Trader Joe's Creamed Multi-Floral New Zealand Honey

So apparently, an earlier iteration of this product was the subject matter of a lawsuit in which Trader Joe's was accused of misleading consumers by stating that their product was "100% manuka honey" when in fact only 60% of the pollen used in making the honey came from the manuka plant.

From what I understand, the court ruling favored Trader Joe's and did not penalize them, but it certainly looks like they took steps to prevent any further litigation by relabeling the honey as "multi-floral" instead of simply "100% manuka." Also, the ingredients list now reads just "honey" whereas the prior product listed "manuka honey" as the sole ingredient.

I find it hilarious that traderjoes.com states that their New Zealand honey is similar to manuka honey but tastes "less medicinal." LOL. They're not holding a grudge or anything.

Anyway, you'll pay upwards of thirty bucks for most authentic manuka honey, but this one pound jar will only run you $3.99 at Trader Joe's. We called around and it's not available at every location but some stores still have it in stock as of the time of writing this review.

Speaking of a review, you're probably wondering how this product tastes. It's delicious. It has the typical sweetness of any other honey, but there are floral notes, herbal notes, and I'd swear there's something nearly fruity in the flavor profile—like an essence of apricot or something like that. Very interesting.

And even more unique than the flavor is the texture. The honey is "creamed." Apparently that just means that it's been whipped into a fluffy consistency. It's like there are bunches of teeny tiny honey crystals mixed into a normal liquid honey. I honestly like it better than the syrupy texture of run-of-the-mill honey.

As mentioned above, this product will run you four bucks. It is indeed a product of New Zealand. We'd buy it again. Nine out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Creamed Multi-Floral New Zealand Honey.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10 stars.

Trader Joe's Teriyaki Mushroom Mini Bao Buns

There are only two sets of heating instructions on this bag and one of them involves a steamer, which we don't have, so we opted for the microwave this time. Just plop three of the miniature bao buns on a plate lined with parchment paper—that's right, they want you to put parchment paper in the microwave—sprinkle with water and cover, heat on high for one to two minutes. Ours took about 1:50 to reach the perfect temperature and texture.

The buns came out soft, supple, and slightly moist. The "meat" of this dish features oyster, king oyster, and shiitake mushrooms. Sonia is a fan, while I...um, I just don't really like mushrooms. The filling has carrots and onions and a tasty spice blend that includes garlic, ginger, and soy sauce among many other ingredients.

Honestly, I think I really would have loved this product if it contained anything other than mushrooms. I did taste it though, and all the elements are high quality and most folks would probably enjoy it. One drawback: it doesn't come with a dipping sauce. We experimented with a couple different condiments in the video below including soy sauce and yangnyeom sauce.

$4.79 for nine bao buns. Vegan. Product of Vietnam. Sonia would buy again. She'll give Trader Joe's Teriyaki Mushroom Mini Bao Buns nine out of ten stars and I'll sit this one out, score-wise, due to my bias against mushrooms.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Everything but the Bartender Cosmopolitan and Lime Margarita

It's a NEW kind of EBTB. This time we've got not one but TWO alcoholic beverages flaunting the delicious flavors of sesame seeds, minced garlic, dried onion, and poppy seeds! Er, wait. It's not that kind of EBTB. This is Everything but the Bartender, not Everything but the Bagel.

Makes sense. I don't think I'd want a cocktail with bagel seasoning in it. What we DO have are pre-mixed drinks that come in little 200mL cans. One is a cosmopolitan—a drink I'm not terribly familiar with, featuring vodka and triple sec. The other? A classic lime margarita—I'm somewhat more familiar with those. Proper margaritas are made with tequila and this selection is no exception.

The taste? Holy cow! They're both SWEET. Like bordering on too sweet, even for me. They have nice fruity flavors and you can taste all the constituent ingredients just fine. There's a bit more complexity and tartness to the cosmopolitan while the margarita is nearly candy-esque. For that reason, Sonia prefers the cosmopolitan. I enjoy them both about the same but I wouldn't seek either of them out for a repurchase.

The cosmo is $11 and the margarita is $12 for four cans each. We're looking at 15% alcohol by volume in both cases. The EBTB Cosmopolitan will get eight out of ten stars from us while Trader Joe's EBTB Margarita will get seven and three quarters.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Everything but the Bartender Cosmopolitan: 8 out of 10.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Everything but the Bartender Margarita: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Teensy Candy Bars

These little candy bars are not individually wrapped, in case you were wondering like I was. That's good because it would be an incredible waste of materials since there are so many of the baby candies in the package. But it's also bad because the wrappers kind of slow you down as you're shoveling the chocolate into your mouth. In this case, it's just candy bar after candy bar flowing seamlessly from the plastic bag right into your belly. At least the bag is resealable.

They are indeed "teensy" candy bars. They're even smaller than your typical "fun size" candy bar like the kind you give out to kids at Halloween. These are maybe half that size.

They've got a really nice soft, chewy texture and a nutty, chocolatey flavor. Peanuts are the second ingredient, as a matter of fact, coming in just after sugar on the list. There's a healthy amount of nougat and just a touch of caramel flavor. They're not a far cry from Snickers in terms of overall flavor.

We've got palm oil in the mix, so there's a good chunk of your daily saturated fat. But hey, they're chocolate bars. They're not claiming to be diet food.

$2.99 is a pretty decent price for the amount of candy you're getting. And they're quite tasty. We'd buy 'em again. Product of Germany. We all know those Deutsch folk love their chocolate. We'll both go with eight out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Teensy Candy Bars.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Yangnyeom Sauce

What I knew about yangnyeom sauce before purchasing this bottle from Trader Joe's: zero, zip, zilch, nada.

What I know about yangnyeom sauce now that I've tried it: it's a Korean-inspired product that's got a lot of robust flavor and sass. It's slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and surprisingly not very thick—thinner than your average American barbecue sauce. It goes great with fried chicken and it's absolutely delicious.

Sonia took the opportunity to whip up a Korean hot chicken pizza. We documented the whole thing on video and put it up on YouTube, as we are wont to do these days. It involved pizza crust, cheese, chicken nuggets, cilantro, and this yangnyeom sauce instead of your typical tomato sauce.

It was tasty. We'd absolutely buy this product again and we'd make that Korean hot chicken pizza again, too. Next time we might even follow the instructions and buy all the legit ingredients. At any rate, this sauce gets our seal of approval and an official induction into our Trader Joe's product hall of fame known as "The Pantheon."

$3.99 for the 15.5 oz bottle. Kosher. Not actually from Korea. Both Sonia and I give Trader Joe's Korean Style Yangnyeom Sauce nine out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur

Neither Sonia nor I are super fond of heavy, syrupy liqueurs like this one by themselves, but as mixers, they can be interesting. Like the bottle suggests, this beverage is bursting with the flavor of passion fruit. It's very sweet and slightly tart, fairly thick yet velvety smooth and devoid of actual fruit pieces like your typical fruit nectar.

And let me tell ya', those Dominicans love their fruit nectars. I had a chance to visit the country on a mission trip in the early 2000s. We helped a little fishing village on the southern coast build a cinder block church on a concrete foundation. I sweated out what must have been about half my body weight each and every day down there. In addition to chugging obscene amounts of bottled water, I sampled these little white boxes full of fruit nectars including peach, pear, pineapple, and yes, even passion fruit. Somehow they were much more delicious than the fruit juices we typically find here in the US.

It wasn't particularly en vogue for the Christian missionaries to slip out of the bunkhouse to sample the local liquors, but if I'd been so bold, I might have discovered a Dominican rum or two back then. Chinola wasn't even founded until 2014, so I still would have missed out on the joy of passion fruit liqueur.

It's not bad on the rocks, but it's still quite syrupy sweet and thick. Mixed with a bit of rum and banana liqueur, it makes a delightful cocktail. It blends quite well with gin, as well. Sonia even enjoyed it mixed with actual banana and yogurt as a slightly spiked smoothie.

$25.99 for the 750 mL bottle. 21% alcohol by volume. Product of the Dominican Republic. Sold at Trader Joe's but not exclusively at Trader Joe's. Might buy again for a specific drink recipe. Sonia and I will go with seven and a half out of ten stars for Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Pancake & Waffle Mix

"If you're gonna have carbs, have 'em first thing in the morning."

That's what Sonia always says. Makes sense. If you eat them early, you burn through them by the end of the day. It also helps optimize your metabolism and other good stuff.

Of course, it doesn't work if you keep eating carbs all day long and into the night. Not that I would know anything about that...

Anyway, we tried Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Inspired Pancake & Waffle Mix for the first time the other day and liked it for the most part. Sonia used the mix along with eggs, milk, and butter to whip up some batter and then poured it on her stovetop griddle to make pancakes. Yum.

There are little caches of cinnamon throughout the product, but both Sonia and I found ourselves pining for more cinnamon. The taste is quite reminiscent of a typical cinnamon bun but not nearly as indulgent. Add butter and maple syrup and you're getting a little more richness and sweetness, but it's still not on the same level as a true cinnamon bun in terms of comfort food status.

And for most folks, that's probably not a problem. It's just kind of a fun breakfast item that's not particularly decadent or fancy other than some cinnamon confectionery bits and brown sugar. But still, it's easy enough to make and the flavor is pleasant enough that we'd consider a repeat purchase.

$3.99 for the 16 oz box. We'll give Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Pancake Mix eight out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Coffee Granola

So numerous readers and viewers mentioned this product when I posted my review of Trader Joe's Vanilla Almond Granola a couple weeks ago. I try not to look at two cereals so close together, let alone two fancy granola cereals, but hey, Trader Joe's has discontinued half of the other products I had on deck for review, so we've got slim pickings if we want to look at something that is currently relevant. I've heard only good things, so I'm excited to try it. Sonia, the coffee connoisseur, is also quite eager to taste test a bowl.

It's a rich, dark flavor—nearly equal parts coffee and dark chocolate. The cereal contains both cocoa powder and dark chocolate in the ingredients. Coffee extract appears further down the list but it's potent enough to shine through all the other elements. It's surprisingly not sweet to my tongue, but still quite pleasant overall.

Predictably, Sonia really enjoys it. She prefers this over the vanilla granola and most other Trader Joe's granola flavors. I like it about the same as the vanilla one, but I'm not hating on this flavor at all. On the contrary, I think most adults who appreciate the flavors of coffee and dark chocolate would gravitate to this option over the vanilla almond granola and most other cereal products at Trader Joe's or anywhere else.

The milk left at the end of the bowl is quite tasty, taking on whispers of both coffee and chocolate. Of course, it's a much lighter, creamier flavor than the cereal, but I find it even more appealing than the granola itself. Sonia is eager to try this product on yogurt or ice cream.

$3.99 for the 12 oz resealable bag. Kosher. Eight out of ten stars from Sonia. Seven and a half out of ten from me for Trader Joe's Chocolate Coffee Flavored Granola.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Salsa Verde

The base for most salsa verde is made from tomatillo. Meaning "little tomato" in Spanish, the tomatillo plant is not actually a type of tomato but a distant cousin, also a member of the nightshade family. As you can see, the first two ingredients in this product are tomatillo and green chili pepper, both of which are green, giving this salsa its signature earthy green hue.

The flavor? It's a refreshing, bright, lightly sweet yet tangy taste, not very spicy at all. It goes well as a topping for burritos, tacos, chimichangas, etc. It's not my favorite for chip dipping, though some may disagree.

Salsa verde is an integral part of Mexican cuisine, hence Sonia's proclivity for it. She often pairs it with black beans and rice and serves it as a side for just about any Mexican meal. She's even used it as a base for a very tasty white bean chicken chili soup.

There are plenty of seeds and tomatillo bits throughout the salsa, but I don't think anybody would call it "chunky" in any way. I'll admit it's nice to have a tomato-free option on the salsa shelf of our pantry. Also, both Sonia and I have grown more sensitive to spicy foods as we've grown older, so it's nice to have a milder option when we need it. This one shows about a 3/8 on the little chili spice-o-meter on the side of the jar. I might even put it a little lower than that, despite the presence of jalapeños.

$2.29 for the 12 oz jar. We both like Trader Joe's Salsa Verde but Sonia is definitely more into it than I am. She's purchased it many, many times over the past 15 years. Crazy we're just getting around to the review now. Eight and a half stars from the beautiful wifey for Trader Joe's Salsa Verde. I'll throw out seven and a half.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica

In all our years reviewing Trader Joe's products, I'm fairly certain this salsa has been sitting there on the shelves pretty much the entire time. We finally decided to try it during our big salsa roundup video. At around 12:20 into the discussion, we taste test this Salsa Autentica for the first time.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. It looked and poured a bit watery and thin—like your typical complimentary restaurant salsa. However, I found this one to be significantly tastier than most salsas of its kind. There's a smidge of heat, but I wouldn't say it's truly spicy. The little chili meter on the side shows it's 5/8 full. I think it's more like 3/8 on my chili meter.

It's not as good as the Pepita Salsa in terms of flavor and texture. And I'd generally prefer chunky selections like the Cowboy Caviar or Thick and Chunky Salsa over this one, especially for simple chip dipping, but the yellow chili pepper, onions, and garlic give it enough zesty flavor to make it worth a purchase. I think it works best when paired with beans or meat or poured over a taco so its thinness isn't quite so apparent.

Sonia says she'd like to play around with this salsa in some recipes she's eager to try. $2.29 for 12 oz. Not too pricey. Would buy again. Eight and a half stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Our FAVORITE Trader Joe's Brand Salsas!

Well, I guess it's "Cinco de Mayo weekend" if there is such a thing. Don't get us wrong, we like the Fourth of July and all that patriotic American stuff, too. But in case you needed an excuse to pig out on some good Mexican food and margaritas, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. Here's a video where we have a lengthy discussion about our favorite Trader Joe's brand salsas of all time. Maybe I'll circle back and put links to all the reviews of the products mentioned in the video, but for now, you'll just have to click play. Thanks for watching, and happy Cinco de Mayo (a couple days early)! 

Trader Joe's Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice

So...apparently most apple juice has all the cloudy stuff filtered out of it while this selection from Trader Joe's leaves it all in. It's still pasteurized and all that. Obviously, it's made with organic apples and there's no sugar or other juices added, so it sounds pretty healthy if nothing else. Let's see how it tastes.

It's good. I'd say it's slightly richer than your run-of-the-mill apple juice if that makes sense. It almost seems a tad less sweet, too, but not in a bad way at all. It's almost like half way between regular apple juice and apple cider to my tongue.

TJ's website mentions that there was an unfiltered apple juice on their shelves for 20 years that got discontinued in 2022 due to an organic apple shortage. Never heard about the apple shortage and I don't know if I remember that older version of this product. Sonia says she remembers it, but I don't think we ever got around to reviewing it for some reason. If you remember that product, let us know how it compares to this one in the comments.

$5.49 for the 64 oz bottle. Did we mention it's organic? Kosher too. Shelf stable until you open the bottle, it's found with the unrefrigerated juices. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice nine out of ten stars. I give it eight out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.