My daily a.m. treat to myself, having walked four miles or so with my Border Terrier, is a medium skinny latté, which I get my local Costa to put in the Tim Horton's Thermos-cup that I brought home from my last trip to AB/BC. Still hot when I get it home, a very nice accompaniment to lunch.

My understanding from the staff at our Costa (whom I've become very friendly with, to the point of being given a freebie every now and again for being a 'regular') is that, although the business was owned overall by Whitbread, the retail units are franchised out and run as their own businesses by the franchisees.