Trader Joe’s MINI CAN FOLIAGE PLANTS

08 Sep 2025 2 Comments

by promacnyc in fresh, Home Goods, plants, Prices, Products, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Trader Joe’s say this about these “mini can foliage plants” that have come out for Fall now :

“Here, designs from some of our favorite canned products ever to grace our grocery shelves, including items from both the past and present, have been re-imagined as holders for a variety of beautiful, (and, we mention with appreciation, quite low-maintenance) tropical plants.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/mini-can-foliage-082987

These new Trader Joe’s plants in cans, seem to gotten a lot of attention all over Social Media. I am going to bet that almost every dorm room now has one of these in them! Granted these are cute because they are not not in a little pot, but in Trader Joe’s cans, with labels for actual TJ’s products like the canned corn.

So yes, I totally get these look cute and kind of cool and OK, I like the recycling take added to design philosophy. Frankly though I have a feeling they are not actually in recycled cans, I think they were produced just for this use. I know that that tomato paste comes in a very skinny little can, not this size can, which is way bigger which leads me to assume these cans were made just for this purpose.

Frankly though I had a few reservations when I saw them at my local (NYC) Trader Joe’s.

First, the price?! Whaaaaa?! 4.99!? Five bucks for one of these just seemed a little steep when I saw them. When I search their website I saw a few kinds of plant varieties. But at my TJ’s (UWS NYC) there were only these one kind a fern species. The ones I saw appeared to be not in great shape, at all. The ones I saw looked like they would die in about a week after you took them home. They were already dying.

I would not buy the ones I saw (the ferns) again which are not even shown as you can see in the top picture I got right off TJ’s website which shows other plants – which all look robust. And better varieties of plants some worth five bucks.

I did see healthy plants for that exact same $4.99. Those looked way healthier and more robust looking plants Also labeled “mini foliage in pot”. Those will last if you take care of them. Not sure if those ferns could be rescued.

This guy on Instagram got much luckier to find good little cans of plants that had more of the varieties as they are shown on TJ’s website. Perhaps you will in your area.

Still as cute as you think the (frankly over priced) plants in those little metal labeled cans are, in general those plants will live longer if you eventually re-pot them into a bigger pot with hopefully some drainage holes at the bottom (or at the very least be careful not to over or under water these) If you find more robust varieties in these cans, you might get lucky.

(update: a reader Commented below that depending on the exact plant variety you find, it might be well worth $5 – but repot them)

By the way, these looked very healthy!! Some has been feeding them flies?

Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla Beans: Perfect Ingredient for Fall/Winter Baking

06 Sep 2024 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, dairy, DIY, fresh, General, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, recipe, Recipes, seasonal, spices, Staple, sweets, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ?, Xmas season Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


These just appeared in our NEW ITEMS shelf.

Whole BOURBON VANILLA BEANS

Chefs and pro cooks love these as its the purest, most natural form of vanilla. “Bourbon Vanilla” is considered the best vanilla, from Southeast Asia. I did check the label but assume these may be from Madagascar.

Pro cooks scrape out the tiny seeds inside these pods with a knife and use that in recipes that call for vanilla. Don’t throw out the pod after using either as they still have lots of aroma. You can put the pods into a large jar and and cover them with about a pound of sugar. Let that sit for a few days or more as the vanilla beans infuse the sugar so it becomes yummy Vanilla Sugar.

$2.99 for two vanilla beans

In addition to these Trader Joe’s has lots of other vanilla products like BOURBON VANILLA BEAN PASTE and they are all on the shelves now for the FALL/WINTER baking season.

Trader Joe’s JAVA OF THE GODS Small Lot Coffee (Java, Indonesia)

02 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, coffee, fresh, General, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave Tags: , , , , , , , ,


RAVE

ORIGIN: WEST JAVA, INDONESIA

DARK AND HEAVENLY

Of course that old phrase “a cup of Java” immediately came to mind when I saw this name Java of The Gods.

Here’s a new Small Lot coffee at Trader Joe’s (Sep ’24) which I have to say for me at least is a BIG HIT. I give this one a very big thumbs up. If that name alone – JAVA OF THE GODS – doesn’t get your attention, just wait till you open up the bag and take a whiff. Its smells INTENSE. When I took a deep whiff, instantly my brain reacted with something like, “Yeah Baby!” This smells like COFFEE with a capital C. I seems more than worthy of the name “Java of the Gods“. If you like a dark roast, you should try this. It is heavenly.

“Dark Roast”. Do you see the sheen on the beans? Maybe you could call this “French Roast” as PORTO RICO IMPORTS – a place I used to buy beans from place – refers to the roast just before Espresso?

Porto Rico describef a French Roast like this : “The beans are deep brown and have developed a glossy coating, the result of the coffee oils being forced to the surface by the roasting process. The flavor of these coffees tends to be more developed then the lighter roasts. They will be strong with a deadly aroma. Also known as a continental roast, and Spanish roast.”

A DEADLY AROMA! Perfect. Grind up these beans and your kitchen will smell like Porto Rico’s store… I promise you will get an intense deadly aroma, with yes, as described right on the bag with notes of “Caramel, Nutty, Cocoa”.

I brewed up the ground coffee using a Moka pot. I even get a bit of crema done that way with this coffee. I would think these would work especially well in a true espresso machine. But even French Press or a pour over too. Any brew method should work as well. My brewed coffee was lovely. A rounded dark delicious cup of Java. I made a cappuccino with it, which is what I usually make in the morning. Naturally a dark coffee like this one is great for coffee drinks made with milk (cafe con leche, latte, cafe au lait….) as it will stand up to the milk.

I have a mental top 10 list of a few coffees at Trader Joe’s. This Java of the Gods got added to my list. This is a lovely coffee for anyone who can appreciate a dark roast. If that’s you, this small lot one is well worth a try

So we have another excellent SMALL LOT COFFE at a fairly reasonable price. Personally I will get a few bags next time I go while its still available, as TJ’s Small Lot coffees are Limited Editions and are around for a few months usually.

$9.99 (12 oz)