Gourmet Chocolate Love

This Mother’s Day, Norman Love Confections has created a line of chocolates that will make the day even more memorable.

The 2013 Mother’s Day collection, featuring eight heart-shaped flavors, includes dark chocolate peanut butter, mint tea, black and white cookie, roasted macadamia, caramel pecan turtle, chocolate dipped strawberry, Mayan chocolate and coffee caramel.

The artisan-designed Mother’s Day flavors are included in every green signature gift box along with an assortment of 36 signature flavors, now through May 12.

This year, NLC has created a special, limited edition all-hearts gift box. This select gift of Love includes all eight flavors from the 2013 Mother’s Day collection as well as two heart confections from the signature collection of flavors for $23 (plus tax and, if applicable, shipping).

The eight special heart-shaped chocolates in limited edition flavors that Mom will simply LOVE include:

Black and White Cookie

The temptation of freshly baked almond cookies, which are blended into a buttery vanilla ganache and held within a thin layer of Swiss white chocolate, is so powerful you will immediately want more.

Caramel Pecan Turtle

Complete indulgence, worthy of Mom’s private stash, this vanilla caramel and candied pecan ganache is sprinkled with a touch of cinnamon and enrobed in milk chocolate.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry

This special occasion treat is dipped in dark chocolate and bursting with the flavor of ripe strawberries in every dainty bite, worthy of being served to you on a silver platter.

Coffee Caramel

Immerse yourself in some quiet “ME” time and savor the taste of this luscious coffee caramel ganache wrapped in a smooth milk chocolate shell.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

Classic and perfect, just like Mom, creamy peanut butter and decadent dark chocolate swirled together to make you smile with each bite.

Mayan Chocolate

Like the true elixir of the Mayan gods, this rich dark Venezuelan ganache is gently stirred with a touch of chipotle for an enchanting effect that will leave you feeling like a queen.

Mint Tea

As delicate and refreshing as a sip of freshly brewed mint tea, this sweet and creamy white chocolate confection entices you to slow down and savor the moment on even the most hectic of days.

Roasted Macadamia

Be swept away by the flavors of exquisitely roasted Hawaiian Macadamia nuts blended into a creamy white chocolate ganache, a perfect vacation in a thin white chocolate shell.

We’ve shared medical research that suggests chocolate could be healthy for the heart, and we’ve even heard it could help lower a person’s body mass index (BMI), but now Swiss researchers have discovered that chocolate might lower the risk of stroke in men. Thank you to ABC News Medical Unit for sharing this story: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/08/29/chocolate-may-help-men-dodge-strokes-too/.

Those wonderful flavanoids that are so prevalent in dark chocolate may be the reason men who consumed more chocolate had fewer strokes, according to the article. If you love dark chocolate, try one of our dark chocolate flavors (http://www.normanloveconfections.com/chocolates/darks/) or Norman Love Confections BLACK™ single-origin dark chocolate collection (http://www.normanloveconfections.com/chocolates/black/).

Your chocolate addiction might not necessarily be that bad for your waistline after all. Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine states that “Adults who consumed chocolate more frequently had a lower BMI (body mass index) than those who consumed chocolate less often.”

We’re not sure exactly how true this is in practice, but we couldn’t resist sharing such great news! In all seriousness, dark chocolate with a high cocoa mass, such as that used in the Norman Love Confections BLACK collection, does have various health benefits and is lower in calories than many other desserts. Yet it is just as satisfying.

So what do you really think? Will eating chocolate make you skinny?

The artisan chefs of Norman Love Confections are pleased to announce the introduction of 10 new gourmet confection flavors. Each premium confection is handcrafted using the finest ingredients including quality Swiss chocolate, decadent California honey and fresh fruits and nuts. There’s nothing like new LOVE!

1. California Honey – Simplicity sings in this beautiful golden California honey ganache dipped in Swiss milk chocolate.

2. Hazelnut Praline Truffle – Pure and delicious Hazelnut praline is better than ever in this luscious milk chocolate truffle.

3. Hot Dark Chocolate – This intense dark chocolate confection is infused with jalapeno pepper for a delightfully spicy sweet combination.

4. Mango – Ripe sweet mango provides a taste of paradise, which we enrobe in delicate white chocolate.

 5. Peaches and Cream – Nothing says “summer” like tart fresh peaches drenched in heavy cream and coated in white chocolate.

 6. Peanut Brittle Truffle - The buttery toffee and roasted peanuts that make peanut brittle such an all-time favorite are blended into a creamy milk chocolate truffle.

 7. Peanut Butter Banana – Back by popular demand, this confection is new again, honoring a classic flavor combination with a blend of creamy peanut butter and fresh banana covered in milk chocolate.

 8. Rum Cake – Indulge in a rich buttery dark rum-soaked cake, which we’ve blended into white chocolate ganache and covered with dark chocolate.

 9. Sweet Tea – Fresh brewed black tea and a splash of lemonade covered in white chocolate is a refreshing change from the ordinary.

 10. Tiramisu – Ciao down on creamy vanilla mascarpone and rich espresso ganache enrobed in a dark chocolate shell.

Norman Love Confections offers a total of 36 flavors year-round. In addition to the new flavors described above, the following delectable tastes are making a comeback this year:  66% Venezuelan Dark (formerly known as 70% Complexite), Almond Marzipan, Caramel Apple, Cherry Cordial Truffle, Cinnamon Roll, Coconut Truffle, Cookies ‘N’ Cream, Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle, Espresso Truffle, Florida Orange, Key Lime Shell, Milk Chocolate Truffle, Mint Chocolate Chip, New York Cheesecake, Passion Fruit, Passion Panna-Cotta, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Pistachio Cherry, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tahitian Caramel, Vanilla Cupcake, White Chocolate Raspberry and White Vanilla Truffle.

For more information on these 36 flavors, special collections such as BLACK and S’more Love, Specialty Chocolates and more, visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/.

Wine and chocolate have a lot in common. Many people enjoy tasting and comparing wines from various vintages and growing regions. Now, chocolate connoisseurs have also discovered the importance of the cocoa bean’s origin and quality, and chocolate tastings that are conducted similarly to wine tastings have gained popularity in recent years.

At Norman Love Confections, we hold chocolate tastings occasionally at the Fort Myers, Florida Chocolate Salon, and we find wine is a perfect complement to our gourmet artisan chocolate creations. However, there is an art to selecting a wine and chocolate pairing. A wine can bring out the flavor notes of a fine gourmet chocolate, or it ruin the flavor by turning it bitter or sour to the taste.

Of course, discovering the combinations you enjoy most is the whole point of this activity. We suggest the following tips to help you begin your adventure in wine and chocolate pairing on your own:

The wine should be as sweet or sweeter than the chocolate served with it to avoid a bitter or sour effect.

1. A light, buttery White Chocolate should typically be paired with lighter, sweeter wines such as Sherry or White Zinfandel.
2. Milk Chocolate is usually excellent with Pinot Noir and lighter bodied Merlots, with chocolate accented desserts and mild milk chocolates better complemented by Rieslings and dessert wines.
3. Robust Dark Chocolates, such as those in Norman Love Confections BLACK™ line, are best paired with a Red Zinfandel, and Tawny or Vintage Port is best for dark chocolate desserts and Truffles.
4. If your tasting includes many different types of chocolates, start with the lightest chocolate and progressively work toward darker varieties, ending with dark or bittersweet chocolate.

Visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/ to order a wide selection of fresh handcrafted chocolate creations, from the single-origin dark chocolate collection Norman Love Confections BLACK™ to the 36 different flavored confections available year-round.

Please share your favorite Norman Love Confections chocolate and wine pairings here for others to try!

Two years ago, Norman Love Confections launched BLACK, an ultra-premium line of intensely dark chocolates made with cocoa beans from some of the finest growing regions in the world. Since then, the line has been expanded to include European-style sipping chocolate, in addition to the original five confections, each of which are named for their cocoa of origin. Now that BLACK has a loyal following with new fans joining the ranks with each and every taste, we think connoisseurs would be interested to taking a detailed look at what makes BLACK so special.

The facts about BLACK
BLACK was inspired by the growing demand for dark chocolate. Norman Love Confections’ signature line already included many delicious dark chocolate confections, but BLACK is unique as a pure dark chocolate confection, with no additional flavors to distract the palate from the special character of each chocolate. On Sept. 1, Norman Love Confections will hold a BLACK Tasting, led by an expert artisan, to help aficionados explore and discover the nuances of each origin confection. Here is a summary of what they will experience:

Each of the five confections in the BLACK collection derives its distinct flavor based upon the origin of the cocoa means used in its creation and what percentage of pure cocoa it contains. Just as with single-vineyard wines, the flavor of an origin chocolate depends on a variety of conditions unique to the place in which the cocoa beans used to make it are grown. Here is a detailed description of the five origin chocolates in the BLACK line:

• 74 percent Hacienda Elvesia, an elegant, robust chocolate with notes of black tea and a hint of tobacco made with beans from the Dominican Republic. The processing method produces a fruity note that is sustained by a refreshing hint of orange and a splash of grapefruit.
• 72 percent Arriba, made with cocoa beans of the prized Nacional from Arriba Mocache, Los Rios, Ecuador. This chocolate’s flavor is enhanced by intense coffee and licorice fragrances. A gentle processing technique gives rise to an intense dried plum bouquet and a long finish of flowery black currants.
• 68 percent Cru Sauvage, the world’s first chocolate made from beans harvested from wild cacao trees growing in the Beni region of north-eastern Bolivia. This harmonious chocolate possesses fresh lemon and grapefruit notes, an intense dried plum bouquet, and an exquisite hint of vanilla.
• 65 percent Maracaibo Clasificado, made with noble criollo cocoa from the vicinity of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. This well-balanced chocolate is enhanced by coffee and plum aromas with an undercurrent of orange blossom and cinnamon, possessing a light, sweet raisin bouquet.
• 64 percent Madagascar, made with cocoa beans of the trinitario variety from Sambirano, Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa. This is a fruity chocolate with a roasted hazelnut aroma and wild berry notes as well as a subtle hint of clove and cedar.

Quality in every detail
BLACK features confections made with five signature couvertures (from the French word for ‘cover’). These couvertures are made by the well-respected Swiss supplier Max Felchlin AG, a 100-year-old boutique manufacturer recognized internationally for their high quality cocoa products.

Handcrafted at the Chocolate Salon in Fort Myers, Florida and individually decorated with captivating colors and designs, the BLACK confections are available for purchase in the Chocolate Salon and online at www.normanloveconfections.com in five-piece, 10-piece and 15-piece boxes, as well as in gift baskets. BLACK sipping chocolate is also available for in store and online purchase and is incorporated into beautifully decorated BLACK-themed gift baskets.

“Norman has long been known for high quality work that combines a distinctive style of decoration with classic flavors,” says Clay Gordon, author of the 2008 IACP Cookbook of the Year finalist Discover Chocolate, and moderator of the online community for chocophiles, www.TheChocolateLife.com. “In BLACK, Norman is using everything he has learned about the techniques of making fine confections and focusing his attention to creating pieces that are all about delivering the flavors and textures of the remarkable chocolates he’s using with finesse and maximum impact, if you can imagine such a combination. It is no coincidence that he’s chosen to use Felchlin chocolates for BLACK; I and many others regard the Hacienda Elvesia and Cru Sauvage to be two of the finest chocolates to have been created in the last five years.”

Health benefits of dark chocolate
Chocolate has long been known to soothe the soul but more recently it has also been scientifically proven to help the heart. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants known as flavanols that destroy free radicals, which have been implicated in heart disease. Dark chocolate also contains endorphins, the body’s natural opiates, which provide a feeling of well-being and reduce sensitivity to pain. Another element, the amino acid tryptophan, produces serotonin in the brain, promoting feelings of calm and well-being. And, according to a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure in a way that milk and white chocolates do not.

Due to the high cocoa mass in BLACK confections, it is an excellent source of the ingredient responsible for reported health benefits. Do you agree dark chocolate is good for your health or do you just enjoy the taste? Tell us why you like BLACK. To experience the BLACK line visit: http://www.normanloveconfections.com/store/BLACK-Single-Origin-Chocolate/

Whether your dad is a serious chocolate connoisseur or simply loves sweets…

…a gift from Norman Love Confections is a great way to say “I LOVE you” this Father’s Day.

Our signature gift boxes provide an assortment of dark, milk and white gourmet chocolate confections in quantities of 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 pieces.

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About 2 months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting…

…Anne Schuette, who was born on April 7th, 1905!

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Now here’s a fun and interesting use of our Gourmet Chocolate!

Maura, our Production Manager, worked with Jennifer Hicks (and her staff) of the North Carolina Museum of Art to create a gourmet chocolate version of the Kirchner’s Panama Dancers painting!

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We’re extremely proud to present our 2010 Mother’s Day…

Gourmet Chocolate Collection!

Our Mother’s Day Gifts feature 8 Special Heart Shaped Flavors:

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