Upgrade Your Latte With One Seasonal Trader Joe's Condiment

One of the easiest ways to bring a dash of joy to your day is through the inventive condiments, sauces and seasonings at Trader Joe's. Even more smile-worthy are the seasonal offerings. Among Trader Joe's aromatic and flavor-filled offerings for fall 2024 is organic maple butter, making an appearance for the first time since 2021. Of course the autumnal spread is delicious on toast or dolloped on pancakes, but don't stop there. Thanks to a viral TikTok trick, people are finding out what a fantastic addition maple butter is to coffee, particularly for the salted vanilla maple latte that is turning heads online.

Homemade maple butters are exactly what they sound like: maple syrup and butter whipped together. However, the Trader Joe's product contains no dairy (good news for people avoiding lactose), which works well with this latte. In Trader Joe's version, maple syrup is heated and reduced to a concentrate, then whipped into something resembling apple butter or peanut butter. The result is a creamy condiment with the sweet, slightly toasted maple flavor that fans crave. To use this in your latte, you'll be whipping it up again using an immersion blender for an elegantly frothed, flavored coffee.

Like many TikTok and Instagram recipe tricks, making the salted vanilla maple latte is pretty simple. There are four key elements, according to the tipsters. First, add the maple butter to your favorite hot coffee or espresso (it will mix better than if the coffee is already iced). Second, add a pinch of flaky salt, like Maldon sea salt flakes. This gives the drink salted caramel vibes. Adding a little vanilla paste or extract finishes off the flavor profile. 

Finally, froth the whole thing with an immersion blender before pouring the coffee over milk and ice. Not only does it completely blend the maple butter into your coffee, it gives it that airiness that makes for the tastiest lattes. It's probably best to make two full servings, since you're going to immediately want seconds, or be forced to share.

This viral recipe is for an iced latte, but you can easily adapt it to make a delicious hot drink instead. Just stir a teaspoon of Trader Joe's organic maple butter into any type of coffee for a creamy, toasty treat. If you happen to have the equipment, you can also make a traditional latte with espresso and steamed milk, adding the maple butter to your cup before mixing. Like the popular pumpkin spice latte, the frothed coffee and extra milk used in this recipe are particularly conducive to bringing out additional flavors like maple.