A taste of success
Borden-carleton, P.E.I. Tim Horton’s worker wins Tim Cup Challenge and $10,000
“I can still remember how I felt. Your whole stomach just explodes with happiness. It’s another one of those tear moments.” Quianna Harvey 2022 Tim Cup Challenge winner
BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. – Ask Quianna Harvey what her favourite drink to make behind the Tim Horton’s counter is and she’ll answer with “a double-double.”
Not just because two cream and two sugar is the most common coffee order, but because she credits the drink for her victory in the 2022 Tim Cup Challenge, a coffee pouring competition for Tim Horton’s employees held every two years.
“It was definitely a lifechanging experience, something I’ll never forget,” said Harvey, 18, who has worked at the Tim Horton’s in Borden-carleton for four years.
The challenge began in September 2021 with her making a single doubledouble while her manager filmed it.
A year later, it ended with her center stage in Las Vegas, being cheered on by a crowd, and walking away with a $10,000 cheque in her name.
“I actually bought a new car not too long ago, so it’s going to go toward my car, my education,” she said. “Then whatever else I need, I guess. It’s just nice to have.”
District Manager Amanda Pride, who encouraged Harvey to enter the challenge, sees her as a determined worker who does each task with excitement and passion.
“I knew that this was going to be a good experience for her,” said Pride. “Plus, she is an extremely good worker and very fast.”
Harvey is not the first Island employee Pride has put forward for the challenge, but before her, no Islander had reached the final round of the competition.
Still, Pride was confident that Harvey had what it takes to not only qualify for Las Vegas, but had the skills and determination necessary to take home the prize.
“When we found out that she had qualified just for the Atlantic Region, I knew right then that she was going to go 100 per cent of the way,” said Pride.
The first round of the challenge was held in September 2021.
Then, any interested worker could send a video demonstration of making a single perfect dark roast double-double.
Harvey sent her entry along, not giving it a second thought.
“At the very beginning, I’m like, I’m from P.E.I., like no chance at all,” she said.
The round would narrow down the top three entries from P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec.
A few weeks later, she received a call from Pride, letting her know she advanced to the second round.
Like the first, her second entry would be a video submission. This time, she would compete against two other employees from the Maritimes and Quebec.
Each employee would make the same three coffees they would be expected to make in the third and final round against the victors in the other seven regions.
Two weeks later, at her store’s Christmas party, it was announced that she would be the one moving on to represent the Maritimes in Las Vegas.
“Everyone was cheering,” she said. “I cried.”
POURING HER WAY TO VICTORY
Almost a year later, in early September, Harvey was on an airplane for the first time, heading to a city she had never been to before.
“They had a limo pick me up, with a lady that held a sign that said ‘Harvey’ on it, waiting for me,” she said. “That was really cool.”
Before stepping on the stage to showcase her skills for the judges and crowd, she had some time to enjoy the city, walking the Las Vegas Strip and eating at one of Chef Gordan Ramsay’s restaurants. When the final round began, the eight competitors went on the stage one-by one, preventing the others from watching and copying methods and tricks.
Her task, standing in the middle of the hotel conference room, was to make three perfect coffees as quickly as she could: one double-double, one with cream and sugar and one black.
Any mistakes would have resulted in more time added, lowering her score.
“The crowd was amazing, it was incredible,” said Harvey. “Everyone was screaming and cheering.”
She returned to P.E.I. shortly after, flying home just before the award ceremony.
News of her victory came the day after the competition, on a video call, with many of her friends and family present to cheer the moment she emerged triumphant.
“It was definitely one of those core memory moments,” said Harvey. “I can still remember how I felt. Your whole stomach just explodes with happiness. It’s another one of those tear moments.”
After proving to herself what she was capable of, there is no doubt in Harvey’s mind that she will put her name forward again in the future. If any other Tim Horton’s worker is toying with the idea of giving the challenge a try themselves, she encourages them to go for it.
“You never know until you try,” she said. “Trust me, I did not think I was going to go that far."