Hot coffee when it's hot weather is gross. Can't convince me otherwise. I want to be less hot, not more. Ingesting copious amounts of hot liquid when it's hot is inane. But you still need coffee. Hence the brilliance of cold brew.
So here's how we get an item like Trader Joe's Cold Brew Caramel Spice Coconut Cream Latte Coffee Beverage. Holy cow, what name. Except there's no cows involved here, because, well, coconuts. Dairy free, vegan, cold, caffeinated coffee, with a potentially interesting flavor combo...gotta try.
Except: don't. Believe me. This stuff is grrroooosssssssss.
I was thinking it's just me. I'm Mr. Drink Black Coffee 99% of the Time Guy. But I can appreciate stuff with cream and sugar and whatnot if it's done well. This isn't.
That's kinda too bad. I think something like a coconut cream cold brew has a lot of potential if done right. Coconut cream is delicious and debatably healthyish, depending on your dietary approach. There's potential here, but it gets thrown all away.
As I said, I was thinking it was just me. Nope. Sandy hates this stuff, too. Hates it. Which is really difficult for her to do with coffee...but she echoed almost everything I just said. "If it were just caramel, or just the spice, it could work with everything else, maybe," she said. "But together...blecch."
And get this: its not even sold cold. I'm not even sure where in the store it is. Sandy found it, not me. It's not in the refrigerated section. So it's not an impulse, drink right away kinda deal: you have to chill it and plan when to drink it, set your whole caffeination schedule around it. That makes it even more disappointing in my opinion.
We both detest this caramel spice abomination. It's so hard to say that about coffee...but here we are. Gross. Don't buy it. Just don't. Don't encourage this kinda stuff. Sandy mustered a one for it having caffeine, and I'll match that score and reasoning with the added hit that at least it's not pumpkin spice. That'd be a awful fall coffee whether served hot or cold. Blahhhh brew.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Cold Brew Caramel Spice Coconut Cream Latte Coffee Beverage: 2 out of 10 Golden Spoons
Here my first thought was “how is caramel spice a summer flavour?” Yikes, it’s so much worse than I could have thought. Thanks for the warning!
ReplyDeleteI saw this the other day, though it was in the refrigerator section in my TJ's. I'm so glad I didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteI read this post first, then found it in Trader Joe's and I had to try it because I refused to believe it could be *that* bad. I am glad I decided to try it anyway because I thought it was pretty good! It's not even the least bit terrible. I guess it could be a little creamier, but that is my only critique. It isn't that sweet at all, I actually had to add a little Splenda. Sorry you didn't enjoy it, but it's not a bad product.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too picky about my coffee, because, caffeine. You guys nailed this review. This has to be one of the worst products TJs has ever released. It was reminiscent of drinking sweat-spiked, rotten, funky-sweetened coffee. Nix this and put something else on that valuable shelf space!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this stuff is terrible. Very sour in a funky way.
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