They would be absolutely perfect to serve to guests over the holidays!
These are a wonderfully delicious French butter cookie, coated with a layer of excellent chocolate.
Trader Joe’s says this: “These Cookies are, indeed, made for us in France. The usual cookie-dough suspects—flour, sugar, egg yolks, milk, leavening, and salt—are combined with cultured French butter (13% of the recipe) to create a dough that is shaped into thin rounds. The baked biscuits are coated in rich, Dark Chocolate (40% of the recipe), yielding an exquisite Cookie that is at the same time: smooth, crunchy, chocolate-y, and buttery!”
Even if these didn’t have any chocolate, you would say these were great butter cookies. But they were dipped in chocolate, coated with a nice generous bit of excellent French chocolate too, which puts them out of this world.
These were a big hit with both of us. We really found these to be a super delicious treat.
My only problem with these? There’s way too few of them in the package! So you may want to buy at least two.
$2.99/package (4.76 oz)
Someone at my local TJ’s came up with “try with a dollop of peanut butter”. Yeah, baby.
“Coffee was originally introduced to farmers by the Thai Royal Family… This relatively unknown region of the coffee world has blossomed into one of the top 20 coffee producers worldwide…. 100% Arabica beans, Mae Kha Jan, Chiang Mai small lot coffee is medium roasted producing a coffee with full body and notes of cherry and dark chocolate.”
“This relatively unknown region of the coffee world has blossomed into one of the top 20 coffee producers worldwide”.
“Relatively unknown”? To me, unknown for sure as I don’t think I’ve ever come across a coffee Thailand before, and I am pretty sure this is the first Thai coffee I’ve tasted.
Here’s my honest review of this new Thai coffee.
Is this latest TJ’s Small Lot coffee find any good? Is it worth you’re buying?
I answer with a huge, “YES” to both questions. Color me very impressed.
I don’t know if most of the coffee from Thailand is anywhere near this good, but all I can say is I found Trader Joe’s newestsmall lot coffee, Thailand Mae Kha Jan Chiang Raireally tasted fabulous.
One of our readers, commented that, “it’s divine” and I agree. This small lot coffee is right up there with the very best of all those Trader Joe’s has come out with. Sure, I think they had a few clunkers here and there, but the coffee finders at Trader Joe’s who travel the world looking for good coffee made by small producers, have from time to time, brought back some really excellent finds over the years to us coffee lovers, and this is one of them.
I ground up the beans, which smelled lovely, then brewed the coffee up, as usual, in my Moka pot. The aroma of it brewing smelled great. It even produced some crema too as you can see.
My cup of coffee was smooth and full bodied, well rounded with no off notes anywhere. Yes one can easily detect subtle notes of cherry and dark chocolate, as they describe on the package. I found this coffee just so pleasant to drink. I think it’s my new current favorite at Trader Joe’s.
It is quite accurately described as being a Medium Roast, which in this case it is exactly and I found perfect for it’s flavor profile.
Here’s some more of what Trader Joe’s has to say about this Thai coffee:
“Thailand has become a rising star in the coffee world over the past few decades. Much of this coffee production happens in the northern Thai border region, commonly called the Golden Triangle. It’s from this region that we get the small lot Trader Joe’s Thailand Mae Kha Jan Chiang Rai blend.
As part of our Small Lot Coffee Series, these beans are sourced from the Mae Kha Han Mill, one of the top dry coffee mills in Thailand. Although the mill is in the lowlands, the coffee is grown in the high mountains around it, at elevations between 1,100 and 1,500 meters. This Coffee is fully washed with a 12- to 24-hour wet fermentation process where the pulp is removed and the beans are fermented in water. This method, common in Thailand and Indonesia, results in a clean, consistent flavor. Each sip offers tasting notes of dark chocolate and cherry.”
This is just so good you can’t stop drinking it. As you know the Small Lot coffees are “limited editions”, they won’t be around forever. If you see this, I’d offer up this Small Lot coffee is well worth trying, as long as you can find it. $9.99 (12 oz) For this level of coffee quality, that’s not bad.
I went back and bought another bag of this for my pantry.
“The galette is a treasured tradition among French bakers, dating back over a thousand years to the time of the Norman Dynasty…Inspired by a beloved regional variation of galette known as Broyés du Poitou, Trader Joe’s French Galettes Butter Cookies are made especially for us by an esteemed French bakery near the historic city of Nantes. They use a traditional recipe that includes French cultured butter to produce a satisfyingly crisp exterior, and crumbly, wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth interior…. they make a great companion to a bowl of ice cream or platter of fresh cut fruit. And since each box contains twelve Cookies, they’re great for sharing when you’ve got folks over for dinner—if you haven’t already eaten them all yourself, of course.” – Trader Joe’s
Three of us tried these new Trader Joe’s GALLETTES/French butter cookies which are made for them by an “esteemed French bakery” in Nantes, Brittany (a place famous for butter).
Here’s my honest review – SO GOOD! I just loved these. Very buttery. Very French, just a classic.
They are of course loaded with butter with a hint of sweetness. Think French “shortbread”. Grownup cookie.
Ingredients are short, sweet and simple; they include flour, cultured butter, starter, sugar, eggs, salt. Like you would make them. Simple. Natural. No preservatives.
We enjoyed these after dinner with tea, and they were great with tea. Of course they will be equally delicious with coffee, or milk, or just by themselves. Maybe with a little of your favorite jam. Or as Trader Joe’s suggest, pair these with ice cream (Mon Dieu!)
There are 12 cookies in the package wrapped to stay fresh in pairs of 4 cookies. Calorie wise, 2 Cookies have 180 calories (or 90 cals each)
Again, just classic and elegant. These will impress anyone you have over.
I’d say these are a Must Try especially at $3.49 (almost 8 oz)
Trader Joe’s website doesn’t mention “seasonal” or “limited” so hopefully these will stay around! My fingers are crossed they do as these are Keepers.
“Moist, flavorful pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting”
It’s FALL and Trader Joe’s is of course coming out with all the pumpkin items; This one is a very good MINI SHEET CAKE with a cream cheese frosting on top of a moist cake with the typical pumpkin spices. The cream cheese frosting is good even though found it to be a bit on the too sweet side. Even the frosting has a slight taste of the pumpkin spices. The cake was quite tasty, moist and flavorful. The spices were well balanced; not overpowering as they can be sometimes. This has just the right amount.
We loved the cake with coffee and tea, which balanced out it’s sweetness.
Trader Joe’s says : “You’ll fall for the moist, spongy crumb, flavored by pumpkin purée and warm spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. A rich, cream-cheese frosting is piped on top, lending an upscale bakery vibe and providing a classic flavor-pairing for the Pumpkin Spice profile.”
I like most of the mini sheet cakes and this one is quite good. My favorite will always be the Chocolate Ganache one but this one is a Fall Limited Edition one, which I think you and your family will like during TJ’s “pumpkin season”.
This is a great Fall item. I would buy it again.
$5.99/18 Oz (up about 50 cents since the last time i got sheet cake)
This is a new Small Lot coffee that Trader Joe’s just introduced. Its an organic coffee from the mountains of Colombia.
“Well balanced with notes of dark chocolate and red fruits” 100% Arabica Whole Bean
This is a medium roast. I think its just a tad slightly lighter than my current Go To standard at Trader Joe’s, which is their excellent ORGANIC BOLIVIAN coffee, also Medium roast.
Trader Joe’s has this to say: “Replete with rich notes of dark chocolate and ripe, red fruit, yet silky and smooth-drinking, this Coffee straddles the lines of “serious” and “approachable” at the same time.”
I found it to be a good serviceable coffee, that was very smooth and a little fruity. It smelled good. I liked it and thought this is a good serviceable all around coffee. No, this will not replace my current fave, the Organic Bolivian coffee, but still I think this is something you could quite easily drink a few cups of. So in that sense I agree with Trader Joe’s line about it straddling the line between “serious and approachable at the same time.” This may not be the top favorite of all the TJ’s small lot coffee I ever tried (that would be the Ugandan “Mountains of the Moon” coffee as I’ve said a million times) but I think it would fall somewhere in the middle. Again, very serviceable and very drinkable.
So I would call it worth trying if you are one of those people who like to try out every Small Lot coffee from all over that world that Trader Joe’s comes out with. I know I do.
This is a “Limited Edition” $9.99 (12 oz bag)
Update: I mixed a little bit of one of my Trader Joe’s favorite (medium dark) coffees, the Organic Sumatran into this, and loved the blend.
“Traditional all butter Belgian biscuits”MADE IN BELGIUM
Fresh tasting. No preservatives. Super simple ingredients, the important one being butter of course. These are so buttery tasting as well as having a nice crunchy texture from the ridged waffle design.
They’re terrific, either on their own or paired with all kinds of things, sweet or savory.
I could easily see making an ice cream sandwich with them, just putting some ice cream (french vanilla?) between two cookies. Or just putting one on the side of your favorite ice cream. Or just eating with a cup of tea or coffee. So yummy. You can not go wrong with these cookies, and they’re three bucks no less.
I loved these.I would buy them again
Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies$2.99 (8.8 oz.)
“Each all-butter wafer is baked to a crispy golden brown that creates a straightforward, delicious waffle cookie ready to enjoy at any time. The flavor is somewhere between a freshly baked waffle cone and shortbread cookie and is as simple as cookies come, but oh, so delicious. Super buttery, with the ideal amount of sweetness, these Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies are more versatile than you may expect. Whether you are looking for an authentic European snack to accompany a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, a companion for ice cream, or a counterpart to cheese, cured meats, and peppers, Trader Joe’s Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies have a place in your shopping cart, your pantry, and your tummy.”
I would label this latest Small Lot coffee offering at Trader Joe’s in my “good but not great” category.
I liked it but it didn’t knock me out as some of their other small lot coffee finds have at times in the past. These are totally hit or miss. Sometimes you get one which is fantastic. Outstanding. Sometimes you get one which is pretty good, which for me, is this Costa Rican coffee. I thought it was pretty good. I only say this as some of the Trader Joe’s coffees which were terrific raise the bar when compared to some of the best Small Lot coffee finds in the past over the years that TJ’s has had. The Uganda Mountains of The Moon small lot coffee from a while back was off the hook, stunning. Epic! So again, there is a high bar.
This coffee is from a mountainous region in Costa Rica, from an area officially designated as “Chirripo National Park”. The beans are roasted in an (actual) medium roast and the beans look very good as you can see. This coffee’s taste is as they describe on the bag. “Nutty and toasty, with notes of citrus”. If you are one of those people who just likes to check out and explore EVERY Small Lot coffee that Trader Joe’s comes out with just to check it out, its worth getting. Otherwise, I would say spend your ten bucks coffee money on some known entity which you love. For me for the past year or so since they started carrying it, that coffee has been the Fair Trade Organic BOLIVIAN BLEND. Another Medium Roast. I really love that one, which is not a Small Lot, so easy to find too year round.
This Costa Rican Chirripo coffee while OK, its not as good as that for me so I would not buy it again. Once again, Small Lots are Limited so if you want to try this, grab while you can. I rate this maybe 6/10
“Butter Cookies! From France! Dipped in Dark Chocolate!”
“Just about everyone loves butter cookies. If they’re French butter cookies, there’s an expectation that those cookies are going to be truly great. And what if those French butter cookies are also dipped in dark chocolate? …Made for us in France”
I got these to review and my review is these are quite good. We really liked them.
Very tasty, buttery cookies that have been dipped in good chocolate so that they have a nice coating. The cookies are on the thin side.
Frankly these taste way better than you would expect something which costs $2.99! (Note: they are only you about 10 cookies in a box). So you don’t get a lot of them but the quality of these cookies is pretty darned good!
“These Cookies are, indeed, made for us in France. The usual cookie-dough suspects—flour, sugar, egg yolks, milk, leavening, and salt—are combined with cultured French butter (13% of the recipe) to create a dough that is shaped into thin rounds. The baked biscuits are coated in rich, Dark Chocolate (40% of the recipe), yielding an exquisite Cookie that is at the same time: smooth, crunchy, chocolate-y, and buttery!“
Yummy. A big thumbs up. Put these out for company. Or eat them all yourselves!
I saw good reviews of this small lot coffee on the ‘net so I thought I would try it for review. For me, just OK. Not bad but not great either as many Small Lot ones have turned out to be in the past. While tasty, nothing stood out here to me as outstanding especially when I mentally compared this with some truly outstanding Small Lot coffees Trader Joe’s has had in the past (like UGANDAN MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON). Not to mention some non-small lot faves of mine: I’m talking about you, Fair Trade ORGANIC BOLIVIAN blend – which for the last few months has become my standard Go To coffee that TJ’s sells.
So while I would say this coffee may be worth a try if you are one who likes to explore every small lot that Trader Joe’s comes out with, frankly I would suggest you save your money to spend on some other coffee they have. Again for example the excellent Organic Bolivian one if you haven’t tried that before.
Latest small lot coffee offering from Trader Joe’s. An organic coffee from the La Concordia region in Chiapas. Whole Beans in a Light Roast, and yes it did have some fruity notes with hints of chocolate and caramel as they describe.
This one was pretty good! Especially if you like your coffee from TJ’s a bit lighter as opposed to a medium or darker roast. “Que lo disfrutes!” (may you enjoy it)
$8.99 (12 oz)
“The newest addition to our Small Lot Coffee program, we’re making a return to Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. This time, we’ve sourced our coffee from a group of growers within the La Concordia region of Chiapas, where the high elevation and oceanic micro-climate create optimum conditions for growing rich, chocolatey, full-flavored coffees. True to form, each sip of Trader Joe’s La Concordia Mexico Small Lot Coffee is indeed remarkably rich, deliciously chocolatey, and fabulously full-flavored, with notes of sticky caramel and fresh berries throughout.”
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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