Pumpkin Spice Granola- Trader Joe’s - Marlton, NJ
Okay, so the pumpkin macarons set the bar pretty high for Trader Joe's. Let's see if this Pumpkin Spice Granola can top it.
I reviewed a similar product last year, the Archer Farms Pumpkin Spice Granola, which might have been discontinued. (I haven't seen it on the shelves in a long time. Is it still available in your area?) I really liked the Target version, but it was more cinnamon-y then pumpkin spiced, so it got a really low rating on my pumpkin scale. This time I have high hopes for this granola, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. (Secretly I am hoping that this will taste more like the Kashi bars in cereal form. THAT would be amazing!)
Unlike the packaging for the macarons, which was bland and monotone, this is much more interesting. We have a bold photo of the granola, which has a little bit too much contrast, with some vintage looking typography. I love that the text was kept to a minimum on the packaging, because this photo of gorgeous.
Inside the box is a clear plastic cereal bag, which was really hard to open. After a few pathetic attempts I gave up and used my kitchen scissors to snip off a corner. Once I did, I could smell granola, cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. The pumpkin spices are definitely there, but the oatmeal-like granola overpowers everything. I poured a bit into one of my small glass dessert dishes and tried it dry and with milk.
Normally I don't like eating my granola with milk because I feel like it loses a lot of it's flavor. So I wouldn't recommend this as a cereal, I prefer to eat my granola dry or use it to top my yogurt, but you might feel differently.
- Dry: The granola has a nice spice blend which works well with the oats and raisins, but the oatmeal flavoring overpowers the spiciness. This is nowhere near as spicy as the Kashi bars, but it is slightly spicier than the Archer Farms variety.
- With Milk: The milk seemed to wash away a lot of the spices, so the cereal became a traditional granola, but the milk that remained in the bowl was delicious. It was like a very mild pumpkin spiced chai mixture.
Was I wowed by this product? Not really, but it is still a really yummy granola.
On a Pumpkin Scale of 1-5 (5 being the most pumpkin-y) I’d give this a 1.5.
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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