Chocolate comes in a wide variety of forms. From solid to
liquid, it can be combined with many different flavors to give it unique qualities
that ensures it is an experience to enjoy. There are also a wide range of chocolatiers
that produce the different goods in different ways. Different companies use
different ingredients and methods to produce their products. No recipe or
process is exactly the same, and that is why there is often a huge taste difference
between companies. Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland is an overseas company
that produces chocolate that they ship worldwide. This small company prides
itself in always placing quality over anything else in their chocolate making
process. Whereas companies like Hershey and Nestle use a plethora of artificial
ingredients and preservatives to keep costs low and profits high, Teuscher only
uses the finest ingredients and methods to make their chocolate. Everything is made
in Zurich and shipped to their stores, which number under 30 world-wide. Take
this in comparison to Hershey, which can be found at practically any store that
one goes to. Dolf Teuscher Jr., son of founder Dolf Teuscher, keeps the business
small in order to preserve quality. Each store places an order for what they
need, and the company in Zurich hand makes the products based on the order and
ships them out. This ensures that each product is held to the finest standards,
and that quality is not sacrificed for quantity. Mr. Teuscher takes time every
year to visit each of his stores and make sure that service is up to standards.
It is easy to see that this company values nothing more than providing quality
goods for their customers. |
| Dolf Teuscher |
The company started in 1932 by a man named Dolf Teuscher.
His interest in chocolate manifested itself early on and he became determined
to open a chocolate shop of his own. However, Dolf did not immediately go into
chocolate production. In 1932, he and his wife opened a bakery and confectionary
shop in Toesstal, Switzerland. Soon after opening this small bakery, they moved
their shop to Zurich, which is where the magic happened. One evening, Dolf saw
a bucket with a couple Champagne bottles, which lead to him having a dream of a
combination of champagne and chocolate, the Champagne Truffle. When he awoke,
instead of ignoring the dream, he immediately began to work on this creation.
Dolf’s creativity stemmed from his dream and was based of his experiences. He
was motivated to create a product that was new and would be well liked. I
consider his process to include collecting, because he used his knowledge of chocolate
and its production as well as his observation of the champagne to help fuel his
creative process. Truffles and champagne were not new concepts, but the two
ideas had never been combined. This also is related to the process of
expertise, since Dolf was already an expert in making chocolate.
Teuscher currently takes pride in quality and design of their
chocolates. Everything from the actual food to store decorations and gift boxes
are hand crafted in Zurich with fine attention to detail. The company has
expanded from just plain chocolate and has a range of jams, jellies, marzipans,
truffles, and other delicious products.
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| Hand crafted gift boxes |
That's so interesting that the concept of Champagne Truffles was inspired by a dream! There is definitely evidence that several really creative ideas/innovations have come from dreams. Has this chocolate company created any other candy innovations?
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool, I would love to try these chocolates! It is clear that Mr. Teuscher is really passionate about his product and its quality, especially visiting each store every year. I am wondering where the stores are located and about shipping time- a product with no preservatives wouldn't keep as long, so I am curious as to how they tackle that issue. Considering there are stores worldwide, there must be some extra degree of innovation involved to keep the chocolate fresh. Although I wouldn't normally think it would be a difficult or particularly creative process to create such a high-quality chocolate, this has made me think about how many challenges Mr. Teuscher probably had to overcome to gain fame and spread his chocolate to various locations.
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