The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

omg cosign on frozen vegetable pad thai! tasty

I just got fired from my job where I could buy locally roasted coffee in bulk for $11.99/lb w/ a 20% discount ;_; So now I need to know where to buy decent coffee on the cheap, and I am turning to TJ's

Can we do another round-up of favorite coffees? I like full-bodied darker roasts but I don't like smoky, burnt, or super-acidic stuff, or really light breakfasty blend type jawns.

They sell way too much coffee though. it's overwhelming.

I tried their Colombian Supremo
It was good for the price...I found it a little bit weak, but honestly pretty good for what it was.

http://i.imgur.com/mR8Vk4U.gif

Can we do another round-up of favorite coffees? I like full-bodied darker roasts but I don't like smoky, burnt, or super-acidic stuff, or really light breakfasty blend type jawns.

― siouxsan sarandon (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, April 29, 2013 4:47 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think fair trade bolivian was the one I liked that most fit this description -- it's a "medium roast" iirc, but their darker roasts will probably range into smoky, burnt or acidic.

ya i am fine w/ a medium roast as long as it is complex and full of flavor

I've been buying Costco coffee instead lfor a while. Better for the price, although the last batch of Colombian let me down somehow -- don't know if I got tired of the taste or it just wasn't fresh or what.

I like the Bali one, though I'm now drinking a coffee from Whole Foods and I'd say it's noticeably better (and also noticeably more expensive - $14/lb vs $8/14 oz).

I like Maragogype but I add soy milk to my coffee and don't notice acid/bitter/burnt notes so much.

yeah whole foods coffee is really good

I got the Colombia Peaberry

look forward to yr report

Never been impressed by any peaberry, though the cans usually say the smaller bean concentrates the flavor I've never felt that to be true.

I made an iced coffee w/ my aeropress; it's v bright and has a good flavor. Not bad!

also the can has a lot of purple on it and I like that.

thai vegetable gyozas (frozen) are literal garbage

made an iced coffee w/ my aeropress; it's v bright and has a good flavor. Not bad!

― siouxsan sarandon (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, April 30, 2013 4:27 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd never let you down with a coffee rec

not impressed w/ the Cowboy Caviar (overly sweet)

Gonna try a different coffee, too (I am learning that I prefer less bright/acidic stuff)

I will try either the Italian blend (dark) or the Bay Blend (ULTRA dark) which acc to stuff I've read are both full-bodied and rich w/o being too burny. Will report back!!

i bought some of their frozen Aloo Chat pocket thingys? omggggggg so yummy

Oh yeah those are great!! I eat them at work.

the the spicy thai fried rice is indeed spicy!

What's the protocol for taking something back when you didn't like it? This feels so shitty to do but the employees are CONSTANTLY hyping this up as a thing for me to do and I bought something and I really do not like it and want something else instead. I mean I guess I just go to customer service and be like "Hey I didn't like this very much, can I get something else?" and stuff but yeah, I am going to feel like such a jerk!

I would never do that.

I KNOW, STOP IT, STOP GUILTING ME

Like I said, I've never done it before, but I was super stoked abt this product (Everything Bread Twists) and it was more than I wanted to spend on bread and I really didn't need it, but I convinced myself it'd be worth the splurge (of like a whole $3 lol) and then it was more or less inedible and I was really crestfallen and I just want something that I'll love ;_;

it's their policy to accept it so go for it

I mean I totally understand how (on paper at least) it's super profitable to push things on ppl with this golden cushion of IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT WE WILL JUST TAKE IT BACK NO QUESTIONS!!!, so people are more likely to try new things, and then probably wind up not hating them most of the time, and a lot of the people that DO hate them probably won't bother to bring them back, and the few that actually do bring them back might go try something else new that they will wind up loving and buying again, etc.

Yeah I have no problem with that. Also if more folks did that then they would know which products are bunk and be able to stuff the shelves with more quality.

if you feel compelled you should do it!

It was probably some fucker who brought back chili mango fruit floes and said they were not good. NOW I CAN NEVER GET THEM AGAIN.

They figure out which products are bunk by people never buying them again.

I'm curious as to what was so bad about the bread, I haven't noticed those at my TJ's but it seems like bread would have to be really bad to fall into the "inedible" category for me.

I've taken stuff back because it was rotten -- mostly meat, pork more than 1x -- and they're always super cool about exchanging it. no one likes rotten meat afaik.

Oh, and I hated the dried Kiwis they had (too sweet, and I guess the Kiwi flavor doesn't survive the drying process very well). I didn't take them back, just chalked it up to experience.

Yeah, it looked really good in the package but it tasted like a doughy undercooked/untoasted everything bagel and my brain was just like "omg no"

I loooove everything bagels but they must be crisp and toasty

and I tried toasting these and they were still gross.

Beat me to the punch with the last comment.

I'd like to recommed the dried Mandarins. Some added sugar but still tart, with a fresh flavor.

I returned pine nuts when they gave me pine mouth.

I've always dreaded that. How long did it last?

i think a few days to a week? it was pretty annoying

christ

I don't get pine mouth but don't care much for pine nuts. Just thinking about that makes me want to barf.

i love pine nuts but pine mouth makes me reconsider my choices and praise jebus I haven't encountered it

it's annoying but not barf-worthy. i still eat pine nuts (bc they are delicious). it was a constant taste in my mouth like i had just eaten one of those zinc cold lozenges, metallic and bitter.

I'm happy that doesn't happen to me.

But I get spinach teeth, which is really annoying -- a chalky, gritty feeling on my teeth that brushing won't take away. I read it's some kind of acid in the spinach. Too bad b/c spinach is delicious.

i have to put in a good word for the refreshing and palate-cleansing frozen lemon squares.

(xp) You can neutralize some of the oxalic acid in spinach with a little baking soda - keeps it greener too when you cook it. Not a good idea for raw spinach though.

Tentative alert but I think they might be clearing out the in-shell almonds to discontinue them