The pros: Trader Joe's Sumatra Coffee Brownies are rich and decadent brownies that are worth the calories.
The cons: High calorie count. If you don't like the taste of coffee, this might not be for you.
The verdict: For $2.99 you get a small bag with four brownies packed in. I overheard some of the Trader Joe's employees discuss this when it first came out. The conversation was something like "Can you believe these brownies are 300 calories EACH?!" I immediately thought to myself, they must be pretty good if they are that many calories. My first instinct wasn't wrong. After passing on them the first time I laid eyes on them, I couldn't pass over them a second time. Within the bag there are two individually wrapped packages of two brownies. I assume they are trying to partly limit your consumption.
There is good reason for it too. Trader Joe's Sumatra Coffee Brownies are really tasty brownies. They have a slight crispness to them when you bite into them. From there it is fudge like decadence. How fudgy are they? They are as close to fudge as possible without actually being fudge. There is a brown topping which had a ground coffee taste (or may have been ground coffee) but in a pleasant and non-bitter fashion. The topping may not appeal to everyone. Those sensitive to coffee probably should not reach for these because it does taste subtly of coffee.
Coffee and chocolate play well together and compliment each other in baked goods like brownies. I thought it was a bit overkill as the brownies had that rich mocha taste. Overall these were rich, chocolatey, fudgy, and fabulous. Worth a try if you can spare the calories.
Here is the visual rundown of what you can expect if you purchase this item:
The bag:
The nutritional information and the ingredients:
Out of the package you get:
Would I buy this again? It's not diet food, if I could eat this everyday without any consequences, I would happily add it to my diet. This is a fabulous treat that is so decadent it just might deserve a scoop a vanilla ice cream.
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
These look great. I'm going to Trader Joe's right now!
They didn't have them. They're only sold on the east coast.
Boo! Sorry you had to waste a trip:(
I had a thought after reading what the employees said. If we didn't worry about calories and enjoyed a treat every day, we might not have weight problems. The trick is to not eat 2 bags of them. They sound scrumptious.