regularly recurring Timbits plus two limited‑time spring specials, for seventeen contenders in total. We scored each on taste, texture, freshness window, and mess factor, then argued until caffeine ran dry.
Below, you’ll find our top‑to‑bottom ranking, extensive tasting notes, fun history snippets, and pro tips for building the perfect assorted box. Fair warning: we are brutally honest—your childhood favourite might take a beating. Grab a double‑double and settle in.
How We Judged the Timbits
Because snack debates get passionate fast, we used a structured rubric:
Taste & Balance (40 %) – depth of flavour, sweetness level, lingering aftertaste.
Texture (25 %) – crumb moisture, exterior glaze crunch, chewiness.
Icon Status (20 %) – nostalgia, cult following, representation of “true Tims.”
Practicality (15 %) – freshness shelf life, drive‑thru portability, icing fallout.
Each Timbit earned up to ten points per category, for a maximum of forty. Ties were broken by “would‑grab‑again” gut votes.
The Definitive 2025 Timbit Power Ranking
17. Old Fashion Plain
Dry, crumbly, and reliant on hot coffee for lubrication. Respect for being the original 1976 Timbit, but modern palates demand more than mild nutmeg and nostalgia. Best use: dunking.
16. Strawberry Filled
A yeast sphere pumped with bright strawberry jam and rolled in icing sugar. Great idea, but the jam‑to‑dough ratio skews low and the sugar dust detonates all over your steering wheel.
15. Lemon Cake (Spring LTO)
Zesty aroma and pretty yellow glaze, yet the citrus icing overpowers the subtle cake. Tastes like Froot Loops milk if left to melt. Fun for novelty, not for repeats.
14. Birthday Cake
Funfetti sparks joy for kids and Instagram, but the vanilla base is sugary to the point of toothache and can feel gritty when slightly stale. One bite satisfies; a second feels like homework.
13. Honey Cruller
Mini version of the full cruller’s eggy, airy strands. Delicate when fresh, but the shell gets sticky within hours and collapses into gummy folds. A timing gamble.
12. Blueberry Sour Cream (Retro Return)
Moist, dotted with real berries, and wrapped in a tangy glaze—an underrated coffee companion. Loses points for sporadic availability, which often forces stale inventory.
11. Old Fashion Glazed
Picture the Plain after a glow‑up: same nostalgic cakey notes, now dunked in crackly vanilla glaze. Reliable and perfect for dunking, but edges can harden quickly.
10. Apple Fritter
Yes, the full‑sized fritter tops sales charts, but its Timbit cousin doesn’t capture the same caramelised magic. You still get cinnamon and apple flecks, yet the interior feels breadier than dessert‑like.
9. Chocolate Dip
A yeast puff capped with thick chocolate frosting. Balanced sweetness and melt‑in‑mouth fondant make this a crowd‑pleaser, though the glaze softens fast in a warm car.
8. Sour Cream Glazed
Rich sour‑cream batter, lacy glaze, kudos for that unmistakable tang. Slightly oilier than its cake siblings, but the moist crumb keeps you reaching for another.
7. Fruit Explosion
A 2020s innovation that actually sticks: soft yeast shell bursting with mixed‑berry purée. The filling is generous, bright, and not overly sweet. Wear dark T‑shirts—accidents happen.
6. Maple Glazed
True north in a bite: warm maple notes plus just‑right sweetness. The glaze clings nicely without sloughing off in the box, and the cakey interior stays moist—even late in the day.
5. Double Chocolate
Cocoa‑rich cake drenched in chocolate fondant. Brownie vibes, extra crunch around the glaze bubbles, and a perfect coffee chaser. If you’re a chocoholic, this is your ride‑or‑die.
4. Honey Dip
The quintessential Timbit: feathery yeast dough kissed with translucent honey glaze. Feather‑light at 6 a.m., satisfyingly chewy by noon, never cloying. A universal safe bet when you’re ordering for strangers.
3. Toasted Coconut
Snow‑white vanilla cake rolled in crisp toasted coconut flakes. Texture contrast is elite—soft crumb against crunchy coconut—and the flavour evokes summer ice‑cream stands. Loses a smidge of practicality due to coconut shrapnel on your shirt.
2. Chocolate Glazed
The O.G. superstar. Moist chocolate cake interior, shiny sugar coating that crackles at first bite, and a cocoa finish that lingers just long enough. Holds up well even eight hours post‑purchase. The people’s champ…but not quite our victor.
1. Sour Cream Chocolate Glazed (New Core Flavour)
Introduced nationally in late 2024, this hybrid marries sour‑cream batter with a cocoa boost, then drenches the sphere in traditional glaze. The result is transcendent: tangy, deep chocolate, crackly exterior, absolutely no dryness even the next morning. Every taster gave it perfect or near‑perfect marks; one declared it “the Timbits endgame.” Crown bestowed.
Honourable Mentions
Cadbury Mini Eggs Timbit (Easter LTO) – basically a Chocolate Dip wearing a crunchy candy coat. Too seasonal to rank, but thrilling while it lasts.
Maple Bacon Dream Timbit (Test Market) – smoky bacon bits atop a maple‑glazed yeast sphere. Intriguing but confined to GTA pilot stores.
Building the Ultimate 20‑Pack
Ordering for a team? Use the 60/30/10 rule we devised during tastings:
60 % Universal Crowd‑Pleasers
Chocolate Glazed, Honey Dip, Maple Glazed, Sour Cream Glazed.30 % Strong Character Picks
Toasted Coconut, Double Chocolate, Fruit Explosion.10 % Wild Cards / LTOs
Whatever seasonal special is on deck—keeps things exciting and sparks conversations.
This mix keeps sugar levels balanced, offers multiple textures, and prevents the dreaded mid‑meeting “all that’s left are Plains” scenario.
Fun Timbit Trivia (Brag at the Office)
Birth Year: Timbits debuted in 1976—twelve years after the first Tims opened in Hamilton.
Name Origin: Early ads pitched them as “Tim’s Bits of Donut.” The informal shorthand stuck and became the brand.
Average Weight: Roughly 12 grams each, meaning two Timbits equal one standard Tims donut in mass—useful for calorie math.
Guinness Record Attempt: In 2023 a Calgary youth hockey league built a 50,000‑piece Timbit mosaic of a goalie mask for charity.
Top‑Selling Flavour Nationally (2024): Chocolate Glazed, edging out Honey Dip by 4 %.
The Verdict: Tiny Titans, Big Flavour
After more sugar crashes than we care to admit, our panel crowned Sour Cream Chocolate Glazed the undisputed king of Timbits in 2025. It delivers everything Canadians want from a coffee‑counter treat: richness without cloying sweetness, nostalgic glaze crackle, and a moist crumb that survives even the forget‑me‑in‑the‑car test.
Close on its heels, Chocolate Glazed remains the sentimental favourite, while Toasted Coconut and Honey Dip round out a diversified top tier. Of course, Timbit preference is as personal as hockey team loyalty—your taste buds might rank Birthday Cake higher or ride for Apple Fritter. That’s the joy of the bite‑sized format: with one polite “fifty‑pack, please,” everybody can draft their own MVP.
So next time the office debate fires up, slide this ranking across the table—or better yet, bring a sampler box and host a blind taste test. Just make sure to snag a Sour Cream Chocolate Glazed for yourself before the feeding frenzy begins. In the land of double‑doubles and drive‑thru diplomacy, Timbits are proof that good things truly do come in small (glazed) packages.
