Where Do Trader Joe's Coffee Beans Come From?

Trader Joe's carries a wide variety of different types of coffee beans and ground coffee. Shoppers return to certain flavors and roasts again and again due to their quality, affordability, and ethical origins, which is why we named Trader Joe's private label coffee one of the 15 best grocery store brands. The beans the company uses are sourced from around the world, and it has partnered with a handful of roasters who expertly process whole beans into the different types of coffee roasts that you find on TJ's shelves.

No matter how you rank Trader Joe's coffee, you can trust that each variety is made from quality ingredients and is free from artificial flavors, preservatives, and colors. However, while their coffee packaging lists each roast's origin country, it doesn't provide much information about the specific farms that grow the beans. This could be because they are trying to maintain the privacy of their suppliers or because they want to have the freedom to source from the most competitively priced farm without needing to change their coffee packages' labels each time. So while we can't verify the exact location at which each variety of beans is grown, we can tell you the general regions from which some of their most popular roasts come.

About 80% of the whole beans imported into the United States come from Latin America, with 35% from Brazil and 27% from Colombia. One of the seven growing regions coffee fanatics should know about, South America's climate, altitude, and soil composition create the ideal conditions for growing coffee and contribute to the rich flavor profiles of the beans. Trader Joe's Colombia Supremo Coffee is from the Popayan region of Colombia, while the company is more vague about the origins of its Organic Colombia Anei Fair Trade Small Lot Coffee, only saying that it is from Colombia.

The Trader Joe's French Roast Whole Bean Coffee is sourced from Peru and Brazil. While the flavor profile of Peruvian coffee is deep and complex, containing notes of fruits, florals, and chocolate, coffee beans from Brazil are popular for their mellow flavor and nutty taste. TJ's Fair Trade Organic Bolivian Blend is, you guessed it, from Bolivia. Coffee beans from Bolivia tend to have a unique flavor profile containing hints of fruit, nuts, and chocolate. There are two coffee roasts whose origins Trader Joe's keeps a little closer to the vest: Joe's Dark Ground Coffee and Joe Medium Roast Ground Coffee. Unlike its other roasts, the company isn't any more specific about the actual countries of origin, stating simply that they are from South America.

The Joe Light Roast Ground Coffee is made from beans sourced from both Guatemala and Ethiopia. Coffee from Ethiopia has fruity and floral notes; however, it is further distinguished by hints of lemon and orange. Central American coffee beans have a bright flavor profile blending fruity, chocolatey, and floral tastes. Its Select Harvest Peaberry coffee contains a 50/50 blend of beans that the company sources from Mt. Meru in Tanzania and the Tolima region of Colombia. This rich, unique blend is earthy, chocolatey, and sweet with notes of cherry and vanilla.

Trader Joe's popular fairtrade and organic coffees are also blends of beans from different countries. Its Fairtrade Organic Five Country Blend is made from coffee beans that are sourced from Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. The company describes the blend as well-balanced, containing fruity, spicy, chocolatey, and nutty notes. Its Organic Fair Trade Wake Up blend includes coffee beans from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Peru, with a flavor profile the company categorizes as bright and sweet. Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Shade Grown Ethiopian Coffee is, unsurprisingly, made from coffee beans sourced from Ethiopia. The Organic Joe Medium Roast Ground Coffee, made from beans from Colombia, Honduras, and Indonesia, is mellow and balanced. TJ's Shade Grown Espresso Blend is a finely ground, smooth blend of beans from the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua, and is ideal for brewing a dark cup of coffee or a shot of espresso.