Gourmet vs. Artisan

Some of you have asked us what the difference is between an Artisan and Gourmet. The answer is quite simple. Gourmet is typically used to label products that are manufacture with high-quality raw materials to obtain a high quality end-product. For example gourmet chocolates normally have a high content of cacao liqueur, and gourmet cheeses are made with selected milks from selected farms. However, you don’t always obtain a gourmet product by just using high quality raw materials. You also have to employ a control and tested method to produce a constant high quality finished product. Although gourmet products can be produced in medium or large batches, the implementation of a control method and high quality ingredients results in a less than ordinary product.

Artisan products are normally made with the same meticulous attention to detailed as gourmet products. Although Artisan Products can be Gourmet, not all gourmet products are artisan in nature.

Artisan products are strictly made in small batches typically by one of a kind stores using family guarded recipes and methods. They are normally hand crafted and sold in the artisan’s store or in local farmers market across the nation. These artisan masters and apprentices follow a time honored tradition that can be traced to pre-industrial times when most products were made in small shops across colonial America and the globe.

The interest in artisan gourmet products was re-awaken by the slow food movement. In Europe the Artisan label is more strictly guarded by local and national agencies, and though many wines, cheeses and chocolates can call themselves gourmet, not all of these gourmet products can be labeled of artisan origin.

Split Bean Coffee’s Dulces del Rocío are considered artisan products because we make them using only high-quality ingredients, in small control batches using our family’s treasured and tested recipes. Our products are preservative free, and we pride ourselves in using minimal packaging. Our products are only available through our online store and at a very selected few retail outlets.

www.SplitBeanCoffee.com