It's in the dairy section right next to the yogurts. Pretending to be a yogurt. But you ain't got me fooled. Am I biased against coconut? Probably, but it's just not measuring up to its dairy peers.
There are all sorts of reasons to avoid dairy. Intolerance. Dislike. Allergy. Or the fact that to some, greek yogurt is especially stinky, like garbage. Whatever the reason, I was happy to see Trader Joe's come back with non-dairy alternatives because yogurt is a much healthier, protein-packed snack option for my 3am feeding than say...an entire bag of chips. ;P
These run $1.49 each, which is comparable to supermarket non-dairy options (although regular supermarkets occasionally have sales whereas TJ's does not). Coconut milk serves as the base. The sugar content is significant, although the blueberry looks like it has less than the vanilla. I should say that the first time I opened one of these, the yogurt squirted out at me, which has happened with other yogurts (angle it away and open it cautiously). However, I noticed the watery consistency right away. You know how regular yogurt is kinda runny but smooth? Well this was runny but even thinner than regular yogurt. The actual yogurt kept separating into curds and liquid, and it required quite a bit of stirring to achieve a consistent texture throughout the whole product. No, it wasn't because I left it in the refrigerator too long. I wondered if this is because of the coconut milk base. I've tried Silk soy yogurt and haven't had any sort of problem like that.
Tastewise - the coconut flavor is so strong in the vanilla one that the vanilla taste is quite faint. The blueberry does taste like blueberry but again as a backdrop against the coconut. If you like coconut, I suppose you could find this pleasant. Me? I found it meh. The taste wasn't anything particularly special. It wasn't unpleasant but not something I would desire to eat again. It was really the texture though that did me in. Nearly every time I opened the fridge to pick this up, I'd shake it and hear the wateriness and put off eating for another day.
Personally, I won't be repurchasing because of the coconut and texture. Plus, there are comparable non-coconut-non-dairy options available at the same price point elsewhere.
TL;DR: Trader Joe's Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt. Watery. Meh. 4.5 out of 10.
I experienced the same texture problem too! I found, however, that if you vigorously shake the yogurt before opening it, it comes out to being perfectly creamy and not at all chunky/ having the consistency of cottage cheese! :)
ReplyDeleteThey have changed the size new formula, sweeter and it’s more runny, but still 1,49.
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