Fair Trade Organic Bolivian Blend Coffee, Medium Dark Roast
RAVE
‘RICH AND FLAVORFUL WITH NOTES OF SWEET CARAMEL‘
“Sourced from the heart of Bolivian coffee country”
I love this new coffee Trader Joe’s introduced:
ORGANIC BOLIVIAN BLEND
In fact I find it so good this has became my favorite coffee Trader Joe’s sells! It’s so bloody good!
I’m pretty sure I may have never even tasted a Bolivian coffee before this one. Coffee from Bolivia is a bit rare in the U.S. Certainly not as well known as other South American producers as Brazil or Columbia or even Honduras. This however could change if people try this new Bolivian coffee Trader Joe’s came out with. I think its just a wonderful tasting coffee. TJ’s says….
“Our Bolivian Blend is a medium dark roast with a smooth textured body, delicate acidity and sweet flavor characteristic of caramel…. A Fair Trade coffee sourced from small family farms in the land located between the peaks of the Andes and Amazon Basin…This region has ideal growing conditions for this unique perfectly balanced coffee.”
I didn’t know what to expect but all I can tell you is when I brewed up a cup of Joe from these beans I was both surprised and quite impressed. It tasted so good. I just loved it the moment I tried it. I find this coffee perfectly balanced with nice hints of acidity and caramel that makes a perfect cup of coffee. I let some other people try it and they also loved it.
So I’m giving this ORGANIC BOLIVIAN BLEND a huge RAVE. Once again, Trader Joe’s world traveling coffee buyers managed to source some wonderful coffee beans, this time from the mountains of the Bolivian Andes.
Upon opening the bag, you get a wonderful aroma from these beans which are Medium Roast, and I found the roast right on the money. Grind the beans and you will get an even more wonderful heavenly smell; These just say “now this is coffee” to me.
I think this is one of the best coffee’s I can remember tasting from Trader Joe’s. It instantly became my new FAVORITE coffee and when I wake up now all I think about is making some of this coffee.
It doesn’t say “Small Lot” which means a limited supply but not wanting to take any chances as I’ve missed out in the past on some great coffees that went out of stock quickly, I went back and bought two more bags of this Bolivian Blend a few days later.
Interestingly enough brewing this in my Moka Pot, this coffee is making way better crema than I am used to getting. I mean I am seeing much more crema from this than other coffees I’ve been using and I’ve done nothing different. Same grind, process, method, which leads me to think its the coffee.
I think this will be good for any brewing method. Espresso machine, Moka, drip or pour over.
Not only is this very good its a Fair Trade coffee direct from small growers
TJ’s says: “Made with Lady Clair and Dakota Pearl potatoes grown in western Canada, our supplier fries these Chips in small batches, then kettle-cooks them until they’re ready to be seasoned and cooled. This method, as opposed to the typical “continuous fry” method of chip-making, results in extra-flavorful chips with a harder, crunchier bite.”
My wife bought these and we we tasted them we both loved them from just one bite. So Delicious.
Theses are kettle cooked and cut a little thicker, so are very crunchy. I would say they taste like the best, high quality, kettle cooked potato chips you’ve had. Those “gourmet” level ones. The “EBTB” Seasoning is delicious here. Blends in well, and just enough. Not overpowering to the chips, just enhancing them. They use just enough for a great extra taste but not where you don’t taste “potato” first and foremost, not the added “flavoring”, so way better than say Lay’s in this respect.
One thing about these though. The bag should have a Warning label about being: “Highly Addictive”.
I like rubber plants. I had a nice one that lasted about 20+ years. However finally that one started to weaken and eventually die. I’ve been thinking of replacing it for a few months.
Lo and behold I saw this rubber plant at Trader Joe’s yesterday. It looked really healthy to me. Very robust with new growth on the way.
So I decided it was time to replace my late rubber plant I had for so long and missed.
TJ’s had nice healthy looking rubber plants for $11.99. I was not dirt cheap but elsewhere I would see comparable rubber plants for at least $20 if not more, so I decided to take it home.
These make good houseplants that are easy to take care of and don’t even need a ton of light, so are a good choice for many.
I discovered this link on Trader Joe’s website and just want to share it to make sure every one knows about how to contact them and voice your opinion.
Now of course who knows if it will have any effect? But if they get enough complaints and feedback about some product they got rid of, perhaps they might even reconsider. It may be worth a try, you have nothing to lose and at the very least you get to have your say.
As they say, one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar, so probably best to be a bit polite.
Trader Joe’s THAI PEANUT SATAY SAUCE is a new addition to their line of Thai and Asian sauces and condiments. (Jan 2024)
TJ has this to say: “Made for us by a supplier in Thailand, our Peanut Satay Sauce starts with a base of rich coconut milk, peanuts, and aromatic red curry paste, to which our supplier adds a mix of savory seasonings including lemongrass, shallot, garlic, galangal, and tamarind paste. In addition to making a delicious dipping sauce for grilled, skewered proteins of all kinds (we’re especially fond of it with shrimp, pork loin, or tofu), it also makes a fantastic condiment for burgers and lettuce wraps, and a superb sauce for serving over Thai Wheat Noodles. And for an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.”
I got a jar to taste and review recently. My initial take is it’s pretty good. Thai food can be very bold with flavors. For my taste buds while this Satay Sauce is kind of tasty, I just wish it had more “oomph”. That is way bolder with flavors so that it really tasted “Thai”. Personally I wanted more more of everything (more peanuts, more galangal, and way more red curry paste)
Its OK but just way too much on the tame side, and Thai food is not tame in the least. I’m pretty sure a Thai baby could handle this and I don’t mean just in the heat level. So while I wish it was a little bolder never the less this new sauce is kind of tasty — IT CAN BE IMPROVED.
So I I say it has potential. If you fix it up a bit, adding a thing or two. Certainly a squeeze of lime juice for a little more sourness. It’s not spicy, so if you like spicy, just add a bit of your favorite spicy condiment. For instance Peri-Peri or Bomba to jazz it up. Want it more peanut-y? I sure do. I mixed in a few spoons of crunchy peanut butter and it got way better. Crushed garlic too.
But even if you just use as-is, this can be OK in a pinch (if you are not Thai). Satay usually means grilled items so you can use this for grilled proteins or the like. Say with chicken, shrimp, fish, pork, beef or grilled tofu for that matter. You can marinate them in some sauce for say 30 minutes, then grill it. You can also brush some sauce on at the end of grilling for a nice glaze. It can burn so be careful.
The Satay Sauce can be used in a number of ways. At it’s simplest you could just use it on the side or spoon some on top. Say with grilled chicken, meat, fish, shrimp or tofu. Here I served the satay sauce with a grilled chicken breast, and it works great with chicken. Or anything for that matter.
Salad Dressing – “For an effortless and flavorful salad dressing, simply add a bit of Rice Vinegar to a few spoonfuls of Satay Sauce in a bowl, mix, and enjoy.” – Trader Joe’s.
Is THAI SATAY sauce good for noodles? Very much so! This sauce will definitely be good with say your Thai Wheat Noodles or Squiggly Noodles dishes. Add a bit of soy sauce and a squeeze of lime juice too and maybe some chopped cilantro. And again, I would mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter.
Thai Peanut Noodles: Mix the sauce into your cooked noodles. Add a nice amount and also a a little soy sauce, some lime juice, and if like spicy maybe some Sriracha, Bomba, or Peri-Peri. Mix in a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. I would add vegetables of ones choosing: maybe shredded cooked carrots, peppers, and green onions. Cilantro too if you like it. If you have some crushed peanuts on top that will help.
So I think one could come up with something tasty using this sauce, especially if you experiment a bit with it. Adding some stuff.
It’s $2.29 for an 8 oz jar.
I would buy it again (I just wish it were more authentically Thai)
“Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Coffee Buzz Bars are made using a unique combination of conched Columbian Cacao Nibs and Columbian Coffee Beans, blended with sugar and natural vanilla flavor. There’s a distinct yet mild coffee flavor and 70 mg of caffeine in each bar”
(a regular cup of coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine)
First off, I have to mention I love this package design. Eye catching colors with lovely hand made drawings of coffee and cacao on thick paper stock.
Trader Joe’s really cares about package design, more than other grocery stores. They focus on designing products that make you want to pick them up. If you are interested in learning a bit more about that here’s a link about Trader Joe’s product design
OK, ok but how’s this chocolate? I liked it but my wife did not. To state the obvious this is not a kids bar of chocolate. Definitely for Grown Ups. Barely sweet, just sweetened enough to balance out the bitterness of coffee and cacao nibs. Me, I think they got it just right, definitely a nice balance of quality chocolate with coffee undertones and a nice balance of bitter and sweet however some may not go for this. On the other hand if like me, you are someone who loves both your coffee and your chocolate you may like this. Worth trying to find out.
Saw it in the NEW ITEMS section: Trader Joe’s PEPPERMINT CASTILE SOAP – “A multi purpose cleaner made with olive, coconut, hemp and jojoba oils” – “SHAMPOO, BODY WASH, BATH, HOUSEHOLD CLEANER, LAUNDRY CLEANER”
As you can see this soap is good for almost everything!
Especially if you are of a certain age when you see this blue bottle which says PEPPERMINT CASTILE SOAP it will immediately make you think of the very famous bottle of DR BRONNER’S Castile Soap, an iconic brand. Those blue bottles had a label with a ton writing on it, mostly about World Peace. Dr. Bronner;s has been around for ever (founded 1948). I love the stuff and used it forever until it got quite pricey.
Dr Bronners peppermint soap is a product I am very fond of. Its good for EVERYTHING. The peppermint Dr Bronners is so minty fresh it would make your scalp tingle if you used as shampoo. “Dilute, dilute, OK” it said on the label filled with a ton of the Dr’s writings about World Peace. Don’t get it in your eyes. So Dr. Bronner’s is one of those “old fashioned” products that is so useful and so classic it’s actually been copied at least a few times that I know of. Bed Bath Beyond had their own version of this liquid peppermint Castile soap and now Trader Joe’s has come out with their version. I’m very happy to see this.
Its made with Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Hemp Oil (!) plus has two kinds of mint.
I don’t have a bottle of the original soap right now to compare Trader Joe’s version to, but I liked this. Trader Joe’s version of the famous blue bottle of Peppermint Castile soap quite good.
It has a wonderful peppermint smell. This is trulya “multi-purpose” product that you can literally use all over the house: in the bath, in the kitchen, in the laundry, on your floors, really all over the house. A little bit of it goes a long way too. A little squirt of this soap on your hands makes a good lather and your nose will love the fresh minty smell.
BODY WASH/SHAMPOO/BATH – I put a very tiny squirt on a bath poof and just the little amount made an enormous amount of soapy lather in a few seconds. It smelled wonderful and minty fresh. It felt refreshing. Shampoo- It will make your scalp feel tingly and clean from the peppermint (make sure not to let this get in your eyes !)
LAUNDRY – I put it on a clean, washed old T shirt I use for the gym. I hand washed it in hot water with some of this soap. Wow. The water got so dirty it wasn’t funny. This is great for laundry and will make clothes smell great and refresh clothes, especially things like gym clothes or socks that might have odor.
Trader Joe’s CASTILE PEPPERMINT SOAP is $5.99 for a 16 oz bottle. For comparison Target sells Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap for $17 for a 32 oz bottle. So decent price for this quality Castile soap.
I liked this a lot. I would buy it again.
“AVOID CONTACT WITH EYES” (tip: the mint is strong so be careful getting this near your eyes)
(Update Jan 2025: M.I.A. for some time. Are they Out of stock or possibly Discontinued?) March 2025L Well its official from Trader Joe’s. UNFORTUNATELY THIS PRODUCT WAS DISCONTINUED ) Too bad as these were really good!
Trade Joe’s has quite a few, cooked, ready to eat, chicken items in the refrigerated section. Some of those are chicken breasts that have been already sliced . These however are whole cooked boneless chicken breasts, plain and simple, ready to use how ever you like. “All Natural, Minimally Processed…”
So convenient when you don’t feel like cooking but want a fast, easy protein. My review of these is that these boneless breast are super tasty. They are as juicy as possible, as they have not already been cut up, plus they are sealed up with the cooking juices. These are of course super convenient to have in the fridge. They will last at least a week, maybe more. For longer term storage you can freeze them and leave them overnight in the fridge to defrost.
Of course you are paying a bit more here per pound for boneless breasts as naturally one pays for the convenience of having it prepped and cooked. However the taste and quality is quite high. I even am pretty sure too these have been cooked Sous Vide (more on this later) Inside the package are four vacuum sealed pouches containing one perfect looking 4 ounce boneless breasts of chicken like you can see here. They even have grill marks on them, meaning they got some time over a grill.
Some people look down on boneless chicken breast, and think of them as dry and flavorless, but I promise you the way this is cooked proves otherwise. These are perfectly juicy.
My hunch how they make these: I believe these are cooked two ways: First they grill the outside a tiny bit to get those attractive grill marks but then they vacuum seal the breasts and cook them Sous Vide.Naturally I am just guessing but these kinds of pouches look exactly like how sous vide food looks. I also say this especially at how perfect the cook is on these boneless breasts. These are perfectly cooked. Juicy, tender, flavorful. If you are in the food game, let us know in the Comments if you too think these are cooked sous vide.
I gave one of these to my neighbor to taste. She thought they were delicious and immediately said she would be sure to buy them the next time she goes to TJ’s.
“Fully Cooked” – To me this is cooked just perfectly a point. In French cooking “à point” means “exactly right” meaning being “ideally cooked, no more, no less”. These breasts are just cooked just like that. Not overcooked. They are plump and juicy and there is a bit of natural cooking juices in the pouch – which you should be sure to save! This little bit of juice/stock can go over the chicken.
I sliced up a breast and ate it right out of the package as again, these are “fully cooked”. The cook on this is what you might call “medium rare”. If you’re someone who says they like chicken breast cooked until its “well done” you may not find it . Trust me it is. Its Perfect and is done like this so you can reheat it as they state. I put the sliced breast meat on top of a salad and it was delicious. Especially with some Magnificsauce on top. The package states you can “Reheat” this by simmering the pouch in water (or microwaving it). They suggest “simmering for 10-12 minutes”. It comes cooked “a point” so honestly I wonder if simmering this for 12 minutes might ruin it by overcooking it. I would simmer for 5 minutes tops ! Maybe if this is actually sous vide, 12 minutes might be OK. But once again it is already fully cooked. Though “just cooked” in the center which is personally the way I make boneless breasts. Your call on this point.
So I found these breasts very good and very tasty. The downside is of course the price is $9.99 for 1 pound of chicken however of course you don’t have to lift a finger to cook or prep it. You are paying for the convenience of having it ready to use, plus lets face it in a nice deli that sells cooked boneless breasts I’m sure would pay that much a pound if not more for cooked boneless breasts of this quality: perfect.
So when you want a perfect breast of chicken all ready this is very convenient.
The nutrition label says one breast is 150 calories with a whopping 27 Grams Protein and only 4.5 gr of fat. Sounds pretty healthy, no?
Trader Joe’s fortunately sells a number of excellent Japanese style rice crackers (aka “senbei”) and I am a big fan of any kind.
These types of rice crackers are baked not fried. Hence low fat, low cal. As made just from rice flour these are naturally GLUTEN FREE.
They’re great for snacking by themselves as well as being great as a cracker for any topping. We like all of the different kinds of rice crackers they carry. I buy one or another of them all the time.
These Savory Thin Mini rice crackers are the soy sauce / tamari version of an identical rice cracker minus the tamari flavor, which is lighter in color. Also called “Savory Thin Mini Rice Crackers”, either version of these mini rice crackers are good.
The one with Tamari soy sauce flavor I find quite tasty as it gets some UMAMI from the Tamari and it’s Multi Seed and also contains black sesame seeds and flax seeds.
All of the Trader Joe’s rice crackers are naturally GLUTEN FREE as they are made from rice flour. The ingredient list has just a few ingredients, no weird chemical names, and overall seems pretty natural. These Mini Rice Crackers are really tasty and worth trying if you’ve never gotten them before.
$3.99 for 8 oz bag.
I would buy them again.
The lighter colored savory rice version of these rice crackers costs a bit less ($3.49) and those are also good if just a little plainer.
Sorry I cut off serving size; its 36 crackers = 120 calories; very low!
“Made with cream, Italian tomatoes and Grana Padano. Creamy, velvety and savory”
Product of Italy
Trader Joe’s introduced a new imported Italian pasta sauce called “ROSATELLA Pasta Sauce”. The sauce seems to be getting a lot of attention online. Sauces that mix cream or milk and tomato are known as “pink sauces” (rosa means pink), for example, Vodka Sauce.
“This ‘pink sauce’ really delivers on flavor….Our supplier in Italy sources all of their dairy from the Piedmont region—a region renowned for its milk and cheeses. They start with a cream & milk blend, to which they add a short list of ingredients, including tomato paste, onion & garlic purées, basil, oregano, and Grana Padano.“
I woke up today with an idea: what about using this sauce to make a pizza ?! Putting the idea out there….If anyone tries it, please let us know how it turned out.
This sauce is good! Creamy, nice and tomato-y and cheesy from a generous amount of authentic Grana Padano PDO cheese in the sauce. Online, people are calling it amazing, and frankly I agree. I found this new Rosatella sauce to be absolutely delicious.
When I opened the jar and took a taste, even at room temperature, I could taste that this sauce is real deal Italian. It has a nice balance of ingredients with the tomato, cream and cheese (PDO Grana Padano)
I thought a shaped pasta like rigatoni, penne, farfalle, or trofie might work best with a thick creamy sauce like this. I went with Rigatoni, as its a big and hearty shape that holds sauce well, and the rigatoni was a good choice. It went perfectly with the Rosatella sauce. Of course any pasta you pick should work fine too.
But about a week later I tried the rosatella sauce with Pappardelle and that was as good as it was on the rigaton, if not better. The flat noodle with this sauce was great. Super comfort food.
Rosatella sauce with Trader Joe’s Organic Pappardelle noodles
This sauce is quite thick out of the jar. Just to give you an idea of “how much to use”, for two portions of pasta I used about half the jar. Figure for four portions of pasta you will probably use a whole jar,. This sauce will easily stand up to a bit of your starchy pasta cooking water (all chef’s magic ingredient for pasta).
As always, I cook a pasta as per the classic (Italian) method, meaning you don’t just top naked cooked pasta with a spoon of sauce, the way many American’s tend to do (ugh!). The “correct” method is that you finish cooking the (undercooked) pasta with the sauce while tossing it and adding in some of that precious starchy pasta cooking water. I mean a few tablespoons at a time, just enough, not a cup as the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Save about cup of your pasta water when you drain it, just in case. I just put a heat proof cup under the colander when I dump out the water.
My pasta technique: I take out the pasta about a minute before it hits al dente, toss it in a pan, adding most of the sauce plus a few tablespoons of (reserved) pasta water- the water a few tablespoons at a time tossing constantly (tip: always reserve a cup of your starchy pasta cooking water). In the pan, you toss the pasta with the sauce, again and again, and let it finish cooking until it all blends up together. Maybe about 60-90 seconds, or until the pasta is done “to the tooth” al dente, not over cooked. A little extra sauce on top is good. Plate and serve and eat it asap. I topped it with a bit of fresh basil plus, a bit more grated cheese and a drizzle of EVOO. The pasta dish with rigatoni and the sauce was so yummy. (I tried the Rosatella sauce a second time a few days later using Pappardelle and that combination was as good, if not better!). My recommendations pasta wise would be a shaped pasta, or the flat pappardelle.
We both really enjoyed the finished pasta with this excellent Rosatella pink sauce. I thought this sauce is so good, you could think about using it way beyond just for pasta. I can see it with lots of food. Say serve some on grilled chicken breasts? Or grilled shrimp or fish or meats? Certainly as the base for a homemade pizza. Really this stuff is yummy. You can’t go wrong with this.
I tried it spicy too – zhushing it up with a little spoon of my beloved spicy TJ’s “BOMBA” hot sauce (fermented Calabrian chilis). Even better! I just loved the now spicy Rosatella sauce as well.
This is a great new addition to the pasta sauces at TJ’s. It’s getting a lot of notice and plaudits online.
Trust me this is worth checking out. The Rosatella is $3.99 for a 14.5 oz jar.
I would buy this again
TIP: I look at the recommended cooking time on the package. If it says for example 11 minutes, I drain it at about 9 1/2 minutes. It goes into a pan as I add my sauce and cook it the final approximately 90 seconds cooking, so total time, about the recommended 11 minutes as I finish it, tossing it with sauce and a little pasta water. The mixing adds starch as the pasta releases it and makes your sauce creamier, thicker and stickier to coat all the pasta. And Serve immediately! People should be sitting down ready to eat as soon as it hits the plate. BUON APPETITO!
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