Most coffee professionals and enthusiasts would prefer if coffee was appreciated in its own right and not merely as a vehicle for caffeination. Coffee and caffeine are not synonyms. (Unless we are talking about studies that show caffeine—and thus coffee—is beneficial to health. Then they definitely are. Because we are cherry pickers. Some on coffee farms and others in scientific data.) But a new civil lawsuit is challenging everything I thought I knew about myself. World’s worst affogato maker Trader Joe’s is being sued because one of their coffees allegedly doesn’t have enough caffeine. And honestly, I kinda get it.
As reported by CBS News, the class action lawsuit filed in California revolves around the grocery chain’s French Roast Low Acid coffee. Which sounds truly terrible and customers should consider it a blessing that they no longer drink such a thing, but that is beside the current point of contention. According to the lawsuit, customers allege that the coffee is “deceptively advertised” due to the amount of caffeine it has. In that there is no advertising its decreased caffeine content.
When tested, the coffee was found to possess only “half the caffeine of a regular blend” with no acknowledgement of that fact on the packaging anywhere. The suit states that it is common practice for a coffee to be labeled if “some process is used to reduce the amount of caffeine contained therein” a la decaf or half-caf coffees.
The only processing noted on the packaging for the Trader Joes coffee is the one it underwent to make it low acid. “Prior to a long, slow roast, the beans are treated to a chemical-free, natural steaming process that removes some of their acidity, but not their flavor.”
The lawsuit is seeking an unknown amount in damages for those affected and for Trader Joe’s to “stop selling the product through misleading marketing.”
The suit states that coffee drinker’s reliance on caffeine is “so common that it is now cliché” and that “the amount of caffeine in a coffee blend affects a consumer’s purchasing decision.” Which is not wrong. For better or worse, coffee and caffeine are inextricably linked. But would I sue over a coffee having less caffeine? Definitely not. I’d just stop buying it. I’m frankly surprised they are caffeinated enough to summon the energy to get this mad.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
