Limited Edition | Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

Trader Joe’s SULAWESI SMALL LOT COFFEE, Medium Roast Whole Bean

SIGN SAYS: “Ideal for pour overs and cold brews where its warm well balanced bitterness will shine”

“Smooth and satisfying, with balanced acidity and sweet nutty notes.”

TJ’s calls this “Medium” and I concur this is exactly medium roast. These nice looking whole beans look shinier in the photo than they actually are, which is not shiny, just bordering it.

Trader Joe’s Sulawesi Small Lot Coffee is a limited-release Small Lot coffee sourced from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Notes of caramel and little bit of a wine-y note too. A pleasant, smooth coffee. I made it in a Moka pot and it produced some nice crema but I’m sure a drip coffee method would work as well. Or true Espresso.

Kalossi beans (often called Celebes Kalossi) are premium Arabica coffee beans grown in the rugged central highlands of Sulawesi, Indonesia (historically known as Celebes). Named after the town of Kalossi—the central trading hub for the region—these beans are renowned for their heavy, syrupy body, low acidity, and rich, earthy flavor profile

$9.99 (12 oz bag) LIMITED!

My bag had a roast date printed on the bag of 3/14/26. I bought it around a month later? Not bad for Trader Joe’s Small Lot.

Celebes Kalossi Sulawesi Coffee

Trader Joe’s Limited Edition, Small Lot Coffee, TROPICAL BAHIA BRAZIL medium roast

Here’s a new (Summer ’24) Small Lot Coffee offering. This one is from Brazil, which is of course one of the largest coffee producers in the world. This particular small lot coffee is from the North East coastal region of Bahia, a very vibrant and culturally important region of Brazil.

The coffee is grown there but since Bahia doesn’t have ideal conditions for drying the coffee, the beans are transported elsewhere for that by truck. During these truck rides, the beans naturally ferment.

Trader Joe says: “Ripe Arabica coffee beans spend the long drive in a hot, closed truck. These conditions set off a fermentation process that, unlike the controlled and monitored process for most coffee, happens naturally and with minimal interference. Such spontaneity gives Tropical Bahia Brazil its unique character. A medium roast results in a balanced coffee that boasts layered flavors, notes of sweet fruits, and a touch of acidity.”

I would not say this is one of my favorite of the small lot coffees I have tried from Trader Joe’s (they have had some stunners, like that DOMINICAN one, I adored) – however this is a nice decent coffee, with a light balanced flavor and body with just a bit of acidity and fruitiness. The beans are a Medium Roast.

One nice thing about this coffee is it’s its price, at $7.99 one of the lowest priced small lot coffees I can remember them selling?

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/tropical-bahia-brazil-small-lot-coffee-078731

This small lot coffee say LIMITED EDITION as usual, so if you want to try it, grab one before they don’t have it. Again not outstanding but decent.

Me personally? I would get the wonderful organic BOLIVIAN fair trade coffee over this ; that one is a must try IMO.

$7.99 (12 oz)