People who really love their coffee are always looking for ways to drink good coffee in spaces that are not conducive to brewing good coffee, and Trade Joe’s seeks to fill this need with a handy little brew-in-the-bag coffee pouch, complete with spout.

The concept is simple: you just twist off the tip of the spout and open the top of the bag, pour hot water in up to the fill line, let it sit for four minutes, and pour the coffee into cups. It’s a great idea, but the product is really only as great as the coffee it makes, so I called in my snobby coffee friend—you may remember Chris from this little experiment—to help me evaluate the situation.

The first thing Chris pointed out to me is that, while it is called a “pour-over coffee brewer,” the system is actually more of filtered/French press hybrid, which TJ’s acknowledges on the back of the bag. In terms of customizing your brew, there are a few things you can adjust to affect the flavor and strength. Though you can’t adjust grind size—which is finer than the typical French press grind but coarser than drip—you can adjust the temperature and amount of water, and you can leave it in the pouch for a longer or shorter amount of time than the recommended four minutes.

Trader Joe’s doesn’t give a specific brewing temperature—just “hot”—so we boiled our water before pouring it in. We also eschewed measuring cups, because we assumed anyone using this pouch—whether they be camping or at work—wouldn’t want to deal with an extra piece of equipment. We had two bags, so we filled one to the “10-ounce” line, and one to the “mild” line.

Because the bags weren’t exactly rigid, it was hard to know when exactly we had “hit” the targeted lines.

We waited the recommended four minutes and then poured the coffee into mugs. Though the bag claims to make enough coffee for “about two cups” we found both batches to make just enough to fill a single mug. Then we took our sips.

“Ugh. I hate it!” I said, surprised by my overly-emotional reaction. Chris had a much softer take. “It’s like diner coffee,” he said, “which is kind of comforting in a way.” I took another sip, and noted that it reminded me of the Folgers my grandmother would make before church. The package boasts tasting notes of “dark chocolate and nuts,” but it’s unclear exactly which nuts we’re supposed to be tasting. I named some nuts in an effort to help us identify the flavor, and finally settled on unshelled peanuts, like you would get at a Five Guys or a bar. As for the chocolate, we got more cocoa nibs than chocolate, which is okay, I guess. Comparing the two batches, I couldn’t tell a difference between the two even a little bit, and neither could Chris.

Basically, this little system makes a mediocre cup of coffee fairly easily, and I wouldn’t buy it again. If you really like diner coffee though, and want to have it while you’re camping in the great out doors or while seated at your desk, this may be the product for you.