I’m trying to make this as not cliche as possible.
Truth is, I’ve never actually had a pumpkin spice latte (even though we serve one at the cafe I work at). I love the way it smells: warmth, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugary goodness fills the air. But I’m not a big fan of pumpkin itself, so I tend to veer away from it. At least until last week.
I walked into my local Trader Joe’s for my average grocery trip, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire store had been taken over by pumpkins and pumpkin spice products. For research purposes, I decided to test out three pumpkin spice flavored and judge them. Is pumpkin spice really something to get excited about in the fall? And are these products actually worth buying?
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Trader Joe’s Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookies
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These cookies are the fall version of those famous little pink and white circus animal cookies that never actually look like animals. If you are a fan of those, I definitely recommend trying these out. These actually look like orange and white pumpkins. Both “flavors” taste similarly to gingerbread cookies, but with the ginger toned down a notch. The white cookie tastes sweeter than the orange to me, but the difference it hardly noticeable. 10/10.
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Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Waffles
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These were my least favorite out of the bunch. As a huge fan of waffles, I was disappointed and felt personally betrayed by Trader Joe’s. These waffles don’t taste like anything, let alone pumpkin. They’re still pretty useful in the sense that you can top them with ingredients like fresh fruit, syrup, or maybe even some pumpkin cream cheese to make your breakfast a little less bland. When you consider how many more options you have for toaster waffles, I wouldn’t repurchase these. 3/10.
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Trader Joe’s Mini Ice Cream Cones in Pumpkin Ginger
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THESE ARE SO GOOD. These babies are very conveniently sized, perfect for a midnight snack to satisfy a craving or a mid-morning treat. The pumpkin ice cream is the perfect blend of pumpkin and spice (and I think Trader Joe’s packages and sells just the pumpkin ice cream in pints). Try them. Just trust me. 11/10.
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After trying these products, I can confidently say that pumpkin spice is worth the excited and hype that you hear about it. There’s a pumpkin flavored product for everybody. Hopefully this mini review helps to guide you during your own grocery run!