The pros: Trader Joe's Pour Over Coffee Brewer is an inexpensive way to get your coffee fix and makes for a better cup of coffee than most instant. It also might be better value for your money than K-cups
The cons: While not terrible, there are some design flaws here with the packaging.
The verdict: Hidden away in the coffee aisle is something I must have walked past at least 50 times. Even when I first picked this up I didn't rush to make it. I was being judgemental about the packaging. I looks like a cheap paper bag that somehow is supposed to make coffee.
For $1.49 you can choose how strong or mild you want your coffee to be. In either case you can expect to make 10-11 ounces of coffee, which is a nice 2 cup portion. In my world, that is a single portion before 8AM. The directions were clear. But the execution here is where you will need to be careful. Since this bag wants to lay flat you might initially fight a little with the bag to make sure it stays open in order to get hot water into it. Once you have enough to fill the bottom, it will stand on its own. While I did not burn myself pouring hot water into the bag, I can see how it is possible. The top of the bag does not open fully.
Other than the bag being initially somewhat challenging to fill, what you'll end up with is a solid cup of medium-dark roasted coffee goodness. Fortunately, none of the grinds ended up in my coffee as they were all contained in the filter. As an added bonus after finishing up the first two cups, I tried filling this again to the mild line. What did I end up with? Two more mild cups (yes, they weren't as strong, but they were decent). Four cups of coffee for under $1.50? I'm in. You can't get that from your single serve coffee maker. As far as the taste, its a solid medium cup of coffee. There were not major notes or anything distinct about it. Just a well balanced taste.
Overall, I enjoyed this product. If you are willing to be careful where you pour hot water, you'll find a good and unsuspecting product. I'd consider giving up my K-cups for this product too.
The bag of Trader Joe's Pour Over Coffee Brewer:
The ingredients and how to prepare:
Would I buy this again? To my surprise, this is a yes. My expectations weren't terribly high for Trader Joe's Pour Over Coffee Brewer. I figured "how good can coffee be in a plastic paper bag?" As long as you have access to hot water and have careful hands, this is worth a try. Even if you keep it case of a coffee emergency, it tastes good.
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.
judilyn says
Interesting! We use the Melitta pour-over system all the time, but I'm thinking a couple of these would be useful if kept in the camper.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
becomebetty says
If you are in the camper and want to save space, they sell a 10 pack of instant coffee that has the sugar and creamer already in it. If you take your coffee black, then ignore everything I just said. Thanks as always for your thoughts!!
RossC says
I agree with Judilyn.. While I don't use a pour-over system, I'd think this might be great for camping, etc..
It will be fun to try one.. I'm not a heavy coffee drinker (just early AM) and I use a single serve Bella.. Purest will shudder but, I get 2 cups from one and 1/2 scoops of coffee grounds...
becomebetty says
Hey Ross! I'm an avid coffee drinker. Some days it's 2 cups a day. Others I wish they could hook me up to an IV. I was shocked that it actually made a pretty decent cup of coffee. Good for a camper, but also when you run out of single serve coffee cups too. I keep one of these at my desk at work just in case.