At Tim's, a double-double of ethical sourcing

Tim Hortons is hoping people who drop by its donut shops for their morning double-double will also pick up a new brand of coffee to brew at home.

Tim Hortons Partnership Blend Coffee went on sale yesterday. The name comes from a program that the quick-serve restaurant chain developed eight years ago to help coffee farmers in Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil and Columbia improve their businesses, without harming the environment.

That program, called the Coffee Partnership, has seen Tim Hortons invest $7 million to make small coffee plantations in the four countries more productive and more sustainable.

Tim Hortons officials said the program has helped farmers economically by giving them skills and tools to produce higher yields and better quality coffee, as well as providing them access to international markets. The ground coffee in the new brand comes from those farms.

“We have seen our approach become critically important to small-scale farmers in Latin America, especially as they have been facing changing growing conditions over the past years,” Bill Moir, the chain’s chief brand and marketing officer, said in a statement.

Partnership Blend Coffee is sold at participating Tim Hortons locations across Canada.

Each 343g bag retails for $7.69, with $1 going back to support the Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership.

The new brand is being supported with a TV ad campaign and with online ads and posts on Facebook and Twitter.

There are no plans at the moment to sell the coffee in supermarkets or other retail food outlets.