If you’ve ever walked down Main Street, the storefront with the striped overhang and bright pink door is hard to miss. My Brigadeiro offers students the essentials: coffee, breakfast or lunch on-the-go and a nice place to study, even with its limited seating. Still, the cafe distinguishes itself from other town staples with one offering: the brigadeiro — a small dessert made simply with cacao, butter and sweetened condensed milk.
Leila and I are big fans of My Brigadeiro — often shortened to “My Brig” by regulars. After many talks about our favorite items, we realized that we are obviously the most qualified to conclusively rank their variations of the quintessential dessert. On Sunday, I placed an order for the 10 flavors available that day. Later that afternoon, we embarked on the most important taste test of our careers to answer the question on everyone’s mind: What is the best brigadeiro flavor My Brig has to offer?
Naked
Like most things, the brigadeiro is best naked. This is the classic flavor of brigadeiro. This brig consists of the basics: cacao powder, butter and condensed milk. Despite its simplicity, this flavor is classic for a reason. We had no complaints about the naked brigadeiro. It’s perfect with a coffee, and a bite-sized way to sweeten your day.
Leila: 9/10
Noelle: 7/10
Noir
The noir brigadeiro doesn’t stray too far from the naked. The ingredients are the same, save for one thing: the chocolate sprinkles. These little dots make a world of difference. This is the brigadeiro that accompanies every drink sold in the pink cafe. Sweet, simple, with a touch of texture, the Noir does it for most people. While Leila “Sprinkles” Brady is a huge fan, I am not as keen on the crunch that interrupts a usually smooth experience.
Leila: 10/10
Noelle: 6/10
Orange
If citrus is your thing, Orange may be for you. The smooth chocolate is broken up by dried orange, a refreshing break. However, the pieces of orange embedded within this brigadeiro were a little intimidating to us. Neither chewy nor soft, they confused our palates, leaving something to be desired in the otherwise promising flavor.
Leila: 4/10
Noelle: 4/10
Toasted Coconut
This brig was polarizing. While one of us loves coconut, the other hates it. However, this brig’s texture is undeniably perfect. The dried shavings are the perfect topping for a caramel base, offering extra variety to the classic brigadeiro.
Leila: 3/10
Noelle: 9/10
Raspberry
What to say about Raspberry? It’s either your thing, or it’s not. The dried and crushed raspberry coating was more tart than we expected, and it didn’t necessarily complement the naked base. The fruit offers something new compared to the other variations on the brigadeiro, but it’s up to the buyer to make of it what they will.
Leila: 4/10
Noelle: 7/10
Cappuccino
The cappuccino flavor is like if a milky latte got mushed into a tiny ball (AKA a brigadeiro). It’s the coffee brigadeiro, but diluted. We would’ve rated it higher, but there’s already another flavor that does what cappuccino does, but better.
Leila: 3/10
Noelle: 4/10
Cream Cheese
I don’t know what tasting lab My Brigadeiro has to test their flavors, but this must have slipped through the cracks. I’ll give them this: it tastes like cream cheese. Or like cheesecake, if it was grainy and not as good. The journey of eating this goes something like: Wow, that’s not good. Then: Wow, that’s really not good. Get the picture? Whatever you do, do not order this.
Leila: 1/10
Noelle: 0/10
Coffee
If the cappuccino flavor is like a latte, the coffee flavor is like an espresso. In other words, the coffee flavor is everything the cappuccino flavor wants to be: bold, mature, intense. It’s like the noir flavor, but with a nice bitter aftertaste. It’s very complex. Guess which other item My Brigadeiro sells that this pairs well with. I’ll wait.
Leila: 8/10
Noelle: 9/10
Peanut Crumbs
What you see is what you get. Peanut crumbs! If you like peanuts, you’ll like this brigadeiro. Noelle noted that it looks like a Clif Bar, and I agree that it almost tastes like one — a really good one. If I were to order three brigadeiros, this flavor would certainly make the cut.
Leila: 8/10
Noelle: 8/10
Nest Nutella
You would expect a lot from a treat with a giant dollop of Nutella on a ball of sugar, yet the Nest Nutella falls very flat. For one, the name is misleading: the only Nutella part is on top, and the base itself is just caramel, so you get a flavor that’s something between Nutella-essenced gummy and bland sweetness. You may be tempted to order, but I would advise that you don’t.
Leila: 4/10
Noelle: 3/10
Cacao Nib
The cacao nib brigadeiro does not feature any flashy colors or flavors or even a dollop of nutella. Yet, when you take a bite into a cacao nib brigadeiro — a simple dark chocolate confection with a cacao-nib exterior — you get something pretty special. Noelle and I agreed that the flavor and texture were the best of all of the brigadeiros we tried, and recommend it to anyone with good taste.
Leila: 10/10
Noelle: 10/10
Overall, there was a surprising amount of highs and lows for a cafe we consider top- notch. The Cacao Nib undoubtedly came out on top for us, while Cream Cheese fell flat. Despite our strong opinions, we still think our least favorite brigadeiro is still better than any desert you can get on campus. Except the Foco M&M brownies. Yum.
