Trader Joe’s COSTA RICA COFFEE (whole bean, 100% Arabica)


Here is another what I might call “small lot” style coffee Trader Joe’s has introduced but this too, like the Mexico Chiapas, is not a Limited coffee but one they seem to intend to have on the shelves every day. As they say:

“If you’re a regular in our coffee & tea section, you’re likely familiar with our rotating roster of limited-edition Small Lot coffees—carefully sourced, single-origin offerings that tend to be available only in small quantities, and only for a short time. Trader Joe’s Costa Rica Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee captures the spirit of our Small Lot releases—high quality, single-origin craftsmanship—and thanks to our longstanding relationships with some truly exceptional growers, we’ve been able to secure sufficient quantities to be able to offer it on our shelves every day.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/costa-rica-coffee-081522

This one is from COSTA RICA, grown high up in the mountains there.

“Costa Rica’s temperate tropical climate and rich, volcanic soil promote slow and steady growth, allowing the coffee cherries time to develop rich, complex flavors.”

They again list this as “Medium” roast but to me, like the Chiapas coffee, I would say this is just a wee bit darker. The beans being just a tiny bit shiny with oil and once again, I think the roast is perfect for the beans. as long as you know to expect beans that are “dark medium” or whatever you might call this.

The beans looked good, smelled good, and had a wonderful aroma when ground. The brewed coffee was tasty and had a deep rich flavor with hints of chocolate. “Inherently sweet with nutty notes”.

This is a quite decent coffee. Still I think I liked the recent Organic Mexico coffee just a tad more. I liked this Costa Rican better than the organic one from Peru. This is not marked “organic”. In any case, if you are into trying out TJ’s coffee’s as I like to do, I say this is at least worth a try for $10 bucks.

If you just want a recommendation of which coffee(s) at Trader Joe’s are worth buying for a first timer, I’d recommend the Fair Trade Organic BOLIVIAN coffee if you like a lighter roasted coffee. If you enjoy a darker roasted coffee (“medium” they say) I’d say try the ORGANIC MEXICAN.

$9.99 (12 oz bag) 100% Arabica, Whole Bean

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC MEXICO CHIAPAS Coffee


“MEDIUM ROAST – With notes of milk chocolate and stone fruits”

100% Arabica. Whole Beans. Organic.

NEW ITEM

“You’re likely familiar with our rotating roster of limited-edition Small Lot Coffees—carefully sourced, single-origin offerings that tend to be available only in small quantities, and only for a short time.”

This is not a Small Lot however Trader Joe’s says this coffee captures the spirit of their Small Lot coffees. They managed to find enough supply to have this on a regular basis. Trader Joe’s has this new coffee from Chiapas, Mexico.

This is an excellent coffee.

Chiapas is the southern most part of Mexico and has the Sierra Madre mountains. These beans are grown high up there between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. This coffee is “grown by a collective of nearly 2,000 small farmers.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-mexico-chiapas-coffee-082814

“… thanks to our longstanding relationships with some exceptional growers, we’ve been able to secure a supply of Trader Joe’s Organic Mexico Chiapas Whole Bean Coffee large enough to offer every day. It captures the spirit of our Small Lot releases—high-quality, single-origin craftsmanship—only this time, it’s here to stay.”

I really really liked this. High quality indeed. These beans smelled great upon opening the bag. Ground up fresh the coffee smells even better.

ROAST – You can never count on when TJ’s says Light or Medium. This bag says “Medium Roast”. However to me it’s clearly darker than Medium. I might say a dark medium or a light dark roast? As you can see the beans are just a tiny bit shiny. Whatever they call it the roast is perfect for these beans.

This made a wonderfully flavorful cup of coffee, which they describe as “with notes of milk chocolate and stone fruit”. I made it in my MOKA POT. I even got a bit of crema. It should work for any brewing method. Delicious.

I would not mind having another bag at all. This coffee is a keeper!

I would buy it again.

$9.99 (12 oz bag)

Trader Joe’s RWANDA Small Lot Coffee


With notes of clementine, vanilla and dark chocolate

This is the latest Small Lot coffee Trader Joe’s has released, this one from the Republic of Rwanda, East Africa. Rwanda is described as the “land of a thousand hills”.

I think this is the first coffee I’ve tasted from Rwanda. In general I’ve found African coffees are interesting and unique, and I found this interesting with a unique taste. This coffee is grown high in the mountains, on a plantation where banana trees used to be. When I first tried it I didn’t love it but it kind of grew on me as I kept drinking it over the week. It’s an interesting coffee. Pretty tasty with background notes they describe as “clementine, vanilla and chocolate”. It is labeled “Medium Roast” which I find accurate. I might even go “light medium”. It had an interesting background note of…. yeah I guess you could say “clementine”.

Still I measure these Small Lot coffees from all the past ones I’ve tried. Many have been pretty good, some average with every now and then, one not worthy.

I have found however a few of them have been outstanding, incredible coffees. My all time favorite probably being that MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON – which was a gem of a coffee from Uganda. And there’s been a few others. So I always like to check out TJ’s Small Lot coffees, in case I might find another gem.

This RWANDAN coffee isn’t one of those outstanding Small Lot coffees, but it is kind of interesting and actually grew on me. If, like I do, you like to check out every Small Lot coffee they come out with, I would say worth this is one that is at least trying once. I don’t love it but I do like it. It is a dollar more at $11 than some coffees there.

$10.99 for a 12 oz bag

Side Note: This package has a “Roasted On” date! Bravo. I think that’s something new….

Whole Bean, African, 100% Arabica, #coffee, #small lot, #traderjoes