| Type | Snack food |
|---|---|
| Owner | Arnott's Biscuits Holdings |
| Country | Australia |
| Introduced | 1964 |
| Markets | Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States. |
| Website | www.TimTam.com.au |
Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit currently manufactured by Arnott's in Australia. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.
According to Arnott's, around 35 million packs are sold each year: nearly 400 million biscuits, an average of approximately 1.7 packs per Australian.
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The biscuit was created by Ian Norris, who was the director of food technology at Arnott's. During 1958, he took a world trip looking for inspiration for new products. While in Britain, he found the Penguin biscuit and decided to "make a better one"[1].
Tim Tams were first put onto the market in 1964.[2] They were named by Ross Arnott, who attended the 1958 Kentucky Derby and decided that the name of the winning horse Tim Tam was perfect for a planned new line of biscuits.[3].
In 2003 Arnott's sued Dick Smith Foods over their Temptin' brand of chocolate biscuits, which Arnott's alleged had diluted their trademark as a similar biscuit, in similarly-designed packaging.[4] The case was settled out of court.
Tim Tams were introduced to the U.S.A. through Pepperidge Farm as a promotional item from November 2008 to March 2009.[5] They were sold through Target stores only; varieties offered were Original (sold as Chocolate Crème) and Caramel. Pepperidge Farm re-released these two varieties with Classic Dark in October 2009. That time the Original and Caramel varieties were available in supermarkets other than Target and they were available in the U.S.A. until March 2010. In late 2009 Pepperidge Farm announced that they would be available in the future at the same time every year, from October to March. They are packaged with the slogan "Australia's Favorite Cookie."
The original Tim Tam bakery, opened in 1865, was located in Newcastle, New South Wales.[6] To date, manufacture of Tim Tams and other Arnott's products has remained largely within Australia, including bakeries in Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane. In 2009, Arnott's invested 37 million dollars in a state-of-the-art production line at its Brisbane facility, expecting to boost productivity and increase jobs.[7]
At the Huntingwood bakery in Western Sydney, the production line turns out about 3,000 Tim Tams per minute[8] and uses 20 tons of the cookie's cream filling and 27 tons of chocolate coating each work day.[8]
In the 2000s Arnott's sold different varieties of the product.
In 2004, Arnott's caused a controversy when they released a range of alcohol-flavoured varieties of their products, including Tia Maria Tim Tams. It was suggested selling these biscuits in supermarkets where they were available to minors was irresponsible. However, it would take several thousand biscuits for the alcohol to have any effect.[9]
Similar products include "Temptins" from Dick Smith Foods, New Zealand's "Chit Chats",[10] Australian Woolworths' home brand product "Triple Choc" and the Coles brand "Chocolate Supreme" biscuits.
Tim Tams are popular in British Columbia, with Thrifty Foods selling three flavours: Original, Classic Dark, and Chewy Caramel. Overwaitea Foods sell Tim Tams throughout their supermarket chains, including Save-On-Foods, Cooper's Foods, PriceSmart Foods, and Urban Fare locations in Vancouver. Canada Safeway Limited and London Drugs also sell Original and Caramel Tim Tams in their western Canadian supermarkets.
Loblaws Companies (Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore) also sells Original and Caramel Tim Tams in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Pepperidge Farm, a sister company of Arnott's, brought the Tim Tam to the United States in the fall of 2008, with select distribution of caramel and chocolate crème flavours in Target stores, exclusively but nationwide. At that time, Pepperidge Farm launched an online community site that allowed users to track the cookies' journey from Australia to U.S. stores. The product is still "Made in Australia".
In the fall of 2009, Pepperidge Farm announced that Tim Tam biscuits will be made available each year between October and March (although still available year round in some of the northern states), in various stores. The brand also premiered the Classic Dark flavour in the United States, in addition to extending distribution of Caramel and Chocolate Crème flavours to supermarkets and grocery stores across the country.
A 7-ounce/200g package contains 11 biscuits.
Tim Tams available from "Cost Plus World Markets" in the USA do not bear the name "Tim Tam" on the wrapper and are branded as "Arnott's Original".[11]
Tim Tam Chocolate Sandwich Biscuits are imported into Hong Kong by Campbell Soup Asia Limited. Each packet is 15g (0.53 ounces).
Tim Tam Chocolate Sandwich Biscuits are now manufactured in Indonesia by Halo Arnotts. A cheese flavour of Tim Tams has also been developed for the Indonesian market. [12]
The Tim Tam Slam is the practice of drinking a hot beverage (usually coffee or hot chocolate) through a Tim Tam.[13] (also known as a Tim Tam Shotgun)
Opposite corners of the Tim Tam are bitten off, one end is submerged in the drink, and the drink sucked through the biscuit. The crisp inside biscuit is softened and the outer chocolate coating begins to melt.
Ideally, the inside of the biscuit should collapse with the outside remaining intact long enough for the liquid to reach the mouth. Refrigerating or similar processes help to preserve the outside coating while allowing the inside of the biscuit to dissolve into a warm, creamy centre. The thicker chocolate coating on the Double Coat Tim Tam offers a more stable structure to prevent a premature collapse. The caramel centre of the Chewy Caramel variety helps to hold the biscuit together for a slightly longer time - contributing to enhanced enjoyment. When the biscuit structure collapses it is typically pushed into the mouth. This activity is often performed for show in front of large groups of people.
The Arnott's company used the name Tim Tam Suck in a 2002 advertising campaign.[14][15]
Equivalent practices are possible with other biscuits, such as the Penguin and Breakway biscuits, available in the United Kingdom, and Twix, available in the United States. In an article in The Oberlin Review, Cat Richert reports attempting the practice in the United States using Oreo cookies after returning from a trip to Tasmania, but without success. Other chocolate coated biscuits can be used, with the MintSlice biscuit also being a firm favourite in Australia.[16]