Tim Tams are Australia’s most famous chocolate biscuit, and finding them in the United States takes more planning than a walk down the cookie aisle. Arnott’s has baked them since 1964. American supermarkets rarely carry them, so knowing where to buy Tim Tams, and which sellers keep fresh stock moving, decides whether you open a crisp pack or a waxy one. This guide covers the US retailers, online sellers, and import routes that actually work in 2026.
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Who Actually Buys Tim Tams
A Tim Tam is two malted biscuits joined by a chocolate cream filling and sealed inside a thin milk chocolate coating. Arnott’s Group, the Australian baker now owned by the investment firm KKR, launched the product in 1964 and named it after the horse that won the 1958 Kentucky Derby. Around 400 million of the biscuits are sold each year, per the Tim Tam entry on Wikipedia, with most going to Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Three groups buy them here. Expats restocking a pantry staple. Americans who tried one on a trip. Gift buyers hunting a snack that is genuinely hard to find in the United States.
The ritual matters as much as the dessert. In a Tim Tam Slam, you bite off opposite corners and use the biscuit as a straw for hot coffee or tea until the chocolate softens, then eat the whole thing before it collapses.
Buying Criteria: What Separates Good Tim Tams From Bad Ones
Freshness beats flavor choice every time. An in-date pack snaps cleanly and tastes malty; a tired one turns soft, and no flavour rescues it. Five things are worth checking before you buy.
Best-before date. Imported stock crosses an ocean and then waits in a warehouse, so the printed date does more work here than on a domestic cookie. Read it before you pay.
Pack size and format. The standard Original sleeve is 200 grams, sold in the US as a 7 ounce tray, and it holds 11 biscuits. Multi-packs of 3, 6, or 12 sleeves cut the per-biscuit cost sharply. Individually boxed gift assortments carry the biggest markup of any format.
Flavor lineup. Original is the baseline. Double Coat adds a thicker chocolate shell, Chewy Caramel drops a soft layer between the biscuits, and Classic Dark swaps milk chocolate for dark. Choc Mint, White, Coconut Cream, strawberry, and gluten free versions reach US import channels irregularly, which matters because a listing photo does not always match what ships.
Authentic Arnott’s branding. Only Arnott’s makes the real thing, and every genuine sleeve carries the Arnott’s rosella parrot logo. Pepperidge Farm sold a licensed US version in the late 2000s that used a different recipe and was discontinued, so treat any pack in that packaging as old stock.
Storage and heat exposure. Chocolate-coated biscuits do badly in a hot car or on a summer porch. Keep sealed sleeves in a cool pantry away from sun, and if a pack has gone soft, a short chill in the refrigerator brings the snap back.
Red Flags When Shopping for Tim Tams
The most common mistake is paying import prices for a stale pack. Specialty shelves turn over slowly, and a biscuit past its prime is the complaint that shows up most often in Amazon reviews of imported snacks. Watch for five things.
Near-expiry stock. A short remaining shelf life on an import shelf usually means the pack has already been sitting a while. If the date is close, ask for a discount or leave it.
Overpriced single sleeves. A single 200 gram pack generally lands between four and seven dollars. Ten dollars or more for one sleeve is import gouging, and the multi-pack math beats it.
“Tim Tam style” listings. That phrasing, or a photo showing an old Pepperidge Farm wrapper, signals something other than the Arnott’s original. The recipes are not the same.
Bloomed chocolate. Grey streaks or dull patches on the coating mean the sleeve got warm in transit. It is safe to eat, but the texture is gone, and that is fair grounds for a refund.
Crushed or unsealed packaging. A torn foil seal or a box that rattles with crumbs means broken biscuits and stale cream. Skip it.
Buying Tim Tams Locally: Store by Store
Cost Plus World Market
Cost Plus World Market is the most consistent brick-and-mortar source in the US. Look in the international snack aisle, shelved beside British and Irish confectionery rather than with domestic cookies. Expect four to six dollars per sleeve. Call first, since selection varies by region.
Target
Target carries the Original 7 ounce tray as a catalogued item, which surprises people who assume it is import-only. Larger grocery-format stores are the best bet; small-format city stores rarely stock it. Check the product page for local availability before you go.
Walmart
Select Walmart Supercenters shelve the Original in the international foods aisle or near premium cookies, though availability is patchy store to store. Run a site search against your ZIP code to see what is nearby. Marketplace listings are third-party sellers, priced above shelf.
Costco
Costco has listed the Arnott’s Original 7 ounce 6-count through its same-day delivery catalog, so warehouse availability is real but regional. Membership applies. If your warehouse has it, the per-sleeve price is usually the lowest anywhere.
Aussie and British specialty grocers
Independent import grocers serving expat communities carry the widest flavor range and rotate stock faster than big-box retail. Search Google Maps for “Australian grocery” near you. Prices run higher, but the odd flavors surface here first.
Buying Tim Tams Online: Retailer Comparison
Amazon is the fastest online option, dedicated import shops carry the deepest flavor range, and the big-box sites sit in between on both counts. This table compares the four channels most US buyers use.
| Channel | Typical price per sleeve | Flavor range | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $5 to $9 | Wide, mostly multi-packs | Speed and Prime delivery |
| Target and Walmart online | $4 to $7 | Original, occasional Chewy Caramel | Lowest price, pickup option |
| Aussie import shops | $6 to $12 | Widest, includes limited releases | Rare flavors |
| eBay and resellers | Varies widely | Unpredictable | Filling gaps during shortages |
Amazon
Assortment and multi-sleeve packs dominate the listings, and Prime orders typically arrive in two days. Browse the current listings and sort by review count rather than price. Prefer sellers shipping from US warehouses, since a long international transit in summer is where heat damage happens.
Import shops and Aussie Food Express
Dedicated import shops such as Aussie Food Express stock the fuller lineup, including releases that never reach US retail. Shipping costs more and takes longer than Amazon. This is the practical route to Murray River Salted Caramel, Choc Mint, or Raspberry White Choc.
eBay and marketplace resellers
Resellers fill gaps when import channels run dry, but pricing swings hard. Check seller feedback and shipping origin first. For gift pairings, see our guides to premium chocolate, dark chocolate, and candy bars.
Alternatives to Tim Tams Worth Trying
If your local shelves are empty, three biscuits get close enough to be worth the substitution.
- Arnott’s Mint Slice. Same baker, dark chocolate over a mint layer. It ships through the same import aisles and is often in stock when the headline product is not.
- McVitie’s Penguin. The British chocolate biscuit bar built on the same idea, and the better pick if you mainly want the Slam ritual. It costs less and draws hot drinks well.
- Bahlsen Choco Leibniz. A butter biscuit under a thick chocolate slab, stocked in mainstream US supermarkets. No cream filling, so it is a texture trade rather than a copy.
Skip the substitutes entirely if you are buying a gift for an Australian. The specific malted biscuit and the packaging are the point, and a near-miss reads as a near-miss.
Best Tim Tams Right Now
These five picks cover the range from everyday sleeve to hard-to-find import, chosen on flavor balance, US availability, and cost per biscuit.
Best overall: Arnott’s Original 200g sleeve. Crisp malted biscuit, balanced milk chocolate coating, and the version every other flavor is judged against. Cheapest reliably at Cost Plus World Market, roughly $4 to $6 per sleeve.
Best online multi-pack: Arnott’s Original 6-Pack. Six sleeves in one shipment, the cheapest per-biscuit route short of a Costco run. Check current pricing on Amazon. Usually $25 to $40.
Best variety pack: Arnott’s assortment box. A mixed box pairing Original with Chewy Caramel and Double Coat is the efficient way to find your favourite before committing to a case. See assortment packs on Amazon. Around $30 to $45.
Best for caramel lovers: Arnott’s Chewy Caramel. A soft chewy layer sits between the malted biscuits under the usual coating. It divides people, and it is the worst pick for the Slam because the filling blocks the channel. Find it on Amazon. About $6 to $9 per sleeve.
Best import-only pick: Murray River Salted Caramel. A limited Australian release that big-box US retail does not carry. Order from a specialty importer and expect roughly $8 to $12 per sleeve once shipping is counted.
Start with a single Original sleeve from Cost Plus World Market or Target, then move to a 6-pack once you know your flavor. Chasing a limited release? Order from an import shop weeks ahead, because those Tim Tams sell out fast and restocks are unpredictable.
Tim Tams Questions, Answered
Can you get Tim Tams in the USA?
Yes. Cost Plus World Market, Target, select Walmart Supercenters, Amazon, and import shops all sell them here. Arnott’s runs a US-facing brand page, so the product is officially distributed rather than grey-market. Flavor choice is the real limitation, not availability of the Original.
Do they sell Tim Tams at Costco?
Costco has carried the Arnott’s Original 7 ounce 6-count through its same-day delivery catalog, but it is a rotating item rather than a permanent stock number. Check the same-day listing for your warehouse before assuming. Trader Joe’s does not carry the brand at all.
Is there an American equivalent?
There is no direct US equivalent, which is why the search volume exists. Americans call them cookies rather than biscuits, and the closest domestic comparison is a fudge-covered sandwich cookie, though those use a plain wafer instead of a malted one. The malt is the difference people notice first.
How do you do a Tim Tam Slam?
- Bite off two diagonally opposite corners of the biscuit.
- Dip one bitten corner into hot coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
- Draw the drink up through the biscuit like a straw until you taste it.
- Eat the whole thing immediately, before the softened coating gives way.
Original and Double Coat work best. Anything with a filling layer blocks the channel and the trick fails.
Are they the same as the Pepperidge Farm biscuit?
No. Pepperidge Farm licensed a US-made version in the late 2000s under the same name, using a different recipe, and it was discontinued. Only Arnott’s makes the Australian original. The parrot logo on the sleeve is the quickest way to tell them apart on a shelf.
How We Researched This Guide
In August 2026, our editorial team re-checked retailer listings, price ranges, and picks against current US catalog pages at Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Costco. Prices move, so treat every range here as a guide and confirm at checkout.