Trader Joe's Autumn Maple Coffee

At last. My cries for seasonal fall items not doused in pumpkin pie spice have been heard! If you're into pumpkin spice and want to consume everything that smells like the inside of a Michael's store, more power to ya. But there is so much more to fall than just pumpkin spice (let's call it pumpkin pie spice (PPS) from now on, because pumpkin doesn't have a spice people!) - there's apple, gourds, squashes, kale (oh yes kale is great in the fall), and maple! One of my favorite Canadian exports besides friendliness and manners! 

I am not a flavored coffee person. I take my coffee - that is if it's good coffee (medium to dark roast with notes of chocolate, maybe a bit of nuttiness if you're wondering) - black. And if it's not coffee according to my taste preference, I'm content to douse it in milk or whatever alternative milk like everyone else. But I smelled these grounds, and it smelled pretty warm, sweet, and maple-y, and I got sucked into the seasonal product vortex like every other dedicated TJ's shopper. My husband, who actually doesn't drink coffee but appreciates good smelling beans, would have probably slapped my hand away and kept the cart moving - but he wasn't there so I brought this home with me. Heh. 

1) This maple coffee comes pre-ground. There are two ends of the coffee drinking spectrum. On one end are those who grind their own beans, and on the other end are those who don't. Or those who show respect for the bean itself by grinding the beans in a reverent manner and those who don't. Like getting a haircut - it's the difference between going to see a master hairstylist who cuts carefully vs picking up a wad of hair and cutting it straight across with a pair of whatever shears. Is one side "better" than the other? Depends who you ask. I lean toward the grinding-your-own end of the spectrum, but let's be real. I ain't got time to grind those beans everyday (but I do have a husband that I make grind the beans as an arm workout since he doesn't like to hit the gym :D), and if you're tired enough, pre-ground coffee is better than no coffee at all. Amen.

2) The packaging doesn't tell you anything about the origin of the beans, but the TJ's website says that the beans are 100% Arabica beans from Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. How they infused the coffee with maple flavor? Also a mystery.

3) I brewed this as a pour-over, and it wasn't bad. Again, I'm not super versed in coffee vocab (ironically, the book I purchased to learn more about coffee remains an unread, coffee table book), but flavored coffee tends not to appeal to the consumer who cares about the details of origin, roast date, grind size, etc. It's for the everyday people who like a little fall flavor in their coffee! And probably a good amount of milk and sugar too!

4) Taken black, it's actually pretty light, both in roast and in taste. It does have a bit of acidity but it's not super acidic like a lot of light roast coffees (that tend to have citrus or other fruity, berry notes that I dislike). It doesn't taste like an expensive coffee, but it also doesn't taste like car wash coffee (coffee found in a car wash waiting area, not coffee so bad you would use it for washing your car). Tastes like a good Dunkin Donuts coffee (like freshly brewed, brewed properly, and hasn't been sitting around for hours)- which is great news for normal people but average news for 'ehhhhh-I-could-live-without-this'-"serious coffee drinkers."

5) It's hard for me to taste the maple. There is an extra something something that adds a marginal hint of sweetness but if I didn't know this was maple I wouldn't be able to guess otherwise. But apparently, according to the TJ's website, this coffee is meant to be consumed with milk and sugar. I added regular almond milk (usually quite terrible with coffee IMO because the water content of almond milk dilutes the coffee), and it showcased the maple flavor better. The flavor still isn't super strong but it does make it more obvious. I'm sure if you wanted even more maple flavor, you could just add straight maple syrup to a cup of this.

6) Overall, I was surprised at how pleasant this coffee was. Is it the bougiest coffee in the world? Absolutely not. But is there something warm and seasonal and dare I say "festively fall" about this? Sure. Why does TJ's jump straight to a coffee instead of coming out with a maple flavored coffee creamer? According to them, you want a solid product that can be augmented by everyday milk and sugar vs. mediocre coffee that gets dressed up with A+ maple flavoring.

7) $7.99 per 14 oz bag.

8) Definitely better than the pumpkin spice coffee, just sayin.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Autumn Maple Coffee. Light roast coffee with a hint of maple for normal people who want their coffee with milk and sugar. On par with any national coffee chain. 7.5 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? For seasonal feels, mayhaps.