The blueberry muffin can be eaten alone on the go, or paired with a hot drink on a (hopefully) hot date. It can serve as breakfast or a quick snack. It can be wholesome and nutritious or sweet and sinful. However you like your blueberry muffin, our campus has several variations to offer. Luckily, all of these options are perfectly moist. If there’s one thing I fear most in life, it’s a dry muffin. Of all the flavours of muffin available on campus, blueberry seems to sell the quickest. Don’t let this turn you off of trying each of them, but be prepared to fight for those coveted blueberry muffins.
STARBUCKS
$2.05
BEST APPEARANCE
As I discovered when searching for the best chocolate chip cookie on campus, Starbucks does their desserts rich, and that goes for their blueberry muffin too. Their take on the classic muffin is decadent and buttery, and comes dusted with sugar and bursts of blueberries. It looks almost too good to eat. When I actualy ate it, it was so cake-like that it tasted like a blueberry pound cake. It had a light, crumbly texture throughout. Of all the blueberry muffins I tried, the Starbucks one tasted the most artificial, but if you’re in search of a more dessert-like blueberry muffin, then Starbucks is the place for you.
TIM HORTONS
$1.21
BEST SIZE
The Tim Hortons blueberry muffin is simple, understated, and to the point. It’s the perfect size for a snack and not so rich as to knock you out. When breaking open the Tim Hortons muffin, you discover a lovely blue-tinged interior with the biggest blueberries of any of the muffins I tried. Nevertheless, the basic dough manages to stand out against the taste of the sweet blueberries and gives the muffin a greater depth of flavour. The muffin also had a consistent texture and an even rise. It’s nothing out of the ordinary; Tim Hortons offers a familiar take on the blueberry muffin that anyone can enjoy.
CIRCUIT BREAK CAFÉ
$1.55
BEST MUFFIN TOP
They know what they’re doing at the Circuit Break Café when it comes to baked goods, and I believe it’s because of the oven. Like their delicious cookies, they bake their muffins on site. In fact, when I asked for a blueberry muffin, a batch was put in just for me. The muffin was soft and chewy on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside. It was ideally proportioned with a larger top than bottom (’cause who really likes to eat the bottom of a muffin?). It made such a good impression that I plan on going back and trying all of their muffins—and, for good measure, the blueberry muffin again.
SECOND CUP
$2.00
BEST BLUEBERRIES
The standout feature of Second Cup’s blueberry muffin is (as it should be) its blueberries. The blueberries make up a large percentage of the overall muffin mass and are the dominant flavour. Although these blueberries were rather small, their number more than made up for their size. The muffin had a solid structure. However, compared to the other blueberry muffins at UTM, Second Cup’s had the least character and enticing flavour. But should you really be stuck in the winter blues and missing the taste of sweet summer blueberries, this muffin will meet your need.
