This New $3 Trader Joe’s Snack Is So Good, I Already Went Back to Buy 2 More Bags

One of my favorite special treats as a kid was chocolate-covered pretzels. Sometimes if I was lucky I’d get to pick out a few at the grocery store’s candy counter or get a mini bag. One of the best parts about being an adult is being able to buy your own snacks whenever you want. So when I saw these Mocha Latte Pretzels among the new Trader Joe’s items last week, I immediately grabbed a bag of the fan favorite. 

You see, back in February, Trader Joe’s asked shoppers to vote on the newest coated pretzel flavor. There were four options: Mocha Latte, Chocolate Donut, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Birthday Cake. Of the thousands of responses, Mocha Latte won with 32% of the vote. I, for one, am thrilled with the outcome of the election. (TBD if TJ’s ends up launching a Birthday Cake flavor, which came in second with 29%, and fans seem to also want that flavor, too.)

While a bag of pretzels wasn’t the only item on my list, it was the first thing I tore open after I got home that day. They’re salty, sweet, and coffee-y. Sometimes chocolate-covered pretzels can be too sweet, but that’s not the case here. The pretzels are coated in white candy with ground coffee beans, which helps balance out the sweetness with some bitterness. Ditto for the dark chocolate drizzle. 

Since a mocha latte is my go-to order, I had little doubt I was going to love these, but I didn’t expect to love them quite so much. It’s virtually impossible to just eat one. I could easily eat these by the handful and exercised a bunch of willpower by not downing the whole bag in one day. *Holds for applause* 

After finishing my first bag, naturally, I went and bought two more just days later. That’s that adult money speaking. Currently, Trader Joe’s says these are “limited.” If these are, in fact, a permanent addition to the grocer’s product lineup … I’m about to become a loyal customer. 

I’m not the only one who loves them, either. Another editor at The Kitchn  “was “influenced to pick these up” and “can’t stop eating them.”

You mean aside from eating straight out of the bag? Trader Joe’s recommends crumbling over ice cream or popcorn, and a recent post on the grocer’s Instagram shows the pretzels in a latte (a choice). I didn’t have vanilla ice cream on hand, but I did have some coffee ice cream. The coffee flavors melded pretty well but the salty-sweet and crunchy addition of the pretzels took it to the next level. I can only imagine how well it would pair with a really good vanilla or chocolate.

What new Trader Joe’s finds are you stocking up on? Tell us about it in the comments below!