Candy Review: Chocolate from LØVE Chocolate

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - by Brian

I always like to review candies from “the little guy” and this chocolate comes from LØVE Chocolate (LØVE is the Danish word for lion, FYI), a small chocolatier based right here in NC. I got an email from Leslie, the Executive Chef and Owner asking if I’d like to give their chocolates a try. Of course, I said yes. Who can say no to chocolate?

I received a small box of chocolates containing six different flavors. The box itself was a nice chocolate brown with the LØVE Chocolate logo in blue on the top. The first thing I noticed about the chocolates themselves was how beautiful they looked. Some have white stripes, some have white dots, etc. Very well done and very classy.

Lime Cream: I was expecting an overwhelming lime taste – like a key lime pie, but the lime taste is much more subtle, which I prefer. The chocolate is dark and it’s about a 50/50 ratio of cream to chocolate. The chocolate is quite good and I really like the higher percentage of chocolate.

Vanilla Buttercream: Wrapped in a lighter milk chocolate, the Vanilla Buttercream had visible bits of vanilla bean in it. The flavor was kind of plain though, and didn’t really hit me with the vanilla taste I was expecting. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t have the vanilla kick I had hoped for. However, the milk chocolate was very good and overall the flavor was good.

Coconut Cream: Surrounded by dark chocolate, the coconut center is quite fluid and has a big alcohol flavor at first bite (not that I’m complaining). It has nice big coconut flakes in it, which is really good if you like coconut (and if you don’t, a coconut candy isn’t for you anyway).

Pink Peppercorn Caramel: The caramel in this was very liquid – even pourable. I didn’t really taste much pepper flavor – it was there hanging out in the background, but it was just barely discernible. The chocolate and caramel was very good, but maybe it should just be called a chocolate caramel, or the peppercorn ratio should be increased.

Sea Salt Caramel: I know Sea Salt on chocolate is all the rage nowadays, but it just doesn’t work for me. The salt overpowers it and it’s all I can taste – it just seems like the salt is ruining perfectly good chocolate. The Sea Salt Caramel is a bite-sized slab of caramel, coated in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt on top. The caramel is a good consistency – it reminds me of a good Turtle. Overall, it’s very good, but I had to wipe off the salt on the second one to enjoy it.

Chile Caramel: This one is much like the Sea Salt Caramel, and again I just don’t like the salt on this. It just makes the whole thing too salty for me. The caramel’s consistency is between a hard caramel and a liquid caramel and is a bit chewier than the Sea Salt Caramel. As for the chile – this one packs quite a nice spicy kick and I might have really enjoyed this one if it weren’t for the salt.

The interesting thing about LØVE Chocolate is that Leslie is working on the recipes all the time, perfecting them and coming up with new flavors. Other chocolates they sell: squares of solid 62% cacao chocolate, hand rolled milk chocolate truffles, Earl Grey Truffles, Banana Cream Pie Chocolates, Mint Mojito Chocolates, Olive Oil Truffle, and Peanut Butter Truffles. They also have a chocolate of the month club and can do weddings and corporate gifts.

You can find all of their chocolates at http://eatlovechocolate.com

chocolate, gourmet