Amazing stuff. I had read somewhere on the ‘Net that this Ugandan coffee was one of the best coffees Trader Joe’s has offered, so I told myself I had to check it out. I had seen it sitting in the NEW ITEMS shelf but I was done shopping so made a mental note to buy a bag the next day. Well when I went back, as luck would have it there were no more bags of it! My bad luck, it was sold out. Of course by their very nature “small lot” means these coffees come in a limited batch from small producers. Think a Limited Editions.
Fortunately it just so happened that my upstairs neighbor, another big TJ’s fan, happened to have gotten some of this coffee. Yeah! She offered me some so I could review it. After grinding it I had high hopes. It smelled fantastic. After brewing it wow was I impressed. I was almost surprised at just how good this coffee tasted. Not to mention this may be the first time I’d even tried a coffee from Uganda.
So I am sold. I definitely agreed with those who gave this high marks. This must be one of the best coffees I’ve tried from Trader Joe’s, period. The Mountains of the Moon UGANDA RWENZORI coffee is just a fantastic tasting coffee, which I found wonderfully balanced. To my taste buds its just perfect, hitting all right notes. Bold and robust but not over powering, it was both a little sweet and a little bitter, both smooth and robust, tasting surely like an “African” coffee a little ascertic and winy and yes even had those “notes of chocolate” describe on the bag. This is just terrific. Also TJ’s got it right that this is actually a “medium roast” as described (sometimes TJ’s roast descriptions are off). I loved this coffee and want more. I’m crossing my fingers we see it again (might be next harvest?) If by any chance you see it, do yourself a favor and grab a bag if you can. I have a feeling anyone who considers themselves a coffee lover is going to love this. If/when I see it again, I will be sure to stock up on a few bags. ($8.99 12 oz bag, whole bean)
I think my standard Go To for an excellent all-around coffee at TJ’s is their very good COLOMBIAN SUPREMO coffee beans. In fact many consider the Colombian Supremo coffee as the #1 coffee at TJ’s. Still this nice looking package in the NEW ITEMS section caught my eye the other day as I saw this was from Ecuador. Reading the label, well they made it sound worth trying, plus I am not sure I’ve ever had a coffee from Ecuador and was curious what that might be like. In short however I was disappointed and didn’t like this coffee. Now, it had a nice aroma and smelled really nice when I ground it. However when I brewed it up (in a Moka pot) I found it not at all what I expected to taste like and thought it tasted somehow off? I found the brewed coffee to be thin and bitter, and way more acidic than what I was expecting, almost “African”. I tried it a few more times with slightly different grinds and ratios to see if I could improve it, but still found it turned me off somehow. Especially by comparison to the balanced coffee flavors in their Colombian Supremo. If you’ve want a good tasting medium roast whole bean coffee at a decent value get that big can with the colorful Colombian toucan. Or the Azmari BUNNI coffee, which is terrific.
Ecuador Zamora small lot coffee was $9.99 for a 13 oz bag. I would PASS on this one however a few of the small lot coffees have been very good like the MEXICAN La Laja (and an Indian one I had) so it’s kind of hit or miss. As one reader pointed out in the Comments, pre-pandemic back when Trader Joe’s offered small cups of coffee to sample you could get an idea of what one actually tasted like. Ah, the Good Old Days….SIGH!
This is a very good “curated” blend of two single origin coffees from Central America, specifically from El Salvador and Nicaragua. It’s a 50/50 mix of both, each roasted differently, one to a Medium roast and one as a Light roast, to bring out the ideal flavors of each. I found this coffee to be very tasty, smooth and delicious. Its $9.99 for a 12 oz bag of whole beans. I think if Starbucks or your local coffee high end shop was selling this kind of “curated blend” they would charge almost double that.
I would buy this again.
TIP: The best way to buy coffee is like this, as WHOLE BEANS. Why? Coffee has a ton of volatile oils which are best ground right before you want to use it. You get the maximum flavor if you grind up some beans just before you brew it. Now, if you don’t have a grinder at home, use the grinder at Trader Joe’s. When you get home, put the bag of ground coffee into a freezer bag, seal it and keep it in the freezer. You can put a few days worth of ground coffee in an empty air tight jar to keep it fresh.
Columbian coffee is historically one of the most famous producers in the world.
Trader Joe’s carries so many coffees. If you want one of the best all-around coffee’s that Trader Joe’s carries, I would say this is the one to buy. Trader Joe’s COLOMBIA SUPREMO coffee just hits all the right notes of everything most people love, plus is one of the most reasonable coffee buys there to boot. This coffee is very well balanced, robust with a mild acidity and just the most lovely aroma when you grind it up. Not too mention those two colorful, beautiful TOUCANS on the label on the can! TJ’s Colombian Supremo comes as whole beans in a medium roast, and is perfectly roasted for almost all types of brewing methods: filter pour over, moka pot, drip, french press, V60, espresso makers. The huge 28 oz (which used to be 32!) container may seem a bit pricey at $14.99 however when you price it out, that comes to around $8 a pound, which is quite reasonable for a decent quality coffee like this. Since the can is so huge what I do to keep the beans as fresh as possible, is pour the beans into a few zip lock bags, get as much air out as possible and freeze them. Then I take them out of the freezer as I need them. Of course, grinding the beans just before brewing is ideal for maximum flavor and aroma and I recommend that if possible. Trader Joe’s 100% Arabica COLOMBIA SUPREMO Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee, $14.99 for 28 oz.
“This blend combines Ethiopian delicacy with Latin verve…Notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry”
A blend of African & Latin American coffees – The striking, terrific graphic design of this bag of Buunii AZMARI coffee really caught my eye when I saw it recently in Trader Joe’s NEW PRODUCTS section. Bold bright colors and stylized images that say “farm” to me. Best is that the coffee inside the bag is as good as the outside. This Azamri BUNNII blend is an excellent coffee in a whole bean medium roast. In this case, an actual light-medium roast as some people complain Trader Joe’s medium roasts are a shade darker. The coffee is from a smallish coffee outfit called BUUNNI COFFEE which I am glad to learn is being sold under it’s own brand at Trader Joe’s locations in the North East. The packaging for Trader Joe’s looks different from their other packaging so likely it was specially made for TJ’s and the graphic design really works. It certainly caught my eye. Opening the convenient air-tight zip closure on the bag (yet more good design) I got a lovely coffee smell and when I ground the coffee, the aroma was truly wonderful. It did kind of have as they say “notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry…”. This coffee has a perfect mix of the best of “African” and “South American” coffee styles, for good reason, as that is exactly what this blend is composed of: two Ethiopian single origin coffees mixed with a coffee from Honduras. It has that “winy” sharp African coffee note which that is then balanced by the Latin American smoother notes of the single origin Honduran coffee. An excellent blend, roasted perfectly to bring out the best of this coffee. Trader Joe’s is selling it for $9.99 a bag (12 oz). I would buy this again, gladly and hope you give it a try; I don’t think anyone wouldn’t like this. This is an impressive “high end” coffee for a good price, well worth checking out if you see it and are a real coffee lover!
update: i went back to buy more and couldn’t find it; I am thinking (hoping) just out of stock… we’ll see – update2 – its back in stock (jun 2022)
I was pretty surprised to see this yesterday at Trader Joe’s in the plants section. I’ve never even seen an indoor coffee plant before. I think it was $7.99. As a bit of a coffee geek, I was slightly tempted to buy it (but didn’t… yet) Just in case you do, here’s some Plant Care tips for coffee I found online below. I wouldn’t expect you are going to get a harvest from this but still kinda interesting….
I was surprised the first time I saw the famous red ILLY logo staring at me from the coffees shelf at Trader Joe’s. Really? Trader Joe’s is now selling ILLY coffee?!? Yes it is and let’s hope it stays that way. ILLY is one of the most famous coffee brands worldwide and in Italy for 80 years on. Their red logo is instantly recognizable around the globe. The ILLY coffee company has a long history. They produce terrific coffee. I think one only finds this premium brand at some special stores and not at the supermarket. So yes I was happily surprised to find I can buy it and TJ’s now and for a decent price too ($9.99 for 8.8 oz). This is a very good coffee, a blend of 9 different Arabica origin beans in a medium dark roast in a medium fine grind. It should be good for most any coffee maker, in an espresso machine, for a Moka pot (which is what I have switched to), doing drip or pour over coffee and great if you like strong dark roasts. I use this for a Cafe Con Leche (with milk) done in a Moka pot and its perfect for that.
Here’s what ILLY says about this FORTE BLEND which was developed about 80 years ago.
It’s vacuum sealed in this terrific looking metal container which even has a rubber gasket to keep air out once you open break the vacuum. Keep it in the fridge after opening and use within about two weeks when it’s at its freshest.
If you really, really love the taste of coffee I think the ultimate of that is of course drinking some espresso.
Every day after I wake up, I jump in the shower and start thinking about making my morning “Cap” (cappuccino that is) in my (budget) espresso machine. I might not get out of bed otherwise. If you are one of these “coffee freak” types as well you may own as I do, some kind of Espresso Machine, the manual kind where you put ground coffee into to make your own espresso otherwise known as “pulling a shot”. Just saying the “Keurig or pod” coffee people are not as DIY as us manual espresso owners, who get our hands dirty and grind coffee beans and tamp them into a portafilter to brew and espresso drink. So if you make yourself espresso drinks at home in some type of machine that you put ground coffee in obviously the most important thing is starting with very good coffee for making Espresso, naturally. Generally I buy whole espresso roast beans. I usually buy coffee (here in NYC) at Whole Foods, Fairway or Zabars or Porto Rico Imports, and grind the beans myself every other day or so, so its always pretty freshly ground. This is ideal. If I was less lazy I’d grind coffee every day just before I made every cup, which would be better still. The instant you grind coffee beans up the coffee is at peak flavo. It starts to lose a bit of its flavor and aroma in the next hour or so. So I usually don’t buy ground coffee. Still I saw this bag of ground espresso on the TJ “new product” shelf a few months back and thought I’d try it, even though its already ground into an espresso grind. Its called TRADER JOE’S “SHADE GROWN GROUND ESPRESSO BLEND”. It comes in a vacuum sealed aluminum bag with an attractive hand drawn design and lettering. Nice. Opening the bag, you will get that wonderful “just ground coffee” smell as the vacuum seal is broken!
The bag states, “Our espresso blend comes from shade grown, hand picked, 100% Arabica beans. The coffee beans come from a family owned plantation with farms located Matagalpa, Nicauragua. It is rich in flavor with attractive notes of nuts and cacao”.
It’s pretty good. Frankly this reminds me of the well loved ”Cafe Bustelo” very popular here in NYC especially beloved by our Puerto Rican and Dominican communities. This is a bit darker roast perhaps than Bustelo and it’s probably a bit better coffee, being from one estate in Nicaragua – and don’t get me wrong, I love Cafe Bustelo. Its a classic taste I grew up on.
A 14 oz. bag of TJ’s Ground Espresso Blend sells for $8, at the time of this writing (Fall 2017). Which is not a bad deal for about $9.25/lb for a single estate blend from Nicaragua. If you make your own espresso either in a machine where you tamp the coffee into a porta-filter (I have this exact one called “Cafe Prestige” pictured at right, which is a good basic espresso machine which I bought a few years back for just $100). Or if you make your own “espresso style coffe” perhaps using a “Moka” express type maker for the top of the stove, I think you will really enjoy trying this ground espresso. In fact, if you want to “get into” making your own espresso on the cheap, this little Moka style make I found on Amazon is only $16 for a 2-cup model, which might be a good “starter kit” where maybe later you might get a fancy electric machine – once you get hooked on making espresso at home! Which you probably will.
The bag says: “For Espresso Brewing: This grind is already set up for any type of machine. For a double shot use 1 1/2 tablespoons. Strengh of shots may vary by machine”. If you make your own shots you know there’s a period of trial and error and a little testing till you get it just right for your taste. For me, I use two slightly rounded standard espresso scoops in my double-shot basket and tamp it lightly but firmly till its completely even on top. This makes me a nice double shot strong enough for the small amount of foamed milk I use for a “Cap” every morning.
Bottom line, if you like espresso roast coffee, try this. I think you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Recent Comments