Norman Love Chocolates #8: Strawberry

I could immediately tell that the next chocolate would be the strawberry one without even looking at the chocolate guide. The bright red color and flecks of black seeds on the outside were very appealing.

On a side note: when I finally get my own garden in a sunny spot, I really want to try to grow strawberries. I have fond memories of my childhood home in South Carolina, because it had a huge yard that bordered the woods, and right at the border between the yard and the woods there was a strip of wild strawberries. It was a real treat to find one or two while exploring on a summer day, like I'd found a secret. It's pretty much one of the only things better than finding a Honeysuckle bush.

The inside was an appealing pastel pink, and the taste didn't disappoint--it was like eating strawberry frosting. The white chocolate blended perfectly with the strawberry without having an unappealing aftertaste. If I could change anything, though, I would do this: Instead of using a white chocolate shell, try either milk or dark and market it as Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Truffle. I'm sure that exists elsewhere but it's just a thought.

Norman Love Chocolates #7: Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle

This next confection was the Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle, which contains "49% dark Venezuelan Chocolate made from Criollo beans and blended with cream and butter". I did a little internet research and found out some interesting facts about the Criollo bean: Apparently there are three different cocoa beans, and the most popular is the Forastero bean (used in 95% of chocolate). The Criollo bean apparently has the best quality chocolate but is less disease-resistant and has a lower yield. Most interesting is the Trinitario bean, a hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero beans that produces higher-quality chocolate than the Forastero and is more disease-resistant and has higher yields than the Criollo.

The inside was dark and rich, and it tasted wonderful. I'm not sure if I can tell the difference between Forastero and Criollo beans, but I know what I like and I really liked this. I remember when I first started eating good chocolate and someone told me that in order to properly enjoy it, I needed to let it melt on my tongue instead of just chewing it up quickly. Of course, I remembered this while I was absent-mindedly chewing up this truffle, so I stopped immediately and let the flavor linger in my mouth. What was left did not melt away for at least a minute. It tasted as rich as it looked, with just the right amount of bitterness.

Even though I do prefer dark chocolate over milk, I don't really like dark chocolates with more than 60% chocolate--I feel like they have a bitterness akin to black tea that has had a tea bag steeping it in for more than 10 minutes. But this chocolate was perfect. And don't forget--don't just chomp up a good chocolate like you would with old chocolate bar from Halloween. Savor it slowly and let the flavor bloom in your mouth.

On a different note, we just got hit with a blizzard up here in New England, and here is the view from our second floor porch:

I grew up in an area that didn't get much snow, so it was always a treat for me. However, since I've lived up here, it's lost a bit of it's beauty except for one case: when I don't have to go to work (canceled for today fortunately) and when it has just finished snowing, because the roads haven't turned the snow into slushy muck yet so it's still white. Of course, it also helps that my husband does all the shoveling. I like to appreciate these things from inside my apartment with my heater on.

Norman Love Chocolates #6: Mango

Mango is one of those fruits that I can't get enough of in the summer. I especially enjoy Champagne mangos, which have a creamy texture and sweeter flesh than regular mangos--they taste sort of like a Bellini. However, in the winter, I crave other fruits and if I eat a mango, it just doesn't taste the same. I know it's the wrong season, but it's not so much a taste issue as it is an issue of context--just like eating a pumpkin pie in June.

The inside was very fruity, pretty faithful to what a can of mango puree tastes like. It was very sweet, and I'm not sure if it's because of the whole eating-a-mango-in-winter issue that I have, but it started to tasted a little artificial. Sort of like how eating a strawberry candy compares to eating an actual strawberry. I'm sure it's just me, however--with the quality of these chocolates I can't imagine them using anything other than mango puree to make this truffle. I would rather try this again when it's hot out.

Norman Love Chocolates #5: Espresso Truffle

My strategy for testing these chocolates has been to just go in order of how they are in the box. I haven't really looked too hard at the other chocolates because I want to be surprised at what's coming next. Like many fine boxes of chocolates I've received, this one comes with a nice little brochure that explains what each confection is, and of course there are more varieties than what's in my box. I don't want to be disappointed that my favorite flavor isn't in there (among the best sounding are: Peanut Butter Banana, Sweet Tea, and Pistachio Cherry), so I haven't really inventoried what I've received.

I mention my strategy because the Espresso Truffle is not something that I would normally try first. I drink a lot of coffee at work, mostly to stay awake and cheerful, but I don't really drink it for pleasure (with the exception of Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha--even Andy likes that one). In fact, I started drinking espresso a couple years ago so I could just take a couple shots and be up and ready to go in the mornings (I've since leveled off my caffeine addiction).

Upon cracking open this chocolate, I could immediately smell the espresso. This is no small fact--I am usually congested and don't have a sensitive nose to begin with, so I was really surprised that I could smell this chocolate from at least a foot away.

The bitterness of the dark chocolate perfectly blended with the sweet espresso truffle inside. I hesitate to call it creamy, because while the texture was divine, there was definitely no cream in this coffee. In fact, it reminded me of the time I made espresso (using a moka pot--a stovetop espresso maker used all over italy). According to that website, the Neapolitan way to prepare espresso (after brewing) is to add sugar, no cream. So you end up with a very sweet, very strong drink. (Espresso machines are so expensive and you can make a drink just as good with a decent $20 moka pot, so if you're in the market, you should try that out.)

It was a good chocolate, especially for an after-dinner treat, washed down with a little milk, and maybe a tiny wedge of Tiramisu.

Norman Love Chocolates #4: Cookies 'n' Cream

This chocolate, which resembles a Snowy Plover egg, is Cookies 'n' Cream, which is a recent flavor combination (dating back around the early 1980's according to Wikipedia) based on blending chocolate cookies and sweet cream ice cream.

I was at McDonald's the other day (hey, I can't just live off of expensive chocolates) and I got an Oreo McFlurry and I absolutely loved it. (Of course, I'm trying to eat better, but no fruit can cure a sweets craving.) I'm more of a fan of cream with a little bit of cookie. Will this chocolate measure up to my impossibly high standards?

If you look closely at the filling, you can see specks of darkness. I really appreciate the level of detail Norman Love puts into their chocolates. The outside is a work of art (even with tiny paint speckles!) and the inside is just as beautiful. The specks themselves are not crunchy, the truffle has a creamy consistency throughout, so I'm not sure if the specks are pieces of very moist cookie or just marbled in.

The actual taste was good, definitely a delicious chocolate, but I didn't really get the cookies 'n' cream aspect of it. When I first tasted it, I definitely could taste the chocolate cookie with a subtle sweet cream background, but I found that if I didn't think about the flavor, the truffle just tasted like plain milk chocolate. I am a dark chocolate person, so that was a little off-putting, but bear in mind that this chocolate is still miles ahead of non-Norman Love chocolates. It's a little like being disappointed because you only won the $25 million lottery instead of the $100 million lottery.

Norman Love Chocolates #3: Key Lime Shell

This cutely-airbrushed tropical shell intrigued me, and I was happy to find out that this would be the Key Lime chocolate. I don't enjoy too many tart desserts with the exception of Key Lime Pie, which I'll eat until my tongue gets chemical burns. In fact, if you're ever down in Charleston, SC, you should check out Kaminsky's dessert restaurant and get a piece of their Key Lime Pie and a cold beer--there's nothing better. I haven't been to the Florida Keys and had an actual authentic piece of pie, but I'm sure this comes close. Or, make one yourself--I prefer this recipe because it's so simple and I think that baking it instead of setting it in the fridge gives it a more golden flavor.

Even though I love Key Lime Pie, after eating the overwhelmingly white chocolate New York Cheesecake chocolate, I wasn't too thrilled that this chocolate also had a white shell. But then again, someone has to eat it, so I'm prepared to suffer for my dessert.

I was pleased that the inside was a creamy color, like a real Key Lime Pie. (You can usually tell if a Key Lime Pie recipe is bad when it calls for the addition of green food coloring.) There is nothing extraordinary about the description for this chocolate, just that it's made with "fresh key lime juice for a feeling of Florida sunshine".

The chocolate itself was delicious--tangy and tart, just like the pie, and no white chocolate aftertaste! I think the tartness of the filling actually overwhelmed the white shell taste, which was a pleasant surprise for me. Also, I detected a hint of graham cracker crust, and my husband confirmed this. I would definitely eat this one again. Well, at least if I didn't have to order an expensive box of chocolates again just to get it.

Norman Love Chocolates #2: New York Cheesecake

The latest chocolate to try from Norman Love is the New York Cheesecake. Interesting fact: New York-style cheesecake is actually just plain baked cheesecake that uses heavy cream in addition to the cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks, and sugar. Sometimes cottage cheese and lemon is added to tweak the consistency, which makes sense because all of the New York-style cheesecakes I've had seem to have a fine curd-like consistency in the middle (yum). I happen to be a cheesecake lover, but I didn't know if I would like it in chocolate truffle form. But since I'm a scientist, I have to give in to the risks of self-experimentation (clearly this is too dangerous to give to strangers) and eat the chocolate myself.

The description notes that this chocolate is "New York-style cheesecake folded into white chocolate ganache" and the shell is also white chocolate. The inside is creamy (the consistency of unbaked cheesecake), and if I didn't know what I was biting into before I ate this chocolate, I would definitely be able to tell it was cheesecake. However, once the cheesecake flavor was gone, I was left with a finishing note of white chocolate, which I didn't enjoy. Of course, I'm not a white chocolate person, so if that's your thing you would probably enjoy this chocolate more than I did. My husband's review was "Hm, pretty good!"

Overall I wouldn't eat this particular chocolate again, but of course everyone needs a reject pile they can give away under the guise of sharing, right?