Chocolate Inspirations Review

By Elizabeth LaBau, About.com Guide

 Despite what the name might have you believe, Chocolate Inspirations offers much more than simple chocolates. This Illinois-based company offers a wide line of toffees, brittles, caramels, seasonal chocolates, and nut- and pretzel-based treats for sale online. Recently I had the opportunity to taste samples of their toffees, vegan toffees, and pretzel bites.

Gourmet Pretzel Bites

The gourmet pretzel bites consist of small round pretzels, about the shape and size of garbanzo beans, coated in different flavoring compounds that add texture and crunch. The varieties include some standard flavors like cinnamon sugar and mocha, and also more adventurous tastes like horchata, fiery lime, hot mango, and red and white wine. The coating on the bites includes partially hydrogenated soybean oil, but the labels specify that they have zero grams trans fat, and the wine flavors do not contain alcohol.

Pretzels aren't my favorite snack, so my initial expectations for the pretzel bites were fairly low. However, to my surprise I liked most of the pretzel bite flavors, and found several to be downright addicting. My favorite by far was the fiery lime. It had a lovely tangy lime flavor that was assertive but not sour. Its slight sweetness balanced well with the salty pretzel, and the spiciness hit afterward. The combination of sweet, salty, and spicy is the perfect blend for a one-bite snack and really fits in with the idea of a "gourmet pretzel" as a whole. Similarly, I thought the hot mango flavor was also delicious. The fruit flavor seemed more artificial and closer to candy than fruit, but--assuming you like mango-flavored candy--it had a nice sweetness and a real spicy kick. This one seemed hotter than the fiery lime, and while I enjoyed the heat, I imagine that it wouldn't suit people with sensitivity to spicy foods. The horchata flavor, based on the popular milky rice beverage, was sweetly spiced with mild notes of vanilla and cinnamon. I didn't think the red and white wine varieties worked as well. The combination of wine flavors and salty pretzels seemed incongruous and, although the red wine flavor was very subtle, the white wine taste was overpowering.

Toffees

The English toffee from Chocolate Inspirations is generously coated with milk chocolate and covered with crushed pecans on both sides. One of the most notable aspects of the toffee was how thin it actually was: while the slab of toffee was close to a ½" thick, most of that seemed to be chocolate and nuts. The toffee itself was quite thin, at most points between 1/8-1/4" thick. I actually enjoyed this ratio, because I like my toffee with a hefty dose of chocolate and nuts, but it did make it difficult to taste the toffee on its own, and for those who are toffee purists, they might wish for more toffee in the center. The toffee itself has a great crunch and a nice smooth buttery flavor. For my personal taste I would have liked a bit more salt and perhaps a darker chocolate so it's not quite so sweet, but we did still inhale this toffee at our house.

I also tried the Cinnamon Toast toffee, which is a cinnamon-infused toffee coated with milk chocolate and sprinkled with large-grained sugar crystals. Cinnamon is one of my favorite candy additives, so I loved this flavor combination, and I thought the sugar crystals gave the toffee an unusual but deliciously crunchy texture. Unfortunately, with the sweet toffee, the milk chocolate, and then the sugar crystals on the outside, the toffee was quite sweet and I found myself, again, wishing for salt or a more bitter chocolate to cut the sweetness. This did, however, have the unexpected result of helping with portion control, and I think that those with a strong sweet tooth would enjoy this unusual take on toffee.

Vegan Toffees

I'm not vegan myself, but I have a number of vegan friends, and I know that it can sometimes be a struggle to find quality vegan treats, so I appreciate that Chocolate Inspirations has adapted a number of their recipes to be vegan-friendly. Among the vegan offerings are vegan toffees, nut brittles, chocolate-covered nuts, and caramel cups.

My favorite vegan treat was the vegan English toffee. The toffee itself has coconut milk and coconut oil in place of the traditional butter, and it's coated in dark chocolate and chopped pecans. The thick coating of nuts on both sides of the toffee provided great texture and flavor, and really elevated this toffee from the realm of "good because it's vegan" to good in its own right. Although I might stick with regular toffee for myself, I wouldn't hesitate to give this as a gift to vegan friends.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, pleas

Chocolate Inspirations: amazing Chicago area vegan confections

February 25, 2:13 PM Chicago Vegan Restaurants Examiner Marla Rose

Well, the product itself did not disappoint. The toffee had the unmistakable buttery crunch - oh my, the buttery crunch! - that I remembered from my pre-vegan days without being cloyingly sweet, and it was surrounded by dark chocolate and dusted with soft, toasted pecans. A total success and it's made with more wholesome ingredients than one might imagine - coconut milk, for example, and organic coconut oil. A family-run business based in Roselle, IL., Chocolate Inspirations also produces non-vegan items, but owner-chocolatier Pam Vieau became interested in starting a vegan line of products when she was asked during a store demo if she had anything without animal products. (See? It always helps to ask because you never know what might happen.) That got Pam thinking. After several months and many long hours dedicated to it, Pam came up with some recipes that satisfied her from her background as a culinary artist and professional. This toffee is not just good as a vegan product: it stands on it's own as simply great English toffee. She said the response has been wonderful. Local vegan food professionals have helped Pam to source non-bone char processed sugar and other ingredients, and the community of sweet-loving vegans who love hand-crafted products has been very positive and supportive as well. I wish that other food producers could know how loyal and dedicated the vegan demographic is when you just show us a little love. Selling at $5.00 for a 1/4 pound of artisan English toffee is not a bad deal, either.

In addition to the English toffee, Chocolate Inspirations also sells the following items under their Vegan Gourmet label: Cashew Brittle, Cinnamon Sugared Pecans, Cinnamon Toast Toffee (the only other item I've tried, but it was just a tiny, delicious corner as my son refused to share), Cocoa Pecans, Coconut Brittle (a very popular item, according to Pam), Coffee Toffee, as well as well as their Caramel Cups, Caramel Nut Cups and Fudge Sensation Bars. You can indulge your vegan treat habit by purchasing at the Chocolate Inspirations website, or supporting community shops, like West Town's Green Grocer Chicago, A Natural Harvest in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, Chicago's Downtown Farmstand (a great little gem near the Art Institute), the  South Loop's Whole Foods Market. Chocolate Inspirations Vegan Gourmet line can also be purchased at Vegan Essentials and Pangea. Pam is very excited about her vegan line and expecting to expand it for the summer months to include less meltable (and, thus, more affordable to ship) items, like her upcoming Twice-Baked Pretzel Ball line in an amazing array of flavors.

On September 8th 2010 our owner & resident chocolatier Pam Vieau was interviewd by Laura Theordore  "The Jazzy Vegetarian" click on link below to listen to the interview

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-jazzy-vegetarian/2010/09/08pam-vieau-shares-chocolate-inspirations

Healthy Voyager Video Review

http://healthyvoyager.com/2.0/2010/08/09/chocolate-inspirations/ 

August 9, 2010 By HealthyVoyager

OMG! Yeah, I have been reduced to text language because I’m officially in a candy
coma ; ) When my package filled with vegan Chocolate Inspirations deliciousness, I felt like
I had just entered the Wonka factory!
Not only are their chocolate treats outrageous, they ship nationwide and have got everything from:

• Toffee
• Brittle
• Candy Bark
• Gourmet Pretzel Bites      And so much more!

Chocolate Inspirations Cinnamon Toast Toffee Voted Best Father’s Day Gifts 2009 -