The local coffee shop often becomes central to a place’s cultural identity. On the national level, Tim Hortons has long played this role, wearing the crown of the most Canadian coffee chain. While we may gripe about its quality, mock its strange new menu items and yearn for its glory days, Tim Hortons remains as synonymous with Canada as Starbucks is with Seattle, as iconic to us hosers as the coffee and donuts chain Dunkin’ is to Bostonians. Store layouts may change, but Tims retains a sense of timelessness: the shades of brown and red, the shelves of travel mugs and bagged coffee beans and the display case of donuts tempting customers as they wait in line can be found from coast to coast. 

This spring, I took a trip to the United Kingdom with my partner. On our final day in Liverpool, after I’d gotten my fill ...