Most coffee professionals and enthusiasts would prefer coffee to be appreciated for its own sake and not just as a carrier of caffeine. Coffee and caffeine are not synonymous. (Unless we’re talking about research that shows caffeine – and therefore coffee – is beneficial to your health. Then it definitely is. Because we are cherry pickers. Some work on coffee farms, others work in scientific data.) But a fresh civil lawsuit is challenging everything I thought I knew about myself. The world’s worst affogato maker, Trader Joe’s, is being sued because one of their coffees allegedly doesn’t contain enough caffeine. And honestly, I kind of understand it.
As reported CBS NewsA class action lawsuit filed in California involves a grocery chain French roasted coffee with low acidity. This sounds truly terrible and customers should consider it a blessing that they no longer drink something like this, but it is not currently in dispute. The lawsuit says customers claim the coffee is “falsely advertised” because of its caffeine content. In that there is no advertising for its reduced caffeine content.
During testing, the coffee was found to contain only “half the caffeine of the regular blend,” which was not stated anywhere on the packaging. The lawsuit states that it is common practice to label coffee if “some process is used to reduce the amount of caffeine it contains” – a la decaf or semi-caffeinated coffee.
The only treatment noted on Trader Joes coffee packaging is the one it underwent to give it low acidity. “Before long, leisurely roasting, the beans undergo a chemical-free, natural steaming process that removes some of their acidity, but not their flavor.”
The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount of damages for injured parties and an order that Trader Joe’s “stop selling the product through misleading marketing.”
The lawsuit claims that coffee drinkers’ addiction to caffeine is “so common that it is now insignificant” and that “the amount of caffeine in a coffee blend influences a consumer’s purchasing decision.” Which is not a mistake. For better or worse, coffee and caffeine are inextricably linked. But would I sue for coffee with less caffeine? Absolutely not. I would just stop buying it. Honestly, I’m surprised they have enough caffeine to bring in the energy to drive you crazy.
