Aldi vs. Trader Joe’s: Battle of the Coconut Cold Brews

Jessica Wrubel

July 26, 2023 at 7:30 PM·6 min read

For years, Trader Joe's and Aldi have been rumored to be related. The similarities between their products, packaging and price points fuel the rumors circulating on TikTok and Reddit, with users firmly in one camp or another. And the latest product to confuse (and delight) shoppers is the perfect summer drink: coconut cold brew concentrate.

We scored a bottle of Aldi's Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Concentrate and Trader Joe's Coconut Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate and gave them a swirl in our glasses to crown a winner (and put the company rumors to rest, too).

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Are Aldi and Trader Joe's related?

Let's start with the facts: Aldi was started in 1948 when two brothers, Theo and Karl Albrecht, took over their mother's German grocery store and started expanding it to other locations. Fast forward to 1961 when the brothers had a disagreement over selling cigarettes at the stores—a fight so severe they ended up breaking up the company into two: Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord.

Today, Aldi Süd operates stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Eastern Europe, while Aldi Nord runs stores in Western and Southern Europe. In 1979, Aldi Nord bought Trader Joe's from founder Joe Coulombe (yes, there really was a Trader Joe) so yes, Aldi Nord runs Trader Joe's in the U.S., but it's not the same Aldi as the one we have in the States, which under the Aldi Süd umbrella. The two Aldis operate independently, have different logos and serve different locations around the world. So while there is a Trader Joe's connection, it's not a direct connection (think of them more like cousins).

Before we move on from this discussion, I'll drop another fun fact. The name Aldi comes from Albrecht + discount = Aldi. Cool, right?

What’s the difference between Trader Joe's Toasted Coconut Cold Brew and Aldi's Toasted Coconut Cold Brew?

Before we get to the differences, let's look at how these two bottles are the same:

Both have depictions of coconuts and tropical trees on the label (makes sense), and both are in the exact same bottle, though Trader Joe's one is 16 oz. bottle, while's Aldi's is 32 oz.
Both call out "100% Arabica coffee" on the label, say to refrigerate and use 30 days after opening and both are formulated to be diluted in the same way: one part coffee concentrate to two parts milk or water.
The description of the cold brew process is eerily similar on both bottles.

Trader Joe's Coconut Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate<p>Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel</p> — Trader Joe's Coconut Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel

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Now for the differences:

? The Aldi concentrate costs $7.99, which the TJ's concentrate is $5.99. Keep in mind that you're paying for 32 oz. versus 16 oz., though. When you do the math, Aldi is about 25 cents an oz. and TJ's is 37 cents.
? There is slightly more potassium in the TJ concentrate (250mg in the Aldi bottle and 300mg in the TJ).
? The Aldi bottle includes natural coconut flavor as well as coconut at the end of their ingredients list and the Trader Joe's bottle lists "natural coconut with other natural flavors."
? The Aldi bottle uses filtered water, while the TJ's bottle stays mum on the kind of water in the brew.

Aldi's Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Concentrate<p>Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel</p> — Aldi's Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Concentrate
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel

So is it really the same cold brew? I asked Sabrina Kautz, who works as a marketing leader in the consumer packaged goods industry. She says that in the grocery world, because Aldi and Trader Joe's are two huge companies, they wouldn't necessarily use the same private label supplier unless the cold brew was a limited run or the private label manufacturer had excess line time they needed to use and struck a deal with both stores. So even though there's a chance it could be the same coffee, it's a slim chance.

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What are users on Reddit saying about the differences between the two cold brews?

Redditors are absolutely convinced that the bottles of cold brew are the same. One says "I'd bet a lot of money that they're bottled at the same factory," "They probably use the same white label manufacturer, probably not too many companies make a boutique product like this, to begin with," says another.

In any case, commenters seem to agree that both products are tasty cold brew concentrates. One user commenting on the Aldi version said, "It's a very clean clear coconut taste. Tastes like shaved coconut, not much coffee flavor comes through and it's very smooth. Lives up to the natural flavoring label. It's concentrated, so watch out."

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What does the Aldi cold brew taste like compared to the Trader Joe's cold brew?

I made both of my glasses of cold brew according to directions, in identical, ice-filled glasses with the same creamer added in (my trusty carton of Nutpods never fails me). I did notice that both versions were too diluted for my taste. Next time I'll be adding more concentrate to make it more one-to-one instead of one part concentrate to two parts water.

Even before I did my taste test, I noticed that the two brands definitely smelled differently. The Trader Joe's version smelled less coconutty than the Aldi version, which reminded me of coconut extract that you use for baking.

Glass of coconut cold brew<p>Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel</p> — Glass of coconut cold brew
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel

The Aldi version tasted a bit more balanced, with deep notes of chocolate and smoke in addition to the prominent coconut flavor. The Trader Joe's version was a bit more sour, bitter and bright with less of a coconut taste. Each hit my tastebuds very differently so I'm definitely not buying into the online hype that these are the same.

The Bottom Line: Trader Joe's or Aldi?

I'm a die-hard TJ's fan, but this time I'm going to have to go with the Aldi version. It was less sour and had more coconut flavor than the Trader Joe's version. Plus, the bigger bottle lasted me all week long through all of my afternoon coffee cravings.