Norman Love Chocolates

Norman Love Chocolates - received July 17, 2019

My old college roommate, Caroline, always gets credit every year for introducing me to some kind of confectioner or bakery or cupcakery I'd never heard of but will always enjoy when she sends me a birthday gift from said place.

This year's gift was a box of chocolates from Norman Love Chocolates. I'd never heard of Norman Love but I'm always willing to find out about new confectioners or chocolatiers, especially artisan chocolate makers, which Norman Love is. From his website, it says he's based out of Florida, has been making chocolates since 2001 and, since 2006, has been voted 6 times as the best premium chocolate company in the United States. Wow.

Upon opening the box, it reminded me of Christopher Elbow Chocolates, also another artisanal chocolatier who makes equally beautiful chocolates.

As expected, the packaging was classy and came beautifully preserved in a FedEx box lined with gel cold packs so that the chocolates nicely survived being shipped in the hot temps of summer. Seriously, opening the package showed the chocolates arrived as well as if I'd picked them up from an air-conditioned retail shop.

The flavors are also amazing and varied, as one would expect from an artisanal chocolatier. I've included the names and descriptions to match the pictures in case that tempts anyone to get their own box from Norman Love Chocolates:

From top row, left to right

• New York Cheesecake: white chocolate and fresh-baked cheesecake
• Tahitian Caramel: (milk chocolate) buttery golden caramel and lots of vanilla
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: (milk chocolate) tart strawberry jam and creamy peanut butter

Bottom row, left to right:

• Hot Dark Chocolate: Silky dark ganache with jalapeno pepper
• Passion Panna Cotta: (white chocolate) buttermilk ganache with passion fruit jam
• Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle: Venezuelan Criollo beans mixed with cream

Top, left to right

• Shot in the Dark Coffee Truffle: espresso, coffee-infused cream and dark chocolate
• Dulce de Leche: (milk chocolate) dulce de leche and caramelized white chocolate
• Sicilian Pistachio: (milk chocolate) pistachios blended with white chocolate

Bottom, left to right

• Strawberry (white chocolate): ripe strawberries in white chocolate
• 80% Coeur de Guanaja: intense dark chocolate ganache
• Yuzu Mango: Yuzu jam, mango and white chocolate

Left to right

• Key Lime Shell (white chocolate): tart and sweet Key Lime pie ganache
• Raspberry: tart raspberry and dark chocolate
• Hazelnut Praline Truffle: (milk chocolate) crunchy caramelized hazelnut praline

It's times like these where I wish I had a more sophisticated palate. I don't think mine has evolved enough to fully appreciate all of these delicate and creative flavors. Which is what artisanal chocolate is all about! But I can tell you the ones I did eat were amazing. Case in point, the Hazelnut Praline Truffle pictured below. Delicious. Thank goodness it was small and there was only one in the box.

What about the weight loss challenge, you ask? Not to worry, I worked them into my daily calories and still stayed within my goal. It helps to also go running that morning and burn those calories in advance. And it's kinda hilarious that according to the My Fitness Pal app, if I had eaten 3 in a day (I didn't), I would've finally hit the fat % goal on my macros.

In the interests of self-preservation, I also shared with family and friends so I could spread the calories love around.