This $3 Trader Joe’s Fall Find Fuels My Favorite Morning Ritual (I Wait All Year to Buy It)

Earlier this week, I got one of my favorite texts from my sister: “TIS THE SEASON,” it said, along with a photo of her hand clutching a box of Trader Joe’s Maple Espresso Black Tea. It’s tradition that we seek it out in stores each year, buying box after box until the seasonal item disappears from the shelves, going back into hibernation during the warmer months. 

This tea is one of Trader Joe’s best ones, and once it’s back on shelves, my personal fall can really get started. If you haven’t had the Maple Espresso tea before, I would describe it as a cup of cozy joy. Though I aspire to live like the Sleepytime Tea Bear, sometimes I have to be the opposite of sleepy (awake, if you will), and that’s where this soothing yet caffeinated tea comes into play. The ingredients include black tea, espresso coffee, roasted chicory, dandelion root, fenugreek seed, and natural flavors, so the result is a toasty, roasted pick-me-up drink. 

It’s just $2.99 for 20 bags at Trader Joe’s. However, if you can’t find it there, you can order it off Amazon for a slightly higher price and have it delivered to your door. Let me tell you, it’s worth it. 

I sometimes use it as a coffee replacement in the mornings, complementing the black tea with a little oat milk, and sitting down to make a to-do list for the day. It’s one of my favorite fall rituals, made special by the limited time frame I can enjoy it. For a lovely way to start your day with some five senses meditation, inhale the decadent aroma of the tea, prepare it with milk and honey (or however you prefer), cup your hands around the warm mug, and take a few minutes to sit with yourself.

This blend also lends itself particularly well to a latte if you steep a bag in a mug of steamed milk. Try the Norwegian practice of kaffepause or take your tea with a little baked good on the side to relish in the Mexican concept of cafecito y pan. As bittersweet as it will be when my sister or I inevitably send the “went to TJ’s and couldn’t find the maple espresso tea” text at some point in the future, its ephemerality makes it something to savor even more — which is what cozy season is all about, really. For now, I’ll be steeping my tea and cradling the mug with both hands to romanticize chilly mornings as much as possible.