Day 328 - Fair Trade Organic Guatemalan Coffee

This coffee is extra dark roast and the label says it is “full bodied with cocoa and brown sugar notes.  100% Arabica whole bean coffee”. 

   

It has a really pretty label, don't you think?

It is nice.  We mostly drank it as espresso.  It is strong enough to taste like COFFEE.  That might sound like an odd statement, but we have tried quite a few Trader Joe’s coffees for this project this year and some of them were weak and not very “coffee”ish no matter how I brewed them.  This one has a better coffee taste – you notice it when you drink it.

David’s adjectives to describe this one were:

·         Smooth

·         Bold

·         Rich

(And after he said those out loud, of course , we followed it up with a “Just like you like your women!” remark.)

Look!  The espresso maker he won on Price is Right (no lie!) makes 2 little cups of espresso at once.  Adorable.

He says he has no complaints about this one!  He did acknowledge that he was drinking this one under ideal conditions – very hot in a beautiful espresso cup – and that may have boosted the rating a tiny bit.  J

Ahhhh, a nice cup of coffee is a thing to delight in

We agree that this is one of the better TJ’s coffees.    I have tried to pick a different TJ’s coffee each time we ran out this year so that we would try a bunch of them (so far I think we have tried at least 12 varieties).  Sometimes it if hard to remember which ones we have tried already so I have to bust out my smart phone while at the store and look at this blog to see which ones I have reviewed!

Not a bad price for a good coffee (oops - bit of a spell-o on this sign though)

This is one we will be buying again.

Price – $7.99

Rating – 4.5

Day 149 - Organic Sumatra Coffee

In the ever elusive search for Trader Joe’s best coffee, we invested in yet another can.  This one we bought at the Orlando Trader Joe’s.  It is the 8^th Trader Joe’s coffee we have tried this year (we usually each drink one cup of joe every morning).

Organic Sumatra Coffee on the shelf in Orlando

Gotta say, we still haven’t found it (“it” being the ideal, delicious, amazing cup of coffee).  The last one I reviewed (Ethiopian on Day 138) was the best so far with a 4.25 rating.

This one, Organic Sumatra, is boring.  It bills itself as having “smooth, earthy notes” but the “notes” aren’t strong enough to really be tasted I guess.  It is not that it is BAD, it is just that it is blah.  Not enough taste to get me jump started in the morning.  (Note on how I prepared this:  freshly ground the beans right before making coffee, heated water in a kettle, and used a French press.  See??  It SHOULD have been delicious! J )

Sure, it'll do, but it is not an amazing start to the day

We will keep trying!!  As soon as this can is gone I am sure another experiment awaits us.

Price – $7.99

Rating – 3.5

Day 138 - Ethiopian Coffee

I am STILL on the ever elusive hunt for the perfect whole bean coffee from Trader Joe’s.  This is the 5^th coffee review on this blog (days 22, 47, 73, 119, and TODAY) – but one review was actually for 3 smaller cans that came as a trio but reviewed on one day, so I guess we have tried 7 TJ’s coffees this year.

This one is one of the better coffees we have found on the Trader Joe’s shelves.  It is rich and tasty but does not have the bitter quality that infected some of the others.  It is a medium dark roast and has all the politically correct bells and whistles – organic, fair trade, and they also throw in SHADE GROWN.  J  David’s adjectives for his cup are, “mild, gentle, and smooth”.

A bit pricier than some other cans you will find on the shelves, but tastes better

Normally we make coffee either in an automatic espresso maker.  Some days we make what I call “camper fire coffee” – you know, using an Italian metal coffee maker on the stove.  But when we are in Florida (where we are currently) we use a French Press, and I wonder if THAT is what is making this coffee taste better.  Well, THAT or the fact that I am making coffee like my friend Malonda (who never reads this blog so will miss this shout out to her) makes – strong French Press coffee with a big dollop of sweetened condensed milk in it, yummmm…. 

So I guess I fear I have given this particular can of Trader Joe’s coffee a leg up on the others that I reviewed because of HOW I am brewing the coffee (plus the fact that I am drinking it in a relaxed, sunny, warm dining room every morning instead of rushing around or in a “to go” cup while commuting). 

A warm, sunny, tasty way to start the day

Well, whether it is because of the actual TASTE of this coffee or because of the relaxed environment it is being drunk in, I guess I cannot know at the moment.  But what I do know is, it is good – dare I say better than the other 6 I have reviewed this year.  I will buy this can again.

Price – $9.99

Rating – 4.25

Day 119 - Fair Trade Organic Bolivian Blend (coffee)

Gosh, this is like the 4^th Trader Joe’s coffee I have reviewed on this blog this year, and I still have not found the PERFECT cup (see coffee reviews on day 73, day 47, and day 22 – and wouldn’t ya know, the one we liked the best was a SEASONAL ITEM so you can only get it around the holidays!).   I KNOW we have bought one there that was quite good, but which one was it???

The search for the most delicious Trader Joe's coffee continues...

This one bills itself as “sweet, caramel flavor, medium body”.  I would add “bitter”.  It is fair trade and organic, so those are pluses.  But it just does not hit the perfect coffee sweet spot that I am searching to find.   I mean, it will do to wake you up in the morning, but it won’t make you sing and dance, know what I mean? 

Sign doesn't say "bitter"...  Not that I'm bitter about that.

I will continue trying the other cans of Trader Joe’s coffee beans until I find the best one.  Keep your eye out for more coffee reviews! 

Price -$7.99

Rating – 3.25

Day 47 - Organic Fair Trade Five Country Espresso Blend

The label describes this coffee as “Strong, Rich, and Well Balanced” (much like I would describe my ideal mate, now that I think about it…) .  I would say they hit the nail on the head – though “strong” might need to be in bold.  

A bold, strong coffee

This is a nice coffee.  It has a rich flavor, and though it can be a bit bitter, is a good way to start the day.  As mentioned in a previous coffee review, Trader Joe’s stores have a bean grinder so if you do not have one at home, you can grind right there in the store (wait, that didn’t come out right…  I mean, you can grind your BEANS right there in the store).  They have many different coffees to choose from, I say make this one that you try.

Five Country Espresso Blend in action

Price – $7.99

Rating – 3.75