moka pot espresso | Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

Trader Joe’s FAIR TRADE ORGANIC BOLIVIAN BLEND COFFEE

12 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, New, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, review, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: beans, coffee, Food, healthy, moka pot espresso, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian

RAVE

NEW ITEM (Mar 2023)

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

https://groundsforchange.com/blogs/learn/fair-trade-coffee

Decent price too. $8.99 a 12 oz bag.

I say run, don’t walk to Trader Joe’s and give this Bolivian coffee a try.

I would buy it again.

TRADER JOE’S MEXICO “La Laja” Small Lot COFFEE

09 Nov 2022 3 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, fresh, General, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: drip, espresso, moka pot espresso, no preservatives, pour over, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes

This is an excellent coffee and has become one of my new favorite Trader Joe’s small lot coffees.

I saw it in the NEW PRODUCTS area, and tried it. I found this to be an excellent coffee. It’s from Mexico of course and is one of their small lot, shade grown, 100% Arabica originating from the mountains of Huatusco, Mexico which is somewhere between Vera Cruz and Puebla.

I thought it made an outstanding cup of brewed coffee. Now the package says this is a “medium roast” – however I would disagree and say it’s darker than a medium roast

I’ve found Trader Joe’s descriptions (light, medium, dark) can vary quite a bit from coffee to coffee and are fairly inconsistent. To my eyes, this is a bit darker than “medium”. I would say its on the edge of being a (light) dark roast. Maybe about a “French Roast”? The beans are darkish and even slightly shiny.

(correction/ update; the new batch I just bought (2025) is exactly “medium roast”).

If you want a “medium” roast TJ’s Azmari Bunni is actually a medium roast or even a shade lighter. So let’s say this lovely Mexican coffee is roasted a little bit into the edge of a dark roast which actually seems perfect for these beans. The brewing method I used was making it in my Moka pot but this coffee will work for any kind of brewing method you prefer (drip, pour-over or even an espresso machine). This is a whole bean coffee of course so ideally of course you will grind up your beans at home just before brewing. In a pinch use the grinder at Trader Joe’s. When freshly ground you get an incredible aroma from these beans. It made a rich dark flavorful cup of Joe that I just loved. I find this coffee is delicious and excellent. I would buy it again gladly. In fact I may stock up a bit as these small lot coffees from Trader Joe’s can go bye-bye easily. TJ’s sells this for $9.99 for a 12 oz bag (whole bean. For this quality I’d say that’s not outrageous and a pretty fair price. PS I also experimented mixing this 50/50 with TJ’s BUUNI coffee, which is a medium roast, and together that was also quite excellent as a blend of a medium and darker roast, Middle American, South America and African coffees!

UPDATE (Dec 1 2022) : Sure enough a few weeks after writing this post, I can’t find any more bags of this coffee in either of my two nearby TJ’s (NYC) ! I really hope more comes in… Please leave a COMMENT if you see it in your local TJ’s (with location)

UPDATE (Dec 2025) This coffee has come back!

TJ’s Organic Five Country Espresso blend coffee (whole bean, dark roast)

16 Oct 2021 9 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: beans, espresso, moka pot, moka pot espresso, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free

UPDATE 1: Went MIA for months but eventually it came back.

(UPDATE 2 SEPT 2025) Once again, MIA. In this case with 5 countries involved there may be a new wrinkle with TARIFFS of course.

UPDATE 3 (End Sept 2025) The front desk staff looked it up for me and told me it is not discontinued and is coming back in a few months; sure enough she said the delay on shipment was likely due to tariffs.

Trader Joe’s Organic Fair Trade FIVE COUNTRY ESPRESSO blend, whole bean, dark roast coffee

If you want espresso or dark roast coffee the options at Trader Joe’s are a little more limited compared to the light and medium roast coffees. Now don’t get me wrong, light and medium roast coffees are wonderful. They’re a terrific choice for most coffee lovers, especially those who make coffee using a drip, pour-over or French press method. However if you make espresso, either with an espresso machine or even use a Moka pot (as I have started doing recently for Moka Pot “espresso”) then you likely want whole beans in a nice dark roast. Or maybe even if you make drip or pour over, your taste preferences just like a darker roast.

These beans are from FIVE different countries….El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Sumatra, Indonesia (wow!).

Best is to grind the beans just before you make the coffee for maximum aroma and flavor…you know, the way any typical coffee geek will do (count me in). I promise you grinding these whole espresso beans fresh will release an intense, heavenly aroma in your kitchen. And you don’t need a $300 burr grinder. A $20 grinder can do fine.

TJ’s FIVE COUNTRY ESPRESSO whole bean is a very good coffee for espresso, moka pot and all dark roast coffee lovers. It’s especially terrific when you first open up the can, when you’ll get the maximum aroma and see super shiny beans just glistening with oil, which is what fresh roasted espresso beans looks like. Once the beans get exposed to air they’ll look less shiny, in about 3-5 days however they will still taste pretty good. TIP: you can parcel up the beans in a number of small ziplock bags, freeze them, and take out bags as needed.

FIVE COUNTRY ESPRESSO WHOLE BEAN COFFEE; $8.99 (13 oz)

MOKA POT – Moka pots may not be “true espresso” but they make a great cup of java. If you are interested in getting one, there’s a link below to one of the more inexpensive Moka Pots (Primula) on Amazon. The original Bialetti Moka Pot is excellent of course but it is a bit pricey. (note: “cups” in this case refer to a tiny espresso cup with just 2-3 oz liquid) I like the “9 cup” Moka Pots for doing Cafe Con Leche for 2 people who love coffee. You can get a “Moka 9” for just over $20, not a bad deal at all. Every Italian kitchen has one or more Moka’s and 60 million Italians can’t be wrong.

https://amzn.to/3p9W2rW