Sugar Savvy

Lula’s Chocolates recently sent over a sample of their California Almond Toffee.  The description of the toffee on the company’s website indicates that the almonds are roasted, but they don’t seem to bear the full-bodied flavor that I associate with a toasted nut. (Wait, is there a difference between “roasted” and “toasted?” If so, I want to know.)

The toffee is available in both milk and dark chocolate-covered varieties; the chunk I sampled was milk chocolate. Okay, I suppose this is a matter of opinion, but dark chocolate would have provided a much nicer contrast against the sweetness of the toffee. Full disclosure: I never eat milk chocolate by choice and in all situations and contexts would rather eat dark.  Still, I found the chocolate surrounding the toffee to be only mediocre, even slightly waxy. It was difficult to tell if the staleness I was tasting came from the nuts or the chocolate itself.  Either way, I found myself scraping it off of the slab, deeming it “not worth the caloric footprint.”  Rosa Li’s review of Lula’s Aloha Rocky Road  holds this chocolate in a much more favorable light.

Once I shed the less-than-satisfactory chocolate and nut coating, however, I uncovered a pretty nice chunk of toffee.  As you can see in the photo, the slabs are thick and dense; they have good heft and yield nicely to the tooth. The texture is much more resilient than peanut brittle, but not quite as buttery/crumbly as some other homemade or artisan toffees out there. I’d put it on par, texture-wise, with Almond Roca. Unlike Almond Roca, however, I was pleased to see the ingredients on the toffee listing nothing that I wouldn’t find in my own kitchen.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve had much more compelling toffee than this, and for $24/lb (ouch!), you can certainly do much better. Enstrom’s Toffee of Colorado, for example, might be one of the best things (candy or otherwise) that I have ever put in my mouth, and it will set you back only $16.95/lb. Enstrom’s is, literally, compelling. It is the candy version of a giant pile of crack cocaine. Not that I know what a giant pile of crack cocaine even looks like, but from what I gather…

Visiting the Lula’s Chocolates website, I was charmed by the company’s back-story. Scott Lund, owner and chocolatier, left his former career at Shell Oil and then another venture as the owner of a chain of coin laundries in order to learn the art of confectionary from his grandmother, Lula Lund. Lula had built a successful chocolate and candy company in Salt Lake City, known as Mrs. Lund’s Personality Chocolates. Before passing away at age 99, Lula imparted her expertise on to her grandson, Scott, who then migrated with his family to the more chocolate-friendly climate of Monterey/Carmel California to begin Lula’s Chocolates with longtime friend and MBA classmate, Aaron Davidson. You can read the full story here.

After becoming more familiar with the history of Lula’s, I am interested to taste some of their offerings beyond the toffee. I was unable to see any specific flavors of chocolates on the site, as they are listed simply as ‘assorted chocolates and crèmes,” so I guess I would be forced to take a chance and accept a grab-bag variety, crossing my fingers for no cherry cordials. Regardless, any company with such a pedigree deserves further investigation, and I applaud Mr. Lund for following his passion and carrying on his family’s legacy.

Photo courtesy of Lula’s Chocolates website.