brigadeiro.me

Brigadeiro are apparently Brazilian confections, made from sweetened condensed milk, butter, and chocolate, served at special occasions in Brazil.  Almost like truffles or bonbons, but not quite.  The name comes from the fact that they were originally made for Brigadier Eduardo Gomes.  I hadn't ever encountered them before, until Brigadeiro.me came to visit our office.

The line up!

Brigadeiro.me is a local company, and they produce exactly one thing: brigadeiro, in an assortment of flavors.  I got to try many of them.  I enjoyed some of the flavors more than others, but in general, brigadeiro did appeal to me.  Why haven't they infiltrated the US?

Milk Chocolate.

I started with what I think is the most classic.  A soft caramel like ball, with crunchy chocolate on the outside.  Sweet, creamy, good texture, but not particularly remarkable.

70% Dark Chocolate.

Then I moved on to the dark chocolate, described as "a version with 70% Chocolate Belgian cocoa, condensed milk, butter and 70% cocoa chocolate sprinkles. It’s the perfect balance between the strong taste of cocoa and the sweet and smooth flavour of condensed milk."

This one was a bit bitter, but not in a good way.  I'm not sure what it was about it, but I didn't like the deeper caramel flavor.  As with all varieties I tried, I liked the crunchy things on the outside, but this was my least favorite.

White Crunchy.

So I moved in the other direction, to white chocolate: "Belgian chocolate rice crispy sprinkles make our white chocolate brigadeiro version (Belgian white chocolate + condensed milk + butter) even more irresistible"
This one didn't have a very complex flavor.  The inside was just sweet, not caramely.  The white crunchy balls on the outside overwhelmed.  I like those little balls, and add them to ice cream all the time, but the ratio of little balls to the actual brigadeiro wasn't right, so all I could taste was the balls.

Hazelnut.

Next, I went for a nutty version, "made with hazelnut cream, condensed milk, Belgian chocolate and it’s topped off with delicious hazelnut chunks"
It was the same basic soft chocolate caramel ball, this time rolled in hazelnuts.  The nuts were nicely broken down into tiny bits, and added a nice crunch, but I did find them a bit bitter, particularly with the sweet filling.

Coffee.

And next, something a bit different: coffee: "made with the finest ground Brazilian coffee beans, Belgian chocolate, condensed milk, butter and it’s topped off with Belgian chocolate sprinkles. "

The coffee in here was very subtle, but it complimented the sweetness well.  It made me really think these would pair excellently with a cup of coffee.  A nice black cup of coffee, sweet rich condensed milk ... mmm!  This one was my favorite.

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Passion Fruit.

I didn't expect to like this at all.  I love passion fruit, the real fruit, but I tend to dislike treats that are made to be passion fruit flavor.  Described as: "the most exotic of the brigadeiros, with a juicy taste that will brighten up even the rainiest of the days. It’s not too sweet, it’s super moreish, so make sure you add more than one to your box. It’s made with Belgian white chocolate, passion fruit juice, condensed milk, butter and white chocolate sprinkles"

It tasted like white chocolate, but with subtle passion fruit, not too much at all.  I liked the crunch from the chocolate sprinkles outside.  It turned out to be my second favorite.