Mike Elgar says he was fooled, but only for a split second.

The instant coffee that caught the eye of the Oakville native at a street market in South Korea was not, in fact, Tim Hortons.

“I was a bit shocked and I had to laugh,” he told the Star over the phone Wednesday about his discovery, which he shared on Instagram earlier this week.

A yellow coffee package was being sold on the street in the Dongdaemun Market shopping district in Seoul. It had the same red, cursive letters distinctive of Tim Hortons, Elgar said.

But instead of the Canadian favourite, this coffee was dubbed “Tim Mortons.” Mortons, with an M.

“I was going to buy it for sure . . . but it was just generic (South Korean) instant coffee packs,” he said.

An English teacher at an academy in Suwon, a town about 30 km outside the capital, Elgar, who has been in South Korea for six months, spotted the coffee while on a weekend visit to Seoul.

He added that he thought it may have been related to a coffee shop called “Tim House,” which was spotted in the city earlier this year with a sign that looked very similar to Tim Hortons.

“We’re thrilled to see that the Tim Hortons brand is loved and recognized around the world, but we’re always vigilant when it comes to protecting our intellectual property, especially as we expand internationally,” Tim Hortons Public Affairs Director Michelle Robichaud told the Star in an email.

The company currently does not operate any stores in South Korea. “We will continue to take the necessary steps to protect our trademarks,” Robichaud said, without elaborating.

“I was kind of hoping it was Tim Hortons because that would have been amazing to get a bunch of packs of those,” Elgar said about his find.

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