There are several espresso grind Puerto Rican coffees with this color scheme. Cafe Bustelo is the “gold standard” (at least of what is available in stores here). I order others from Puerto Rico directly, e.g. Yaucono, Cafe Crema , Cafe Rico , Cafe Oro, and Cafe Lareno, though I haven’t tried the last four yet. (I know Cafe Loreno is highly thought of.)
(I figure ordering direct from Puerto Rico helps support the coffee farmers there, who were hard-hit by Hurricane Maria.)
Shoprite has a couple of other brands, as well as its own brick espresso.
I know 25 cents doesn’t seem like much. I used to whiz through Dollar Tree thinking oh it’s only $1 and toss it in the cart. Now I think twice. Something about that extra quarter just bugs me.
The quarter is annoying, but since all the other “dollar” stores charged more than a dollar for most things, I can’t get too upset. (Sort of like the old “five and dime” had lots of stuff more than a dime.)
I’ve only been in a couple of Dollar Tree or 99 Cents stores but found them disappointing, giving the impression that their their goal of keeping price to a dollar is constricting their inventory.
BUT, we are hooked on visiting a couple of small, independent stores in the country. Besides the price, I love that they get hold of really weird and esoteric stuff that my normal super doesn’t bother to carry. Marzipan, reg $8 → $2. Wild flavors of Edmond Fallot mustard, $2. A jar of whole nutmeg, reg. $7-10 → $2. Rao’s marinara 32 oz. reg.$10 → $3. Similar price on Bastianich’s. $1 Italian bronze cut pasta. And on and on.
It’s a big deal on TikTok to do the food shopping at the dollar store and then plan a week’s meals around it. Kind of depressing but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess.
I have only been in “Dollar Stores” a few times in my life, and usually
have bought holiday decorations. I had a clear jar of sliced peaches I was drawn to but reading the fine print they were from China. I put them back on the shelf…I grew up in a poor family and am perennially frugal but I draw the line on that.
Yes, definitely steer clear of jams, jellies & jarred fruit. I believe the brand is Polar. I also check out country of origin for food items. If it says “distributed by so and so USA”. That’s a tip-off for me.
Thank you so much for the link! Great read. I also went to https://www.buysalvagefood.com (mentioned in the article) to see what they list for CA.
Fascinating to see what’s available in other parts of the country. In Ca? Just Grocery Outlet, which I already happily shop at. Not a perfect place but? Fun.
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