Forget mass-produced candies. When you bite into Vosges Haut-Chocolat, you enter a world of imagination, passion, and flavors so shockingly good you‘ll never see chocolate the same way again.
Since 1998, chocolatier Katrina Markoff has been dazzling tastebuds with exotic ingredients that delight and surprise. Her globally-inspired truffles, chocolate bars and special creations showcase premium chocolate at its creative best. I decided to put Vosges to the test to see if it lives up to its artisanal hype.
In this in-depth Vosges review, I‘ll highlight the brand‘s standout products, dive into the unexpectedly delightful (and some polarizing) flavors, share insider ratings and testimonials, offer my chocolate lover‘s take, and discuss some shortcomings for a balanced perspective. Let‘s indulge!
About Vosges Haut-Chocolat: Rebelling Against the Mundane
After training under acclaimed chefs like Ferran Adrià, Katrina Markoff launched Vosges from her tiny Chicago kitchen in 1998 to massive success. Her driving vision? Craft chocolate that captures a sense of place, memory and imagination through unexpected flavors.
It‘s a multi-sensory experience meant to transport you. Each truffle tells a story through premium chocolate and radically creative ingredients. We‘re talking ghost chile, pink peppercorn, matcha, sweet curry…not your typical chocolate flavor profile.
Vosges sources cacao beans from exclusive farms to make their own proprietary chocolate base for fillings and coatings. Then Katrina adds adventurous spices, herbs, spirits and other accent ingredients. With flavor inspiration from her global travels, she transforms chocolate from everyday indulgence into an unexpected sensory adventure.
Now sold nationally and online, the brand expands palates with exotic bars, truffle collections, wellness items and special editions that seduce your senses and spark wonder.
I ordered an assortment of Vosges best-sellers to taste the magic for myself.
Vosges Most Popular Chocolates Reviews
With unique collections constantly launching, Vosges has no shortage of tempting chocolate. I decided to try the exotic truffles, chocolate bars and special editions most praised by fans to gauge quality. Here‘s a close look at my favorites.
Exotic Truffle Collection – Round The World in 16 Bites
Vosges 16-piece Exotic Truffle Collection delivers a global tour of unexpected flavors in just one box. With a handwritten booklet as your guide, each ornately-decorated truffle reveals a new taste discovery. I loved guessing the flavors and ingredients before checking my cue cards!
Of the 16 exotic options, the Mango Ginger Dark Chocolate Truffle ended up my easy favorite. Tart dried mango harmonizes exquisitely with candied ginger and 65% dark chocolate for the perfect sweet heat balance. Every flavor pops beautifully.
The Middle Eastern-inspired Za‘atar Truffle coated in 60% dark chocolate holds a phenomenally savory secret inside its dark cocoa shell – a goat cheese ganache with za‘atar spice! This one elicits very strong reactions due to its herby, floral notes but I adored it. So unexpected yet delightful.
However the true shocker was the audacious Ghost Chile Truffle. Featuring one of the world‘s hottest peppers inside 60% bittersweet chocolate, I braced for fire…and got passionfruit caramel?! Never has my tongue been so surprised in the best possible way. Sweet, then spicy heat! Masterfully played, Vosges.
With global flavors from Mexico (ancho chili) to India (coconut curry) and beyond, it‘s a joyous round-the-world chocolate tour for $52.
Quality Takeaway: Vosges‘ Exotic Truffle Collection overdelivers on globally inspired flavors with premium chocolate, surprising taste combinations and adventurous ingredients. Worth the price for the experience! My only critique is wanting more of my few favorites per box.
Mini Exotic Chocolate Bar Library – Big Bold Flavors
Vosges Bars may be mini but their flavors are maxi. This set I tried provides a sampler of their wildly unique sweet-savory-spicy flavor bars to convert chocolate traditionalists.
The Mo‘s Bacon Bar seduced me with smoky bacon scent before I even unwrapped. The bacon candy pieces inside 70% dark chocolate make for ultimate sweet-salty seduction!
Bananas Foster presents a boozy banana bonanza with rum-infused milk chocolate and oozing banana ganache. An instant tropical vacation.
However Red Fire Exotic Bar packed the biggest wallop with ancho chili pepper, tamari caramel and mysterious popping candy to literally make your mouth snap, crackle and pop! So gimmicky but I loved it.
At just $28 for this 8-piece library, it‘s a steal for chocolate thrill-seekers. You haven‘t lived until you‘ve experienced bacon candy chocolate. 🥓 🍫
Quality Takeaway: From bacon to spice and banana, Vosges‘ exotic bars showcase how chocolate can shock, delight and seduce your tastebuds in under one ounce. Great bang for your buck! My only critique is wanting fuller sizes of my top picks.
Rohan the Regal Rabbit – Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Bunny
If your spring isn‘t complete without a chocolate bunny, meet Rohan. This beautifully molded regal rabbit will convince you to ditch basic Easter candy forever.
Crispy hazelnut crepe pieces provide scrumptious crunch to contrast the creamy 45% milk chocolate, while Italian Piedmont hazelnuts make for high pedigree flavor. At 1 foot tall and over a pound, it feels wonderfully substantial and indulgent.
Biting off Rohan‘s chocolate ears and arms may spark some primal guilt but the quality quickly overrides that! Well worth the $68 splurge as a seasonal centerpiece or gift that keeps on giving. Just hide him well from the kids!
Quality Takeaway: Rohan sets a new standard for gourmet Easter chocolate with perfectly molded details, premium Italian hazelnuts and delectable milk chocolate. The only thing "basic" here is his adorable little cotton tail! Worth every penny for holiday magic.
Matcha Green Tea Dark Chocolate Wellness Bar
Vosges‘ Super Dark Chocolate Wellness Bar series takes premium chocolate beyond just indulgence into the realm of function. That‘s right – chocolate with intended health benefits!
The Matcha Green Tea and Spirulina bar provides a mega dose of antioxidants via Japanese ceremonial green tea powder and nutrient-dense spirulina algae. But does it taste good?
The 72% cacao dark chocolate base provides decadent bittersweet flavor while matcha lends its characteristic verdant, nutty aroma. Spirulina‘s mild earthiness blends harmoniously. With simple, clean ingredients it makes for a delightful wellness chocolate that feels as therapeutic for the soul as it may be for the body.
At $10 per 3 oz bar, it‘s very reasonably priced for the impressive quality and standout health properties. A tasty way to get in your greens!
Quality Takeaway: Vosges‘ 72% Dark Chocolate Matcha Wellness Bar delivers superfood nutrition and antioxidant power through premium Japanese matcha green tea and spirulina, wrapped in decadent bittersweet chocolate. At $10 it‘s a tasty wellness deal!
My only critique is wishing for a stronger matcha flavor since I love its signature vegetal, nutty quality. But for wellness chocolate it hits all high marks.
What Do Vosges Chocolate Reviews Say?
I dove into reviews across various sites to gauge real customer satisfaction. Here‘s what I found…
On the Vosges site itself, nearly all of its chocolate lines average between 4.5 – 5 stars which signals some obvious bias. However the consistent praise of flavor quality confirms my own delicious findings! My truffles matched their descriptions perfectly.
- Exotic Truffle Collection – 4.9 stars (Facebook), 4.8 stars (Site) – Fans rave about tasty exotic combinations
- Rohan Chocolate Bunny – 5 stars (Facebook), 5 stars (Site) – Called the ultimate gourmet Easter treat!
- Matcha Dark Bar – 4.8 stars (Facebook), 4.7 stars (Site) – Reviewers love the antioxidant boost
Expanding to less biased sources, on Amazon Vosges also averages mostly 5 stars but has a few more critiques mixed in about shipping and pricing.
- Black Truffle Collection – 4.1 out of 5 stars (Amazon), Praised as delicious but expensive
- Mo‘s Bacon Bar – 4.5 out of 5 stars (Amazon), Called smoky, salty perfection
Specialty food sites like The Spruce Eats and Food & Wine Magazine fawn over Vosges‘ unique flavor adventures that make chocolate experiential.
So I give their customer love and prestige media acclaim an overall thumbs up. The brand clearly has a loyal fan base grateful for chocolate that finally goes there with convention-defying flavors.
My Critical Chocolate Lover‘s Take
As someone who grew up on Hershey‘s chocolate, I‘ll admit the exotic ingredient labels seemed intimidating at first! Wasabi dark chocolate truffle? But I‘m so glad I broadened my palate.
Vosges‘ passion for imagination completely modernizes chocolate‘s possibilities. The Exotic Truffle Collection utterly transported me on a global flavor tour capped by ghost chile‘s passionfruit fake-out. Still reeling! 🥭🌶️
Rohan proved giant gourmet bunnies can appeal to adults just as much kids. And Vosges‘ unique bars like bacon and tamari caramel opened my eyes to sweet-savory allure. Their smooth signature chocolate base never overwhelms those wacky fillings but perfectly balances.
My only critiques after extensive chocolate "research" would be:
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Truffle fillings often get small: With exotic truffles I wanted even more of those lush superfood ganaches! Centers feel petite compared to the thick chocolate shells.
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Why so little of my faves?: I wish Vosges would allow custom assortments for gift boxes. Only 2 mango ginger truffles out of 16 simply won‘t do!
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Make more medicinal magic: More wellness bars please! Vosges has mastered decadent flavor in functional chocolate. The matcha green tea and spirulina concept packs an antioxidant wallop. I‘d love to see more superfood infusion like turmeric, reishi and ashwagandha for therapeutic deliciousness.
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Not as digestible for chocolate newbies: Some of the intensely exotic truffles could polarize or overwhelm those not used to adventurous ingredients. Perhaps offer a "chocolate 101" box for beginners alongside the hardcore stuff!
But those are just wishes more than complaints. For premium chocolate thrills, I happily give my Vosges stamp of approval! 😋
Who Would Love Vosges Chocolate?
Obviously I recommend Vosges first and foremost to the chocolate obsessed. Consider it gourmet chocolate on psychedelics! The flavor shock and delight factors open up literally endless possibilities.
Its global inspirations also appeal tremendously to voyager spirits who collect rich experiences. Vosges translates that wanderlust into chocolate.
Don‘t overlook their selection for gift-giving either. Foodies, adventurers and novelty-seekers alike will all appreciate receiving this upscale chocolate that colors outside the lines.
Vosges Chocolate Promotions: Rewards Program & More
While known as a luxury brand, Vosges sweetens the deal with regular promotions to offset the premium price tag.
Sign up for their free Rewards Program simply by creating an account. You earn $1 rewards cash for every $1 spent to redeem later! Doesn‘t take long for perks to add up.
Vosges also offers tiered free shipping minimums and runs monthly Special Offers like gifting package deals around major chocolate holidays.
So despite its elevated status, Vosges still wants to spur chocolate joy for broader audiences through discounts.
The Final Veredict: A Delicious Dimension Beyond Ordinary
What started 20 years ago as a rebellious chocolate upstart has blossomed into America‘s daring darling of cacao. Vosges Haut-Chocolate delivers unconventional worldly flavors through premium sourcing and fearless ingredients that open up chocolate‘s possibilities far beyond sweet and milky.
While its exotic side may prove polarizing, true flavor trailblazers will find endless inspiration in Vosges chocolate collections. Beyond palate-pleasing, it champion‘s imagination itself as the ultimate ingredient. Vosges brings chocolate into orbit as a transcendent, emotionally-resonant experience. One box holds countless journeys – if you dare!
