Four customers have filed a class-action lawsuit against specialty grocer Trader Joe’s and requested the company correct its coffee labels, alleging that it skimped buyers on caffeine and failed to label one of its coffee products as decaf.
The shoppers said the packaging for the product at the center of the lawsuit, French Roast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee, leads customers to believe they are getting fully caffeinated beverages.
According to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY, the customers argued that fully caffeinated coffee is typically not labeled as such and instead, companies only label products that have reduced caffeine content.
Therefore, the coffee at Trader Joe’s is not labeled decaf and because of this, customers who buy the coffee think they are purchasing a fully-caffeinated product, the lawsuit read. According to the documents, North Carolina-based coffee competitor Puroast Coffee conducted testing as part of a February 2025 lawsuit that allegedly showed the coffee contains less than half of the caffeine of regular blends.
USA TODAY has not independently verified the testing.
“Consumers purchase the product believing that it is fully caffeinated when it is not,” the documents alleged. “This is a material misrepresentation … The amount of caffeine in a coffee blend affects a consumer’s purchasing decision.”
Law firm Bryson, Harris, Suciu & DeMay, PLLC is representing the four customers, who are from California, New York, and Illinois, per the court documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
USA TODAY contacted Trader Joe’s for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lawsuit Alleges Testing Found Coffee Has Less Caffeine
According to the lawsuit, the previous testing from Puroast Coffee found that the French Roast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee has less caffeine than other Trader Joe’s coffee products, as well as products from other brands, per court documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
According to accusations in the lawsuit, the French Roast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee has 53% of the caffeine of another option from the grocer, Joe’s Dark Coffee.
In comparison to other brands, the most recent lawsuit said the French Roast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee has:
45% of the caffeine in Puroast House Blend coffee.
17.8% less caffeine than Folger’s half-caff brand.
24.5% less caffeine than Puroast’s half-caff brand.
The four customers alleged that the product’s “low acid” claim is not accurate, as testing also showed the coffee is “only slightly less acidic than the average cup of dark roast coffee,” and the coffee’s acidity falls in a similar range to regular coffee. USA TODAY has not independently verified the acidity testing.
The lawsuit also alleged that Trader Joe’s misrepresented the caffeine content of the coffee by failing to advertise the drink as “half caff” coffee. According to the lawyers, half caff coffee has only half of the amount of caffeine as similar coffee products.
The lawsuit also alleged that by using similar labels as the fully-caffeinated products on Trader Joe’s shelves, such as “full” and “rich,” the company has misled customers and made them think the French Roast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee is fully caffeinated.
The customers who filed the lawsuit are also demanding damages and attorney’s fees.
How This Lawsuit Could Impact Customers
The customers in the lawsuit have asked that Trader Joe’s correct its marketing materials and product labels, and recall the product so customers who bought the coffee expecting to get more caffeine may be fully refunded.