Trader Joe’s Single Serve Coffee Cups, reviewed

Trader Joe’s is usually a good place to get good coffee at a very good price, with lots of single-origin and premium coffees to choose from. On my last shopping trip, I spotted a new addition to their coffee lineup: Trader Joe’s Single Serve Coffee Cups that are made to work with a Keurig coffee maker. Keurig fans will be happy to see these and will be even happier about their price, which is only $2.99 per box.

These single serve coffee cups are not made with the signature K-cup packaging that you’re probably used to and that is because Green Mountain Coffee Roaster’s K-cup patent recently expired, so the door is open for other manufacturers of similar coffee pods. Trader Joe’s version has soft coffee-filter walls instead of firm plastic ones, and a plastic, not foil, lid. The plastic and foil combination keeps the coffee in the K-cups tightly sealed in an airtight environment. The coffee filter body pod doesn’t, so Trader Joe’s pods are individually packaged in little bags to keep their coffee fresh. This extra packaging means that you only get 7 pods in a standard box, where you would probably find 10 or 16 of the traditional K-cup pods. But they’re still a good deal at their low price point ($.42 per cup).

Packaging aside, the coffee inside of these little pods is very good. It is a strong medium roast – the same as their signature Joe Blend – that should please most coffee lovers. It is very smooth, has a nice roasted nut character to it and a long finish. It has enough body to be made with the largest setting on a Keurig – even if you choose to add milk and sugar to your coffee.

The packaging is a bit of a hassle, since that makes one extra step to deal with before getting your pod into your Keurig, but it’s a small price to pay because these pods are a good everyday value and a very good cup of coffee for the price when compared to other K-cups.