Chocolate Shocker!

[pixellle]

...at least, it was shocking to me. I just read that Hershey's, "...in pursuit of high-end consumers...has purchased three premium chocolate companies, Scharffen Berger..., Joseph Schmidt... and Dagoba...." No!!! Scharffen Berger... owned by (shudder!) Hershey's??!! Say it isn't so!

Obviously, my knee-jerk reaction to this is to be appalled. Can I trust that Scharffen Berger will maintain the same high quality? Or will they gradually, slowly, but inevitablbe McDonald-ized into mediocraty? More globally, will every small (comparitively), unique, high-quality outfit be gobbled up by the few megalith giants until a walk down the street in Peking, Jakarta, Tokyo, Paris, etc all seem exactly the same, with Starbucks and McDonald's and The Gap, etc., except maybe for a little area designated as "A Taste of Our Historic Past," a little Disney-fied tourist representation of what used to be that culture's unique gift to the world?

Whoa, sorry, Got off on a rant there. Anyway... What about this chocolate thing?

[ipsedixit]

I think this is actually a good thing.

Artisan chocolatiers cannot survive as independents in this global marketplace; they need financial backing and this is where Hershey's comes in.

Sort of like how Ford owns Jaguar ...

[PseudoNerd]

...but given how the newer Jaguars suck, let's hope corporate-backed "artisan" chocolatiers can maintain their dedication to quality and their own recipes once they try to meet demands by expanding.

At least Dagoba and SB apparently haven't suffered unduly since the buy-out. As for Joseph Schmidt-- well, I never really liked it anyway...

[rubyrocket]

American chocolate can never stand up to Europeon chocolate. I have toured the factories, sampled it from San Fran to Switzerland, and can say that the best chocolate comes from either Belgium or Switzerland, and think Lindt makes the best chocolate I have tasted. If you ever visit Zurich, I would suggest a tour of the Lindt factory, lots of free samples...

[PseudoNerd]

Why not the French? I actually find Belgian and Swiss chocolates to feel too emulsified and taste too sweet (and often too milky).

[justagthing]

seriously, have you tried the new line from Hershey's? they are really good. I use to buy Schroeber and they are imported from Europe, I think it was Belgium. So much better than Godiva (don't really like the stuff). But it was over $50 a lb and the new Cocao line is pretty darn good.

[toodie jane]

....related chocolate news, Ghirardelli has now come out with an additional line of those individually wrapped squares in a large bag. Ghirardelli Intense Dark. Hubby brought them home from Costco. whatta guy.

NOT the ones flavored with caramel, mint, etc. that contained vegetable oil, but tradtional chocolate recipes.

Mint Bliss, 60% Cacao

Twilight Delight, 72% Cacao

Espresso Escape, 60 % Cacao with finely ground espresso beans.

Really quite satisfying to have just one .375 oz square. Nice size and packaging to share around to friends and colleagues.

[Alice Q]

Those new Ghirardelli chocolates are really good - the sunset one with orange is my favorite. I love the idea of small squares too, thanks for telling me that they have them there! I will have to get some - if I can eat just one...

[FlyerFan]

Love the Espresso Escape - perfect amount of ground coffee paired with excellent chocolate.

[PseudoNerd]

I didn't realize that people didn't know that Joseph Schmidt and Scharffen Berger were owned by Hershey's, and I guess it makes sense that they own Dagoba too...Hm.

[justagthing]

Hershey's has owned SB for awhile and has retained the owners as consultants from what I heard. Also, you need to check out Hershey's new line of higher end chocolate. They are definately learning a lot from their acquisitions. They advertise their new products in the finer food magazines. I have tried their Cacao Reserve Chocolates and they are good. Also, they have these new truffles in tins that are the size of Altoids tins. I bought some at a Ralphs for $1.99. They were so good. Both come in milk and dark chocolate and have 65% and 35% cocao beans respectively.
http://www.hersheys.com/cacaoreserve/

[jillp]

So far, so good, as far as these aquisitions are concerned. Actually, Heshey's seems to be marketing some better choclate under their own label these days. Yesterday I picked up another one of their 65% cacao Extra Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs for the very dear jackp, and he pronounced it "excellent."

[Alice Q]

I just tried this today (the 65% bar with nibs) and I was skeptical, but I loved it! Scharffenberger has indeed been owned by Hershey for a while now, and has not changed a bit as far as I am aware. I guess they know a good thing when they see it.

www.aliceqfoodie.com

[hrhboo]

Hershey's has owned Scharffen Berger for a while now.

[Morton the Mousse]

Last Friday, I was talking to a chocolate enthusiast who knows Joseph Shmidt personally. According to Schmidt, Hershey's has been a wonderful parent company, and they insist that everything remains the same. Essentially, Schmidt has access to Hershey's enromous capital for use in expanding production, advertising, and distribution, but Hershey's has no intention to cut costs or shirk on quality.
When I toured the Scharffen Berger factory last year, they said pretty much the same thing. Hershey's is buying high end chocolatiers because to capitalize on the growing demand for good chocolate. They know that if they turn around and lower product quality, they'll lose customers.
Perhaps it's all wishful thinking, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

[flourgirl]

I think Hershey bought Scharffen Berger in 2005.