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chocolate store
at Wed, 11 Feb 2004 15:04:42 GMT in
>, (Stuart S.
Berr) wrote :
>How would you rate Guittard? "Premium consumer", "high-end", or
>"elite"?
Premium Consumer. I want to emphasize again, that the groupings I mentioned
don't bear a direct relationship to the quality of the chocolate produced.
Rather, they have to do with market position. In addition, everybody has
their own taste, which will make some brands seem better, some worse in
their eyes.
Guittard has 2 distinct lines, the "regular" Guittard line and the
"Selection Etienne" The "Etienne" line has a decidedly higher-end position.
In my own tastings, I found the *overall* quality to be basically similar,
but the flavour profile to be different. The regular series aims for a more
balanced, simpler "chocolatey" flavour. Meanwhile, the Etienne has much
more complex flavours where one can discern individual fruity, or spicy, or
tobacco, or floral notes. The Etienne collection are also conched for
considerably longer, so they are smoother, and the finish is better. Snap
is much improved. But the regular series have an unusually well-balanced
purity of chocolate flavour, without anything harsh or insipid. Both lines
feature among their products chocolates that I would consider to be among
the best in the world, regardless of price or market position. In fairness,
however, I will point out that they both also include other chocolates that
at best are only average to fair.
This kind of spread is typical. It's extremely rare for a producer to have
consistently great chocolate across their entire line.
--
Alex Rast
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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