Trader Joe’s INSTANT COLD BREW COFFEE, 100% Arabica

04 Aug 2024 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, condiments, dairy, fresh, General, Meh, Pantry, Prices, Products, review, Staple, Trader Joes, vegetarian Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/instant-cold-brew-coffee-067436

Trader Joe’s says: “Trader Joe’s Instant Cold Brew Coffee starts with 100% Arabica coffee beans from India. Our supplier uses an all-natural, proprietary extraction method that took them over two years to develop. It’s truly a unique process that yields a fine, dark powder. Add one heaping teaspoon of this Instant Cold Brew Coffee to 12 fluid ounces of cold or hot water, then stir until dissolved. The result is a cup of Cold Brew that’s full-bodied, dark, and smooth, with a caramel-like aroma and rich, cold-brew coffee taste.”

I am a big fan of coffee, a real coffee. While I am not half as geeky and fanatic about it as many coffee geeks, I do love me some (great) coffee. Hence I almost never drink any “instant” coffee, which I find not even in the same league as a brewed coffee.

As far as the Cold brewed coffee trend that has caught on the last few years, well I always will prefer a regular brewed coffee too over that. If I want it Cold, I let it sit, chill it and enjoy it then, maybe with ice. But Cold brew doesn’t excite me compared to a chilled down brewed cup of coffee or some pre-made, iced brewed coffee. Still, I wanted to try this “Instant Cold Brew” from Trader Joe’s.

As I am not a big fan of any instant coffee I can’t say I am crazy about this one either however I found it actually made me a drinkable cold coffee beverage on a hot day. So maybe this is good for one of your Coffee Emergencies, where you didn’t plan ahead!

The label says add 1 heaping teaspoon per 12 oz of water but I think I will play with this and add more to make it stronger. This is of course very convenient which is its main selling point. It is convenient I’ve even used it to add to something as an ingredient where coffee was called for.

$5.49

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

02 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, fresh, General, Pantry, Products, review, seasonal, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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)

Trader Joe’s NICARAGUA La Bastilla Estate, Small Lot Coffee

04 Aug 2023 2 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, coffee, fresh, General, New, News, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


“A medium roast Arabica with note of cocoa, pineapple and cherry”

NICARAGUA La Bastilla Estate, Small Lot Coffee

“The coffee beans within this bag are also known as “blueberry candy” on the farm – dubbed so for their unique sweetness and subtle aroma….”

Here’s another recent addition to Trader Joe’s collection of Small Lot (limited edition) coffees that I recently saw on display in New Items. This is a coffee from Nicaragua. I’m pretty sure I never tasted a coffee from there before. After tasting it, all I can say is I was very impressed, and found this small lot coffee to be excellent. The description on the bag in this case was not all hyperbole, it delivers.

The bag says its a “Medium Roast” and in this case that is fairly accurate, with beans a lovely cinnamon color. When I opened up the vacuum sealed bag I got wonderful fresh aroma and the beans looked and smelled really promising. A bit fruity in a nice way. When I ground them up and took a big whiff of the ground coffee, I did get a heavenly smell with yes, “notes of cocoa, pineapple, cherry, blueberry….” I would say pretty much all of that but lovely and subtle and natural. And the resulting brew I made (Moka pot)? It was so good. To me it tasted pretty much like what I would call a “perfect cup of coffee”, hitting all the right notes. I found this coffee really, really drinkable, so much so that when I finished it I wanted to brew another cup. That’s really when you know you found a good coffee. I have a feeling any brewing method will produce a nice brew including espresso machines.

So if you are interested in a very nice coffee, I would say this Nicaraguan one at Trader Joe’s is well worth trying. It was a bit higher in price than other small lot coffees I’ve gotten for around $8.99. Trader Joe’s is selling this Nicaraguan Single Estate coffee for $10.99 (12 oz.) But I bet you if it were some cool Williamsburg coffee vendor they would be selling this for more like $20.

Here’s a link I found to the website of the coffee producer in Nicaragua so you can learn more about the region and the farm (in English)

LA BASTILLA COFFEE ESTATES

https://www.bastillacoffee.com/our-coffee-1

(The 360 virtual tour of the estate is pretty cool; check it out)

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/nicaragua-la-bastilla-estate-small-lot-coffee-075204