Trader Joe's Ube Mochi

It seems like Trader Joe's knows that ube has a bit of a cult following. To keep that cult following going all the Ube products are seasonal.

This product is likely to be the same. Priced at $4.49 for six mochi it is priced in line with other mochi options.

The taste

If you are a fan of the Ube Ice Cream then you pretty much know what the center of this will taste like. For those of you who have never had Ube ice cream then ube tastes like a hybrid of vanilla and pistachio.

If you haven't tried the ube ice cream then let me summarize for you- the ube flavor is subtle. The color is soft as is the flavor. If you were blindfolded you might be surprised that you aren't having a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a hint of extra flavor.

The mochi is what separates this from the regular ice cream option. Mochi is a chewy Japanese confection. It's one of those textures that is very much a love it or hate it type of thing.

I prefer my mochi without ice cream in it personally like in the Mochi Cake Mix that is seasonally available. I even prefer it in a more savory set up with the Kung Pao Mochi Balls.

But here, you would expect an extra layer of ube flavor. Based on the ingredients the soft purple hue you see here isn't from ube at all. It's natural food coloring.

And that's a shame. I really think they could have played up the ube both in the ice cream and the mochi. The purple is as muted as the flavor here.

Trader Joe's Ube Ice Cream relies on ube puree for flavoring. But if you are at home and you really like the flavor of ube then do yourself a favor. Buy some ube extract off of Amazon. It's inexpensive and it will add a pop of flavor that none of Trader Joe's ube products can match.

Add it to pancakes, waffles, your own ice cream, or pretty much anywhere where you wouldn't mind a pop of purple and the flavor of ube. Just be careful not to spill as it will stain and you might look like you're Barney the Dinosaur.

Overall

I wanted to be excited about this product but I just wasn't. Trader Joe's had every opportunity to up the ube flavor profile just a bit more with each product. But in this case, they missed an opportunity to build on flavors here.

And that's a shame since ube is a really unique flavor profile with the added bonus of natural coloring.

Would I buy this again? No, I would not buy Trader Joe's Ube Mochi again. I'll stick to the ice cream or the pancake and waffle mix.

But if you are a die-hard ube fan and have freezer space and love this then I'd stock up. The ube items are all a limited-run series and when they are done who knows when or if they'll be back.

Did you try it?  Let me know what you think in the comments section!