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Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Trader Joe's 2 Affogatos


If you love the taste of coffee, then Trader Joe’s 2 Affogatos might be right up your alley. If you’re like me and mostly view coffee as a delivery vehicle for cream and sugar…well, buckle up.

First things first: this is an import. But not the kind you might expect. When you think affogato, you probably picture an elegant Italian cafe with a tiny spoon and someone named Giuseppe dramatically pouring espresso over gelato. Instead, this product is imported from Thailand, which was a bit surprising. Not bad. Just unexpected. Kind of like if someone tried to sell you Pad Thai imported from Italy. No offense to Thailand. It just feels like we swapped passports somewhere along the way.


Preparation is pleasantly simple. Keep the cups frozen, then when dessert time rolls around, dump the little packet of instant coffee into the center of the frozen dessert and add hot water. That’s it. In about ten seconds you’ve got yourself a DIY affogato situation.

Flavor-wise? Trader Joe's 2 Affogatos absolutely taste like coffee. No ambiguity here. The vanilla non-dairy frozen dessert does a nice job softening the bitterness, creating a creamy, melty coffee float vibe. But the coffee flavor still comes through loud and clear. For hardcore coffee fans like Sonia, this is a win. She gave it seven and a half stars and would most likely buy this product again.


For me, though? I’m more coffee-neutral. I don’t hate it, but I don’t exactly crave it either. And because the coffee flavor dominates, the whole experience leans a bit too espresso-forward for my taste. I'm throwing out six and a half out of ten stars.

Another downside: the servings are tiny. At $4.49 for two small cups, the portion-to-price ratio feels a little stingy. That said, I appreciate the creativity and the vegan-friendly approach. The dessert itself is fully vegan, which is cool. I’m also curious how it would taste if you swapped the hot water for hot milk—or hot oat milk or coconut milk if you want to keep it plant-based. That might make the whole thing richer and more indulgent.

Trader Joe's 2 Affogatos Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts are neat to try, great for coffee lovers, but probably not a repeat buy for me. Still, if Trader Joe’s ever releases a full dairy Italian-import affogato, I’m absolutely lining up to try that one.



Sonia's score: 7.5 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 6.5 out of 10.

4 comments:

  1. My son does not like coffee and he didn't like this, but I love coffee and I LOVED this! No need for dairy IMO.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I still want to try a version with espresso and real Italian gelato.

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  2. Speaking of gelato, their pannetone gelato was REALLY citrus forward. I had really high hopes for it, but I thought it was almost a sour citrus flavor. It just didn't capture the taste of the cake accurately I felt. Maybe dousing it in espresso would have helped!

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    Replies
    1. Interesting. We didn't get to try the panettone gelato. Sounds like we didn't miss much. They had a panettone that was actually filled with gelato many years ago and we liked it a lot.

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